Seafront
The main feature of nature interest on the seafront is the area known as the Beach Garden; it is a designated area on the shoreline specifically established for nature conservation. This initiative was set up in 2013 by volunteers from Sidmouth in Bloom and the Devon Plant Heritage Group. Its primary purpose is to protect and enhance the local beach plant community, including reintroducing specialist plants that were no longer present.Here's more about Sidmouth's Beach Garden:Location and PurposeThe Beach Garden is located by the Millennium Walkway, near the Belmont Hotel, and extends to a part of the beach where people wouldn't typically sit.It serves as a safe haven for rare and endangered species adapted to the harsh coastal conditions.It aims to enhance Sidmouth’s reputation among green tourism visitors by showcasing local nature.The concept of the Beach Garden aligns with the broader strategy of creating Biodiversity Networks, where such areas act as ""refuelling and recovery points"" for nature, merging human and natural needs.Coastal ChallengesLife on a shingle beach is inherently tough for plants. The substrate is unstable and moves, fresh water is scarce, and the environment is nutrient-poor. Additionally, plants face harsh sun exposure and the toxicity of salt concentrations.The Beach Garden itself demonstrated this hostility when most of it was wrecked by a storm in 2014, just a year after its establishment.More recently, a decline in volunteers since the Covid pandemic has led to the area becoming overgrown.Flora and BiodiversityThe Beach Garden provides a habitat for various salt-tolerant species, known as halophytes.Sea Campion (Silene uniflora) forms a carpet on the shingle. Like Thrift, it grows in compact clumps to reduce water loss in the harsh beach environment.Viper’s Bugloss (Echium vulgare) displays bright blue, bee-friendly flowers.Sea Beet (Beta vulgaris maritima), a wild ancestor of cultivated beets, has tough, waxy, dark green leaves. Its small green flowers exude a fragrant nectar that attracts many insects.Sea Kale (Crambe maritima), a relative of cultivated cabbage, was historically a delicacy and is now considered scarce.Yellow Horned Poppy (Glaucium flavum) is a striking yellow poppy with elongated, horn-like seed pods and waxy grey-green leaves. It's a biennial that provides food for bumblebees. Its stems and leaves contain a toxic yellow latex with the alkaloid Glaucine, which can be purified for medicinal use.Management and Future EffortsAfter the storm damage, volunteers worked hard to restore the feature.Currently, the Sid Valley Biodiversity Group has partnered with Sidmouth in Bloom volunteers, with support from the Town and District Councils, to improve the area for its rare and endangered plants.This involves an initial clearance of invading plants. Volunteers are needed for this work, which primarily involves pulling up unwanted plants due to the difficulty of digging in shingle.Efforts are also being made to provide better information boards to explain the significance of the plants to the public, as the original board became unreadable.The unchecked growth of certain species is a concern; for example, Sea Beet now dominates parts of the area, and invasive Three-Cornered Garlic (Allium triquetrum) has moved in. Three-Cornered Garlic is a non-native invasive species known for outcompeting and smothering native plants, similar to Himalayan Balsam. The existence and management of the Beach Garden underscore the importance of human intervention in maintaining specific habitats and biodiversity, even in seemingly natural environments. "