A free app designed to connect residents to the wildlife and heritage of the North East coast has been released.
The Seascapes Coastal app is accompanied by a geology-based website, Reading the Rocks, which will focus on the Tynes to the Tees.
The website uses 3D tours, videos, diagrams and online resources.
“We are continually seeking to educate and inspire local people from all walks of life so that they become custodians for this important area. Each year more people are connecting with our shorelines and oceans and by working with communities we can make sure that this vital habitat is not only protected but improved for both people and wildlife,” explained SeaScapes Delivery Manager, Jenny Swainston.
“The launch of the app and website is a combined celebration of the people, places, and habitats along the coast between the Rivers Tyne and Tees. There is so much we already know about our coastline but the more we educate and teach people, the more we continue to learn and better protect the coast for the future.”
SeaScapes is funded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund and the SeaScapes partners. The project is led by Durham County Council with a number of deliver partners, including Durham Wildlife Trust, Hartlepool Borough Council, National Trust, Northumbrian Water Group, the Universities of Newcastle upon Tyne, Sunderland and Durham.
Its focus and main area of work is the England Coast Path running along the Tyne to Tees shore, covering an area up to six nautical miles out to sea.
The King Charles III English Coast Path (KCIII ECP) is the main walking route down the coast and the app will ping the phone at key locations along the path.
It works in three modes: Journal, which allows you to log information about what you have seen and learnt along the coast; Map, the land side of the app; and Wrecks, the seaward side of the app which provides insight into wrecks off the coast. There is also an augmented reality feature which allows you to see the models of shipwrecks and place them into the camera view of your phone.
