It’s easy to forget when you’re wandering down Ryde’s shopping streets or rushing to catch a Fastcat that beneath the waves under the ever-busy Ryde Pier, lies a whole world of weird and wonderful marine wildlife.
Dozens of coastal species, many of which have made their home on the 200-year-old pier struts and some, like the sponge ‘gardens’ at the very end, only come to light on extreme low tides.
Arc Consulting, Spectrum’s Natural Wight project and friends at Eccleston George, will be Under the Pier in Ryde on Saturday 29th August helping to explore some of this amazing array of coastal wonders on our doorstep.
This is not rockpooling as you know it but sandpooling in fact… plus there’ll be beach art and sandcasting and a chance to record all the species we find. Bring a net and a bucket if you have one and make sure to wear wellies or waterproof shoes. It’s a free event but donations to Hampshire & Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust who run the Shoresearch programmes here on the Island are very much welcome.
Artist Ian Whitmore will be making as much enormous sea-creature bunting as possible to decorate the pier for the big day itself! Wightlink have given permission for the pier to be decorated and Ryde Library will be hosting a free art workshop for all this Wednesday 19th August 11:00-13:00. The event is free with all materials and lots of sea-creature inspiration provided. The children at Spectrum’s Active Kids club in Oakfield have already made a fantastic start on the decorations.
Under the Pier takes place on Saturday 29th August from 15:30 to 17:30 on the Western beach of Ryde Pier – meet at the entrance to the beach on the green at the bottom of Union Street & St Thomas Street, Ryde.
For more information visit www.arc-consulting.co.uk or email [email protected].
