Love Rye Harbour Nature Reserve

Aim

Help kit out the Education Zone of the new Discovery Centre at the Rye Harbour Nature Reserve

Helping people discover our amazing wildlife

Once the building of the Rye Harbour Discovery Centre has been completed, we will need help to kit out this fantastic education facility. This will mean we can teach everyone of every age and ability how special Rye Harbour Nature Reserve is for wildlife, which we hope, in turn, will mean that they care about it and want to protect it in the future. 

What's special about Rye Harbour Nature Reserve?

The nature reserve is a beautiful, exposed coastal landscape in East Sussex, offering a wilderness experience to people of all ages and abilities. 

In spring 2020, Rye Harbour Nature Reserve celebrates 50 years as one of Britain’s most important conservation sites, with outstanding geological, biological, cultural and heritage value. 

Our mosaic of interlocking shingle ridges, saltmarsh, intertidal grazing, reed-beds and saline lagoons is home to 4,275 species of plants and animals.

More than 300 of these species are nationally rare or endangered, such as Stinking Hawksbeard, Least Lettuce and the Pale Grass Eggar Moth. 

Rye Harbour Nature Reserve is visited by important numbers of birds, all year round. Some nesting, some wintering and many passing through on their global migrations. 

Just a few of our very special visitors include:

• Ringed Plover (pictured below)
• Little Tern
• Avocet
• Oystercatcher

What is the Discovery Centre?

Sussex Wildlife Trust and the Friends of Rye Harbour Nature Reserve have been working together to build the Rye Harbour Discovery Centre. 

It is an accessible visitor resource that will provide shelter, toilets and a café, as well as important facilities for learning.

This means that everyone, of any age and ability, can enjoy the reserve, whatever the weather. 

We want the new centre to inspire future generations of nature lovers and environmentalists to cherish the reserve and care about our incredible wildlife.

What will happen with the money raised? 

It will be used to help fit out the educational facility within the Discovery Centre, which will host school excursions and adult education.  

We'd love to be able to work with as many people as possible, and give them the best experience of the reserve that we can, so that they learn to love and respect our amazing wildlife, and want to protect it in the future.

Some examples of what your money would help us buy:

Indoor and outdoor equipment for students and young people, to help them learn more about this special reserve, in particular the installation of a dividing wall for the educational area, so we can use this space more flexibly. 

The sorts of things they will be using in this area will include:

• bug pots
• binoculars
• shrimp nets
• buckets
• microscopes 
• geography kits

Once everything is in place, we will be able to enhance our programme of events, to host groups of all ages and abilities.

By helping us with a donation, for a limited time, you can also choose one of the fantastic 'Rewards'. Simply select one of the 'Pledge' options to make your donation. Some of the reward dates are dependent on the Coronavirus situation and Government advice. If necessary we will do our best to arrange new fulfillment dates for later in the year.

To make a donation with no 'Reward' just select 'Donate' and enter the amount. 

Thank you so much for your support.

Who is Sussex Wildlife Trust?

Sussex Wildlife Trust is a nature conservation charity for everyone who cares about wildlife in Sussex. The Trust manages over 30 nature reserves, including Rye Harbour Nature Reserve. Its work focuses on protecting the wonderfully rich natural life that is found across our towns, countryside and coast.

Who are the Friends of Rye Harbour Nature Reserve? 

The Friends of Rye Harbour Nature Reserve is a charity whose 2,000 members support the nature reserve’s work through subscription and volunteering. Since 1973, it has part-funded the cost of staff, land purchase, large scale habitat creation, tools, vehicles and visitor facilities at the reserve. 

This project successfully funded on 13th April 2020