Ecologists and engineers from the Faculty of Science & Technology are joining forces to increase biodiversity on Boscombe beach, working with two local schools in the process.
Our experts are working with students from Avonbourne School and Harewood College, in a project being run in collaboration with Bournemouth Borough Council’s Coastal Activity Park.
The aim is to research sustainable coastal defences, and understand what aspects are most attractive to marine organisms. The team is designing and creating features such as artificial rockpools and structures with holes, pits and crevices that will provide somewhere for marine organisms to seek refuge.
It is hoped that any findings from the experiment will be implemented in the development of future marine developments to minimise any damage to biodiversity as a result of coastal defences being fitted.
The new designs will be fitted onto Boscombe’s existing coastal defences and will allow the public to watch as local marine wildlife begin to inhabit the installations.
The project is funded by the BU Fusion Investment Fund, which supports projects that bring together research, education and professional practice. It has seen around 30 schoolchildren from years 7-9 working on ideas and prototypes for the project after school, supported by BU student ambassadors and the AspireBU outreach team.