Community
Click here to visit Blyth Community Volunteers’ Facebook page (opens in a new window)
We meet in the car park of the Town Council offices (Arms Evertyne House) or catch us in the Market Place - look out for the banner. Equipment will be taken to the Market Place and sanitised but please bring gardening-type gloves if you have them.
Virtual Tour of LV50 - Royal Northumberland Yacht Club
Royal Northumberland Yacht Club have been busy creating a “virtual” tour of LV50 and also linking with local schools to create some really exciting online learning opportunities that are aligned to the national curriculum. RNYC took the opportunity to inform the National Historic Ships organisation and we are really excited that we have won the award of a Flagship of the Year 2021.
The link to the tour is https://friendsoflv50.org.uk/tour.htm (opens in a new window)
Bridge Northumberland - Free Support/Training
Bridge Northumberland is a voluntary programme to help people living in Northumberland who are out of work and aged 16+ to overcome barriers to training, education and work.
Bridge welcome referrals and want to support as many people as possible with their fully funded free programme.
Support is FREE if you are:
- Age 16+ & Living in Northumberland
- Not in education, employment or training
Text or call - 07818 511689
Email - bridgereferral@northumberlandcva.org.uk
Refer yourself via Bridge’s website.
Wild Oysters Project
Local Delivery Partner for England: Groundwork North East & Cumbria
Wider Partnership: Zoological Society of London, BLUE Marine Foundation, British Marine
The Wild Oysters Project is a marine restoration project, which aims to restore native oysters back to self-sustaining levels in UK seas, which in turn will provide clean water, healthy fisheries, and plentiful biodiversity.
Why should we restore native oysters?
Native oyster numbers have declined by 95% since the mid-1800s due to over-harvesting, habitat loss, pollution and disease. This has resulted in native oyster reefs being classified as the most threatened marine habitat in Europe. Here in North East England, there are no remaining oyster reefs.
Oysters provide key ecosystem services including improving water quality by increasing water clarity and removing excessive nutrients. Healthy oyster beds are hugely productive, with a rich biodiversity of associated species, having a positive effect on the health of the entire ecosystem, including building resilience to climate change.
Where will you be working to restore oysters?
This project will create rehabilitation hubs across the UK to secure national ecosystem recovery of native oysters and the services they provide.
In North East England, we have the Tyne & Wear hub, leading the restoration efforts for the project in England. A further two hubs are located in Scotland and Wales.
How are you planning to restore oysters?
There are two major barriers to oyster recovery: i) low number of oysters left in the wild to reproduce, ii) lack of suitable habitat available for oyster reefs to form and thrive.
To get more oysters back into the coastal system, our Tyne & Wear oyster rehabilitation hub hosts 47 oyster nurseries over two estuarine sites – Port of Blyth, and Sunderland Marina. The oyster nurseries are microhabitats, each containing 27 mature oysters, which will reproduce and release oyster larvae. Over the 3-year project, these nurseries will release over 3 billion larvae into the North Easts coastal waters.
We will also rehabilitate areas of the seabed nearby, to better suit oyster larvae settlement requirements. This might involve adding a layer of cultch (hard substrate such as gravels and old shells) to the seabed in locations we think our released larvae will reach.
Public Engagement & Education
Our restoration hubs are located where there were once thriving oyster fisheries, and oysters were once a part of local culture. To reignite the public’s emotional and cultural attachment to oysters, we will engage local communities to help care for the oyster nurseries, whilst educating them about the ecological significance of our oyster.
Our scientists will be monitoring our oyster nurseries and reefs to track the positive impact our interventions are having on local marine biodiversity, and sharing our experiences to encourage others to contribute to this systemic change. We hope this monitoring will be supported by our local citizen scientists.
Image Credits: Ashleigh Tinlin-Mackenzie, BLUE Marine.
To get involved:
Email - wild.oysters@zsl.org – add Tyne & Wear to the subject line
To follow our progress:
Twitter - @Wild_Oysters
Instagram – @wild_oysters_project
Website - https://wild-oysters.org/
Image Credits (left to right) - Gerald Legg, BLUE Marine, ZSL,
Lost, Found and Told - New Audio Tales for Northumberland
Free to residents of Blyth thanks to funding from Blyth Town Council
Local performing arts company November Club are delighted to bring you Lost Found and Told, a collection of seven original short stories written by Fiona Ellis, set in the border county of Northumberland.
Lost, Found and Told is inspired by traditional fairy tales and draws on the rich heritage and landscape of Northumberland. Originally conceived as a live performance, Covid-19 restrictions has transformed it into an audio production.
With original music from Katie Doherty woven throughout, Lost Found and Told promises to enchant and captivate the whole family. Listen at home in the comfort of your living room or grab your headphones and head to the heart of Northumberland and walk and listen to the tales right where the action happens. This works for some of the stories better than others.
Blyth Town Council awarded a Community Grant towards the project as the live production would have been performed in Blyth. With the change of plan to an audio production, this funding now means that residents of Blyth can access the stories for free. Email info@novemberclub.org.uk or send @NovemberClubMorpeth a direct message on Facebook if you are a resident of Blyth, including your full postcode.
You will be sent a unique code to access the tales for free.
Lost Found and Told is suitable for children age 8+ but younger (and older!) family members will enjoy listening to the tales as well.
Click here for more information (opens in a new window)
Carers Northumberland
We would like to let you know about an exciting project delivered by Carers Northumberland to support unpaid Carers in our community access employment, training and/or education.
Click here for more information (opens in a new window)
SILX Employability Project & Teen Bar
Do you know someone aged between 16-25?
Do they need support with housing, budgeting, benefits, debt, CV enhancements, work experience or volunteering?
Silx have been advised National Youth Agency that one to one provision can be maintained by appointment only which is COVID-19 safe.
We can provide free online courses - support with CV’s - Cover Letters - Job Search - plus help and support with benefit advice.
We can also offer virtual support by email, Zoom - facetime. If you need any help or support
Please contact 01670 351356 or email silxteen@aol.com
Click here to visit the Silx Employability Project Facebook Page (opens in a new window)
Newsham & New Delaval Youth Forum
Newsham Youth Forum - Click here to view more information (opens in a new window) - Based in Newsham Pavillion - Youth Provision for people aged 11-19 - variety of activities, including arts, outdoor sports, health workshops and cooking skills for young people.
Click here for more information and contact details.
Blyth Cricket Club
Blyth Cricket Club is at the heart of our community, inspiring and influencing the growth, quality accessibility of cricket in our area.
The club has a number of teams from Under 9’s age group, girls, womens and adults. Coaching is available for all members.
All ages and abilities are welcome to join the club.
Contact info@blythcc.org for more information
Or find them on Facebook via “Blyth Bobcats”
Blyth Town Council would like to promote any community interests on this page.
Contact us via email if you have any submissions, info@blythtowncouncil.org.uk
Religious holidays and other events 2023
Click here to view dates (opens in a new window)
The information listed below may not be definitive and if there are any other listings that you think should be published then please click here to contact us by email.