ImMerse Festival to Celebrate Nature and the Solway’s Super Saltmarshes

Sep 3, 2024

ImMerse Festival to Celebrate Nature and the Solway’s Super Saltmarshes
  • New event has ambitions to grow into south of Scotland’s main annual environmental festival
  • Discover and help protect Southern Scotland’s wonderful waterways, landscapes and wildlife
  • Have fun at the festival and take part in lots of nature-based activities and citizen science research

The new ImMerse festival will be a fun-filled chance to discover and celebrate the amazing saltmarshes – and wider natural environment – across the south of Scotland focusing particularly on the Solway.

Taking place on 22 September, from 10am, at Annan Harbour and in the surrounding merse (saltmarshes) and river, there will be lots to do and see including nature, wildlife, citizen science and arts and crafts activities.

Visitors can join the Saltmarsh School to learn all about the wildlife and environment of the merse. They can take part in guided walks and talks, nature craft water quality testing, invertebrate investigations and saltmarsh science.

There will also be discussions and films.  

Jan Hogarth, from SCAMP (Solway Coastal and Marine Project) which is helping organise the event, said: “The merse is a magical, dynamic place full of wildlife that’s constantly reshaped by ebb and flow of the tides. It provides nature-based solutions to challenges including carbon sequestration, flooding and biodiversity loss.

“But it’s under threat due to climate change.

“This festival is a great way to celebrate the merse and also to put a focus on the amazing waterways, landscapes and wildlife of all southern Scotland.

“It’s an event we’d love to see grow and develop to become the region’s main environmental festival.

“The Solway contains a quarter of the UK’s saltmarshes. ImMerse is a chance to discover more about the saltmarshes, that have done so much to shape the Solway coast, and about the river Annan and its harbour.

Jan, who is also an environmental artist, will take an active part in the festival leading Saltmarsh Sketching event where she will help people capture the beauties of this remarkable watery landscape.

The event will be a chance to be part of World Rivers Day and Earthwatch Europe’s Great UK WaterBlitz – two major national and international initiatives highlighting the importance of, and threats to, our natural waterways.

There will be opportunities to help with water testing in the Annan and for sampling the merse to look at the numbers of invertebrates, which are the base of the food chain and critical to all life on the saltmarshes.

Jenna Cains, Community and Education Lead Officer of the D&G Climate Hub, which is another of the organising groups, will lead the water testing.

She said: “The ImMerse festival is a unique event that focusses on the somewhat overlooked habitat of merse, which is a dynamic and intricate landscape that supports specialist species, protects our Solway coastline and locks away carbon – making it crucial for the future of our communities and our precious wildlife.”

The festival’s learning activities will include:

  • Saltmarsh Science with a freelance ranger and saltmarsh expert  
  • Up the Creek, walks with Galloway Fisheries Trust
  • Wood etching with D&G Woodlands
  • Moth ID with SWSEIC (South West Scotland Environmental Information Centre)
  • Birds on the Solway with RSPB
  • South of Scotland’s Golden Eagle Project
  • Learn about Wild Woods from Borders Forest Trust
  • Get into Soil with Propagate
  • Woodcraft with Southern Upland Way ranger

The festival hub will be a marquee at the harbour where the festival is working in partnership with Annan Harbour Action Group, D and G Climate Hub and SCAMP.

There will also be a showing In Nature, a film created by young filmmakers from Annan and Why Not Scotland? an inspiring movie about nature restoration.

The festival coincides with world Rivers Day, The Great UK Water blitz, the Global Goals and the Scottish Government’s Climate week.

The WaterBlitz asks people across the UK to go out and measure the water quality of their local rivers, streams and lakes.

A spokesperson for Earth Watch Europe, who we are working closely with ImMERSE, said: “Citizen science can make a difference. The Great UK WaterBlitz needs your help to collect data on water quality across the UK. This data is crucial to fight for cleaner rivers and freshwater systems. 

“With this data we can build a snapshot of freshwater health and take action to restore our rivers and freshwater systems.”

  • ImMerse is brought to you by SCAMP (Solway Coast and Marine Project), Annan Harbour Action Group and the D&G Climate Hub.
  • There will be a bat box making workshop and evening Bat Walk with Species on the Edge on Saturday 21 September.

-Ends-

Note to Editors

  • The Festival is supported by SCAMP Community engagement funding from the Facility for Investment Ready Nature in Scotland (FIRNS 2), which provided grants to organisations and partnerships to help develop a viable business case and financial model, to attract investment in projects that can restore and improve the natural environment.
  • FIRNS 2 is delivered by NatureScot in collaboration with The Scottish Government and in partnership with the National Lottery Heritage Fund. 

Events are free please see below:

About SCAMP

The Solway Coast and Marine Project (SCAMP) is led by Dumfries and Galloway Council and the Solway Firth Partnership, and follows on from one of the Borderlands’ natural capital pilot projects.

SCAMP is an ambitious project that seeks to restore the coastal and shallow sea habitats of the Solway, covering the entire 210km of the Dumfries and Galloway Coastline. Our aim is to increase biodiversity, sequester carbon where possible and support our coastal and marine habitats to adapt to the effects of climate change. In addition, and essential for the project we will be helping our coastal communities to adapt and be more resilient to predicted sea level rise. 

It is addressing five key habitats, maritime/coastal woodland, sand dunes, salt marsh, sea grass meadows and oyster reefs. As part of the delivery of the project we will be able to help inform and develop the blue carbon private capital markets.  In addition to this it will ensure that our coastal communities derive economic, wellbeing benefits from the work we do. It expects the delivery of SCAMP to be over a 10-year period and cost approximately £20 million from a blend of public sector, third sector and private sector sources.

It seeks to explore community-driven initiatives to enhance and restore biodiversity both underwater and along the coast –benefiting people, nature, and the planet.

About DG Climate Hub

The D&G Climate Hub is part of the Scottish Government’s new national network of Community Climate Action Hubs. Climate Hubs are committed to supporting community climate action on a regional basis through funding and resources embedded in our local communities.

It is run by the Galloway and Southern Ayrshire Biosphere. 

About Annan Harbour Action Group

Annan Harbour Action Group was set up to develop Annan harbour and surrounding area as a community asset; promote water-based and shore-based activities linked to the maritime environment and acquire and regenerate historic buildings and land bringing these into purposeful use for the benefit of all. Education and citizen science is embedded into the work of the group.

About World Rivers Day

World Rivers Day is a celebration of the world’s waterways and highlights the many values of rivers and strives to increase public awareness and encourages the improved stewardship of rivers around the world.

For more see World Rivers Day – Millions of people in more than 100 countries participate in World Rivers Day

Earthwatch Europe’s Great UK WaterBlitz 

People across the UK are invited to help measure the water quality of their local rivers and streams. 

Data scientists use the results to build a snapshot of our freshwater systems

Results from the first Great UK WaterBlitz , 7-10 June 2024, saw over 2,600 people across the UK measure the water quality of their local rivers, streams, lakes and ponds. 75% of data points across the UK showed poor ecological health with significant regional variation.

  • The Anglian and Thames regions have the worst water quality with up to 89% of data points showing poor ecological health.
  • The Solway Tweed area in the North West showed the best health with only 50% of data points showing unacceptable levels of nutrient pollution.
  • See earthwatch.org.uk. Great UK WaterBlitz – Earthwatch

For media information contact Matthew Shelley on 07786 704299 or at [email protected]