For everyone.

Our vision is for a healthy blue ecosystem where nature, people and the economy can thrive. But environmental recovery cannot succeed if people feel excluded from it, cannot access it, do not benefit from it, or do not have a meaningful voice in shaping it.

That is why diversity, equity and inclusion are part of our approach to nature recovery, not an add on.

Across 100 miles of coast, from Selsey to Camber Sands, communities are different. Sussex Bay includes busy urban centres, fishing communities, visitor economies, rural and isolated settlements, unique coastal communities and places experiencing significant deprivation and health inequality.

There can be no single approach that works for everyone.

Our independent Regional Inclusion Maturity Assessment reinforces the need for a practical, place based approach grounded in lived experience, equitable participation and fair access to the benefits of the sea.

Read a recent assessment

You are welcome here.

We want to use our influence wisely, in a way that is hopeful, joyful and rooted in communities and aim to connect nature recovery with the realities of people’s lives. That means connecting:

• nature recovery with community benefit
• environmental action with social equity and environmental justice
• coastal and marine recovery with health and wellbeing
• accessibility with meaningful participation
• evidence and science with lived experience
• local knowledge with regional decision making
• cleaner, safer seas with fairer access to their benefits
• a healthier coast with opportunities for people, places and the economy

For us, inclusion is not simply about who is represented in a room. It is about who feels welcome, who can take part, whose knowledge counts, who benefits, and whose voices may still be missing.

It also means involving people early, before plans are already formed, and finding ways to make marine science, evidence and decision making easier to understand and engage with.

The assessment identifies an opportunity for Sussex Bay to help connect environmental recovery, marine governance, accessibility, public participation, community benefit and environmental justice across the region.

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Community based, creative and joyful

We believe this work can bring joy. Nature recovery can be about creativity, connection, curiosity, shared experiences, local pride and the simple pleasure of spending time together by the sea.

A community based approach means recognising that not everyone wants to join a formal meeting, complete an online consultation or already speak the language of environmental work.

So we want to keep trying different ways for people to take part. That might include workshops and conversations, creative projects and storytelling, community events, citizen science, local activities, face to face engagement and opportunities for people to share lived experience in their own way.

It also means thinking about people who may be excluded by digital first approaches, supporting youth participation, building trust with communities who have historically been less visible in environmental work, and recognising that different places and communities need different approaches. These are among the gaps and opportunities identified in the regional assessment.