INTRODUCTION

In the Autumn of 2002, the Solent Forum agreed the 41 RITE opportunities for action in the Solent under the general headings of Recreation, Information, Transport and Environment. Three of these actions were identified as being local authority lead or responsibility and as such can not be steered by the Solent Forum; however, the remaining 37 can and have been brought together under two schemes made up of various projects. Resources will determine when these projects are implemented. However, project briefs are being drawn up currently.

1) SOLENT ENVIRONMENTAL APPRECIATION (SEA)

Three projects are brought together under this wider heading all of which aim to bring the Solent to a wider community through improving access to the Solent, improving information/interpretation of the Solent or by encouraging local community involvement in its enhancement.

a) Around the Solent The overaching project aim is to foster stewardship of the Solent region, by encouraging people to care for their environment through greater awareness and understanding of the value of their surroundings.

b) Clean Scene This project aims to bring communities together to look after the Solent. Many local partnerships are already well established but lack a coordinating arm to bring them together in united working partnerships. This project will seek to unite local partnerships and other users of the Solent in moving towards a cleaner coastal environment. The project will identify where gaps are around the Solent in clean up operations such as Save our Solent, Beach Cleaning (MCS or otherwise) and recycling facilities, bring local partnerships and other organisations together to provide a cleaner environment for all.

Solent-wide beach clean - This is the first of the initiatives that is being taken forward in the clean scene project. The Solent-wide beach clean is part of the Marine Conservation Society's national Beachwatch event. The Beachwatch litter survey and clean-up is a national event that has taken place every September since 1993. Thousands of volunteers from around the UK spend a few hours of this weekend helping to clean up our coastline, supporting MCS's campaign to reduce litter on our beaches and at sea.

There are a number of different organisations taking part in the Solent-wide beach clean and survey: Portsmouth Probation Service who are going to survey beaches on the Isle of Wight and some of the foreshore of Portsmouth Harbour; the Solent Forum and Havant Borough Council are cleaning North Hayling Beach; there are also beach cleans happening on the Hamble foreshore, Porchester foreshore, Calshot Activities Centre, Stokes Bay and Langstone Harbour.

For more information on any of these cleans or to clean another local beach contact the Solent Forum or Marine Conservation Society.

c) Solent Schools Pack The Solent has a wealth of educational interests which could be brought together in a schools pack that links to the various Key Stages/targets that year groups must reach. These could include using the physical processes, historical features, the environment and nature conservation to teach key stages. The Countryside Foundation for Education encourages bringing the classroom to the countryside and the countryside to the classroom. It currently has information on farms and woodlands but does not have any information on the coast, such as reserves that could be visited where rangers/wardens are available to teachers or coastal historic buildings that could become a classroom for the afternoon. The Solent being a mosaic of history, geology, science, and conservation interests is probably ripe for piloting such a scheme.

2) SOLENT INFORMAL RECREATION RESEARCH REQUIREMENT

In order to implement the aims and objectives of the strategy when managing recreational use in and around the Solent, it is necessary to understand the use and pressures on our coast now and in the future. A number of recreational studies and strategies were produced in the early 1990s to assist planning and management in the Solent. Since then there has been little such activity, and the information base is increasingly out of date and inadequate. There has been a growing feeling in recent years that new studies need to be carried out and a growing consensus that such studies ought to be brought together within the framework of a major comprehensive study that addresses what are considered to be the main priorities. The Solent Forum asked members what aspects of recreation they would like to see research in, these are detailed below and should funding prove limited then this scheme could be undertaken in four steps over a similar stepped time period.

a)Recreational Study - impact issues

b)Recreational Study - capacity issues

c)Recreation Study - management strategies

d) Recreation Study - external factors eg planning for climate change

For further details about the implementation of the Strategy please contact the Solent Forum Officer