We're celebrating the people and projects that have been taking action for nature on our Irish Sea coast over the past year. Read on to find out how local people have been working hard with our marine team to protect wildlife in the Irish Sea, and bring us all closer to nature on the coast. We’ve recorded some intriguing sightings of sea creatures too.

We were delighted in July when one of our Marine Champions won this year’s Marsh Volunteer Youth Award for Marine Conservation. Cat Bell is one of our keenest volunteers who became a Marine Champion at 14 years old. Marine champions are volunteers who we train to bring local people closer to our coastal wildlife. Cat gets involved with as much volunteering as she can fit around her GCSEs, including leading Shoresearch surveys with members of the public every month along the Cumbrian coast, helping to run events for World Ocean Day and other marine festivals, and bringing portable rockpools to groups who can’t easily access the seaside.

Georgia de Jong Cleyndert, Head of Marine Conservation at Cumbria Wildlife Trust said: “We were so pleased when Cat was honoured with this volunteers’ award. She shares her infectious enthusiasm for marine life with everyone she comes across and has shown incredible dedication to her volunteering and the marine environment. She more than deserves the recognition given by the award!”

Cat Bell said: "Volunteering is one of my favourite things to do and has really helped me gain confidence and unlock my passion for marine conservation. It's given me opportunities to work towards what I would like to do in future and winning the Marsh award was a huge honour which I am greatly thankful for. Thank you to everyone who has supported me over the last few years!"  

In the summer our seagrass restoration programme really took off when a group of Cumbria Canoeists helped us collect environmental DNA samples from the Walney Channel’s seagrass beds. This gave us a more in-depth look into what wildlife is using the seagrass meadows. The analysis revealed that at least 135 species could be found in just one small part of the beds, including commercially-important fish species, three types of pipefish and the critically-endangered European eel.

Georgia said: “These were great discoveries, this research has helped us build a better picture of the benefits that seagrass beds give to both marine wildlife and people, and helps to show how important seagrass is as part of a healthy coastal ecosystem.”

From canoes to bodyboards, in September we were joined again by volunteers to collect seagrass seeds. Seagrass is fragile so by spreading their weight on bodyboards they can reduce damage as they collect the valuable seeds from healthy seagrass beds, for planting at other sites.

Seagrass is one of our most valuable habitats and plays a huge role in tackling climate change. One of the largest areas in the region can be found at Walney Island but there’s been a 70% decline in seagrass over the last century. Seeds will be planted out in the spring, and by next summer we’ll be able to evaluate the success of our first year of seagrass restoration.

Volunteers play a huge role in beach cleans up and down the coast. The year got off to a fantastic start in January when a group at Biggar Bank, Walney Island collected over 30 bags of litter, as well as lots of abandoned fishing gear. In August Coast Dusters was set up, a monthly beach clean group who are fighting against ‘ghost gear’ and other marine litter on the coast around Barrow. Georgia said: “Ghost gear is the name for any discarded, lost, or abandoned, fishing gear in the marine environment. It can pose a deadly threat to wildlife so any work that’s done to remove this, and other litter, from our beaches and coastline is invaluable.”

In July we were joined by hundreds of visitors at our annual SeaFest celebration at St Bees beach. This year we added a new feature, to celebrate the fact that SeaFest took place on Irish Sea Day (27 July). Activities were organised up and down the coast of the Irish Sea, including Wales, Scotland and Ireland, to unite all the six nations that share the sea. The new addition this year was a stunning sand mandala of a turtle created by beach artist Simon Wheatley, with the words ‘It’s one Irish Sea to me’. It was a beautiful way to celebrate the Irish Sea’s 17,763 square miles of water, its wildlife and the communities that live and work around it.

Our marine team, dedicated volunteers and observant members of the public also spotted some interesting marine wildlife off the Cumbria coast this year. Highlights included the sighting of a basking shark off Walney in June. It’s not the first time they’ve been seen here, but it’s still special as they’re more commonly spotted around the Isle of Man, Cornwall and the Inner Hebrides. Basking sharks are the second largest fish in our oceans, after the whale shark.

The shad (a member of the herring family) is a protected and rare species. This led to excitement when one was found in Carlisle, as it could suggest there’s a spawning ground for shad in the River Eden in Carlisle. A much larger surprise discovery was a 50kg loggerhead turtle which was stranded on the beach at Earnse Bay. Thankfully it was rescued and rehabilitated, so that it could return to warmer waters. They're most commonly found in the Mediterranean and their name reflects their large heads and powerful jaw muscles.

Finally, a key highlight of the season for us was celebrating a decade of grey seal pups at South Walney Nature Reserve. This year was the 10th year running that grey seal pups have been recorded at South Walney Nature Reserve. The colony has grown from the fewer than 10 seals recorded in the 1980s and 90s. Numbers reached a peak of 518 in 2021, and we recorded 10 pups in a year in both 2021 and 2023. This success story is the result of concerted and ongoing efforts to minimise disturbance of the seal colony, and demonstrates the importance of giving seals their space to rest, feed and breed safely.

As Georgia explains, one of the best ways to see the seal colony is to follow us on social media and watch our live sealcam. She adds: “Visitors to South Walney can watch the seals in the sea at high tide from a safe distance in Groyne Hide (you’ll need binoculars or a viewing scope to see them), but there's no access to the beach where the seals haul out.”

To ensure the safety of the colony, Georgia makes this appeal: “We urge everyone, including kayakers, anglers, jet skiers and boats, to enjoy our amazing marine wildlife from a safe distance. You should maintain at least 100m distance from the seal colony at all times. You can get good views of them with binoculars from a safe distance. Generally, you’ll know if you’re too close because the seals will start to look at you and move nervously. If this happens, you should immediately start backing away quietly to avoid further disturbance. By following these safety guidelines, hopefully we can all enjoy the South Walney grey seal colony, and more successful pupping seasons, for many years to come!”