April 2024: In 2024 Harwich Haven Authority launched a new educational programme – Coastal Discoveries – with an aim to engage local children with the environment that they live in. The programme was developed from funding secured from our maintenance
dredging contractor Boskalis as a direct result of incorporating a social value clause into the contract.
A key element of the Coastal Discoveries initiative is a beach school programme which gives all children attending one of eight primary schools in Harwich and Dovercourt access to a fully funded workshop with three key themes:
- Biodiversity
- Environmental conservation
- Maritime careers
Another element of the Coastal Discoveries initiative is encouraging all ages, through community events such as bioblitzs, to become ‘citizen scientists’ by recording their finds on the iNaturalist app. Aligned to the United Nations 30×30 initiative to conserve 30% of nature by 2030, and the commitment from COP26 to share data worldwide, we hope to demonstrate that even local initiatives can have global benefits.
In 2024 our Coastal Discoveries programme has delivered over £80k in social value to our local community.