Winter 2021 message from FoSB
Summers come and go and this year it never seemed to really arrive. With a combination of Covid-release hesitancy and the unseasonal rain many of us didn’t get as much chance to get together as perhaps we would have wanted. Despite that FoSB ran a number of beach cleans with local groups and you may even have seen Jacky on the BBC news during the MCS Big Beach Clean in September.
We are however planning to end the year on a bang with the reintroduction of our Christmas Beach Clean. Taking place on Bank Holiday Tuesday 28th December from the Old Fort Car Park this will be a great chance to get some air, burn off some Christmas Fayre and then restock with a mince pie afterwards. beachclean@fosbeach.com.
Clearing of invasive species sessions will also be running soon. Our group of amazing, regular volunteers have been contacted but anyone else who may want to volunteer and get involved please contact Jacky on clearing@fosbeach.com.
Finally, as I write it is being announced that Shoreham Beach has been awarded a prestigious Green Flag award. Green Flag recognises and rewards well managed parks and green spaces, setting the benchmark standard for the management of recreational outdoor spaces across the United Kingdom and around the world. More about this and what it means for our fantastic local nature reserve in the next issue. It’s a truly fantastic award for our beach and all those who care for it and love it as much as we do.
We are looking to put far more activities on as we move into 2022 so keep an eye out. If you are part of an education or work group and want to arrange a Clean or Flower Walk then please email on friendsofshorehambeach@gmail.com.
From Jim Marshall, FoSB Chair
The Darwin Tree of Life Project is one of several initiatives across the globe working towards the ultimate goal of genome sequencing all complex life on Earth, in a venture known as the Earth BioGenome Project. It is a worldwide collaboration involving groups from a number of universities, research institutions, museums and botanic gardens.
They use genomic data to understand the evolution of the diversity of life, to explore the biology of organisms and ecosystems, to aid conservation efforts and to provide new tools for medicine and biotechnology. A group came from Kew, who are sequencing the genomes of the native plants of Britain and Ireland, to collect samples of plants growing in the Widewater area.
They were so interesting to meet. Apparently, the human genome is about two feet long. Some plants have much shorter and some much longer genomes. Annual plants have short genomes as they are easily replicated but perennials have long ones.
Applications are many. For example, a chip has been developed that can read the genome of trees with Ash dieback and determine the degree of resistance. Sea beet was a plant they collected, and it might be possible to use a bit of the genome to enable the closely related sugar beet to grow in more salty environments such as fields recovering from sea water flooding.
They were pleased to receive a copy of the plants currently growing on our LNR so they can contact us if they want samples of any of them.
From Jacky Woolcock, FoSB Nature Cooridinator
Both of these articles were originally published in Beach News.