Filming Coastal Conservation: Coast Care Volunteers Creative Film
Filming Coastal Conservation with Coast Care bought passionate people, wild landscapes, and grassroots action—and nowhere is this more evident than along the breathtaking Northumberland coastline.
This short film is an excellent example of community filmmaking, created by Coast Care volunteers themselves. It documents the incredible work of local people dedicated to protecting and enhancing the natural beauty of this treasured stretch of England’s northeast coast.
From Bamburgh Castle to the dunes at Beadnell Bay, the volunteers of Coast Care are restoring habitats, removing invasive species, surveying wildlife, and encouraging young people to care for their environment. For anyone interested in environmental filmmaking, grassroots action, or the Northumberland coast, this collaborative project offers a powerful portrait of conservation, commitment, and community.
What Is Coast Care?
Coast Care is a community-focused conservation programme led by Northumberland Wildlife Trust that empowers people to take an active role in protecting Northumberland’s coastal environment. Whether it’s cleaning beaches, monitoring wildlife, rebuilding dry stone walls, or leading educational sessions for young rangers, volunteers contribute to a wide range of activities that make a lasting impact.
For many, joining Coast Care isn’t just about environmental stewardship—it’s about connection. As one volunteer shared in the film:
“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.”
This deep sense of belonging and pride in place shines through in every interview and every scene, captured over the course of a year.
A Participatory Documentary Project
In 2019, a group of Coast Care volunteers worked with filmmaker Alan Fentiman to create a documentary about their work. This was not a typical production—this was a shared process. Volunteers were trained in photography, interviewing, and filmmaking techniques, using a combination of mobile phones and DSLR cameras to document their experiences.
They conducted interviews with Coast Care staff, other volunteers, and partner organisations, as well as filmed key events, activities, and coastal habitats throughout the year. The narrative for the final film was written collaboratively by the volunteers and edited with the support of Alan Fentiman, ensuring that their voices and perspectives shaped the final story.
This approach to community filmmaking gave participants the tools and confidence to tell their own story—creating a film that is not only authentic, but owned by the people it features.
Young Rangers, Big Impact
One of the standout elements of the Coast Care programme is the Young Rangers initiative, which engages 13–18 year olds in practical environmental activities across the coast. From ivy clearance at Bamburgh Castle to dune restoration and WWII bunker repainting, the young people take part in real conservation work while learning heritage skills.
“Hopefully they’ll have some skills for life… and also just getting some more friends, and expand their friends group as well.”
Their enthusiasm and energy bring a sense of future-focused hope to the project, and their participation was a key part of the filmmaking process as well.
Conservation, Confidence, and Community
Whether it’s butterfly surveying, sycamore removal, Himalayan balsam bashing, or beach litter picking, each task carried out by volunteers builds both conservation outcomes and community spirit. Volunteers receive training in tool use, habitat management, and wildlife monitoring—and they discover places and skills they never imagined.
“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.”
Local businesses have also joined the effort through corporate volunteering days—turning team-building into something that has real environmental value.
A Lasting Legacy
With over 2,000 volunteers involved to date, Coast Care has had a lasting impact on the landscape, the wildlife, and the people of Northumberland. Many volunteers spoke of the satisfaction that comes with being part of something bigger than themselves—and of wanting to leave a legacy for future generations.
“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.”
This community-led film is a celebration of that legacy. As a participatory project, it not only documents environmental change—it reflects it. Skills have been passed on, friendships have formed, and stories have been told in a way that will continue to inspire.
YOu can watch more of my nature films here.