About the Film

Coast Care is a community conservation programme led by Northumberland Wildlife Trust, bringing together volunteers to protect and restore the Northumberland coastline — from Bamburgh Castle to the dunes at Beadnell Bay. This coastal conservation film was made with the volunteers themselves, over the course of a year, documenting the wide range of work they carry out: habitat restoration, wildlife surveys, beach cleaning, invasive species removal, and educational sessions for young people.

This wasn’t a conventional production. A group of Coast Care volunteers were trained in photography, interviewing and basic filmmaking, using a combination of mobile phones and DSLR cameras to document their own experiences. They conducted interviews with staff, other volunteers and partner organisations, filmed events and coastal habitats throughout the seasons, and wrote the narrative collaboratively. My role was to support that process and shape the final edit — ensuring the film remained theirs while giving it the structure and pacing to hold an audience.

“I just wanted to do something to help clean it up and make the area better… and also to make friends within the local area.”

What Coast Care Does

The range of activity captured in this coastal conservation film gives a real sense of the breadth of the programme. Volunteers carry out butterfly surveys, sycamore and Himalayan balsam removal, dune restoration, dry stone wall rebuilding, and litter picking. They receive training in tool use, habitat management and wildlife monitoring. Local businesses have also joined through corporate volunteering days, turning team-building into something with genuine environmental value.

One of the most striking parts of the programme is the Young Rangers initiative, engaging 13 to 18 year olds in practical conservation across the coast. From ivy clearance at Bamburgh Castle to repainting Second World War bunkers, the young people take on real work while building skills and friendships.

“Hopefully they’ll have some skills for life… and also just getting some more friends, and expand their friends group as well.”

Community, Place and Conservation

What comes through most clearly in the film is how deeply connected volunteers are to this stretch of coastline — and how the programme has built something beyond conservation outcomes. For many, Coast Care is as much about belonging and friendship as it is about wildlife.

“Coast Care is a focus for what I do — and what lots of other people do — and I think I like being involved in something where there is a general direction towards just doing something beneficial to the coastline.”

With over 2,000 volunteers involved to date, the programme has had a lasting impact on the landscape, the wildlife and the people of Northumberland. Many spoke of the satisfaction of being part of something larger than themselves — and of wanting to leave a legacy for those who come after.

“If we could prove that we’ve changed a habitat and there’s an increase in wildlife… then that’s one of the main results of this project.”

Participatory Filmmaking

This coastal conservation film is a good example of what participatory documentary can do when it’s approached carefully. The volunteers didn’t just appear in front of a camera — they operated it, shaped the questions, decided what to include and wrote the story. The result is a film that feels authentic in a way that a purely externally produced piece rarely can, because it is genuinely owned by the people it features. My contribution was to give them the skills and the editorial framework, and then to step back enough to let their voices lead.