If you’ve been wandering along the beaches of Sandown Bay at low tide recently, you may have spotted a series of decorative tiles appearing on the sea walls – these are the first stages of an exciting experiment in marine biodiversity and coastal resilience.
To help take this further, a team of Island organizations from The Bay area have been awarded a Partnership Grant by the Royal Society, a fellowship of the world’s most eminent scientists and one of the world’s oldest and most prestigious scientific organizations. Sandown Bay Academy, Eccleston George and Arc Consulting are together working on a programme of experimental science covered by the STEM subjects (science, technology, engineering, maths) in which art is also playing an essential role.
The project is part of a concept called Artecology, being developed by Eccleston George and Arc, and it introduces students to the notion and the practice of making new textures and materials for the marine environment. The 5 miles of Bay coastline has recently become a focus of innovation in the fields of asset resilience (making structures last longer by ‘bioarmouring’ them) and intertidal colonization (enhancing biodiversity on sea defences).
Bournemouth, Glasgow and Oxford universities are all now involved in Artecology experiments and the ideas and designs created by students on the Royal Society programme will become live elements of this cutting edge research.
Andy Green, Key Stage 3 Director at Sandown Bay Academy said:
“The year 7, 8 and 9 students from Sandown Bay Academy taking part in the Artecology project have risen to the complex set of challenges set by the project brief.”
Nigel George, founder of Eccleston George Public Artists, added:
“I really love the student’s scientific inquisitiveness and the way they’ve used their wonderful creativity in the quest for answers to the real world problem we’ve presented to them. I’ve also been incredibly impressed not only by how well the students work together as a team, but also how they’ve carried an enormous sense of fun throughout the project… and even better, that this mix of hard work and fun really does show in their amazing Bio-Tile designs that are now out on the sea wall in Sandown Bay for everyone to see.”
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Ian Boyd from Arc Consulting said:
“It’s tremendously exciting to be a part of such imaginative and ground-breaking work. Artecology is bringing interest to the Island, and to the Bay in particular, from significant organizations and institutions, and we really want this to become a help to our economy and our environment, and especially to our young people. I would like to give particular thanks to the Isle of Wight Council Coastal Management team; without their help, advice and support, we would simply not be able to get these projects off the ground”.
The partnership project will run for 12 months and it is hoped that it will lead to further national and international science and arts collaborations.
