Wembury Marine Centre celebrates 20 years
Wembury Marine Centre is set to celebrate its 20th anniversary with a birthday party for all the family today (Saturday 12 July).
Staff and volunteers have been bringing rockpooling and marine wildlife to thousands of local people and holidaymakers for two decades. The ever-popular rockpool rambles and strandline walks will be a feature of the birthday bash, along with creative seashore activities in the Centre itself.
The Voluntary Marine Conservation Area of Wembury Bay was designated in 1981. But it was in the late 80s that the idea was first dreamed up of having a marine wildlife visitor centre behind Wembury’s popular beach. Devon Wildlife Trust spend several years securing funding, applying for planning permission and drumming up support. Construction began on the site late in 1993 and by the following Easter the shell of Wembury Marine Centre was complete.
Then the race was on to complete the displays inside before the Centre opened in time for the school holidays in July. The interior has had a major refurbishment since then but Richard White, the first Wembury warden, remembers the 1994 displays: “There was a model rockpool – perhaps not the most spectacular exhibit, but popular; a lightboard display showing how long litter takes to decay – with bulbs that burned out all the time; and, my favourite, the underwater kelp forest.”
Richard continues: “The kelp forest was a separate section of the Marine Centre darkened with model habitats, plastic seaweed, even sea surface with amazingly lifelike model fish against the kelp fronds – in fact, I’ve still got a couple of the model fish upstairs at home.”
Twenty years on, Wembury Marine Centre is still proving a hit. In 2013 it received 19,000 visitors, while more than 2000 members of the public took part in its programme of marine themed events. Most of the activities at Wembury are supported by volunteers from Plymouth and the South Hams. One such local supporter is John Hepburn, who attended the opening in 1994 as the Lieutenant Commander of nearby HMS Cambridge. His association with the Centre would be a lasting one.
“Nine years after leaving the Navy, I started volunteering at Wembury Marine Centre having had something of an epiphany about marine life”, said John. “A decade on, I’ve learned a lot about what lives on my doorstep, and how to see it in the rockpools and by diving and snorkelling. Now the Marine Centre has an importance in my life I never dreamt it would when I went to the opening.”
For the birthday celebration on Saturday the day begins at 10am with driftwood craft activities and face-painting in the Centre and a strandline walk on the beach with the Marine Biological Association. Then the ever-popular rockpool ramble takes place at 11:30am, with more activities in the afternoon, including stream-dipping at 2pm.
All activities are free of charge, including the rockpool ramble. National Trust parking charges apply in the car park.
