Thousands of children from Essex and Suffolk to take part in beach school workshops

07 July 2025

A project giving thousands of children in Essex the chance to experience a beach school workshop experience is expanding – offering even more children the opportunity to join the fun.

The £50,000 Coastal Discoveries project, jointly funded by Harwich Haven Authority (HHA) and Boskalis Westminster, will see pupils learn about the coastline and natural environment, with the aim of sparking a lifelong love of nature and an interest in the maritime sector as a career.

This year’s initiative, which is part of HHA’s ongoing commitment to reinvest in the local area, will be bigger than ever – with eight primary schools from the Harwich area being joined by eight schools across the Haven in and around Felixstowe.

It comes as a local needs analysis for both Harwich and Felixstowe shows that in some areas of deprivation, children who live just a stone’s throw away from the coast haven’t spent any time at the beach and know very little about the sea.

Melissa Wellings, Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) Director at HHA, said:

“Last year’s project was a great success — it sparked real excitement in young people about the natural world and our incredible coastline.
“We’re thrilled that this year, even more children will have the opportunity to get involved and be inspired.
“The Haven is Britain’s gateway to the world of trade – and as its custodians, it is our duty to protect it.
“Our responsibility to protect, conserve and improve is at the heart of all our decision-making and being able to help young people develop a love of nature and of our coastline is just one way we can do this.
“We are proud we have been able to build on last year’s success and expand the number of schools, including children from Felixstowe and East Suffolk.”

In Harwich the workshops will be run by local teacher and environmentalist Libby Scarfe from Seaside Explorers, while in Felixstowe it will be operated by the Landguard Trust.

Liz Bartholomew, Headteacher at Mayflower Primary School in Harwich, which took part in last year’s event, said:

“The benefit to our pupils is enormous, not only in terms of getting them learning outside the classroom, but also in terms of the wealth of environmental learning that takes place.

“The children are introduced to the amazing array of wildlife we have on our coastline, and they begin to appreciate the importance of our actions and the impact we have on the environment and our part in supporting it.”

Paul de Jong at Boskalis Westminster, said:

“Boskalis Westminster has been working in partnership with HHA for many years, with the Coastal Discoveries programme being an excellent initiative that we are proud to continue to support.

“This programme is a superb chance to invest not only in the communities we work in, but also in the futures of younger generations and their education.

“It is pleasing to see the expansion of Coastal Discoveries and the large numbers of children participating and being given the opportunity to investigate their local environment outside of the classroom.”

In 2024, more than 2,000 pupils from primary schools across Harwich and Dovercourt took part in the free sessions.

To sign up your school in Harwich, contact Seaside Explorers at www.facebook.com/seasideexplorersharwich. To sign up your school in East Suffolk contact Landguard Trust at [email protected]