Meet the team: Aimi Rifat

By Laura Ross

Communications Officer, Rye Harbour Nature Reserve

Aimi Rifat has recently joined the team at Rye Harbour Nature Reserve as our new Wilder Learning and Communities Officer. Growing up in the Kent countryside, and now living by the sea in Sussex, she has always had a love of the outdoors. When she's not at work, you're likely to find her at her allotment in Hastings. 

Tell us a little bit about your background

I spent many years teaching Art and Textiles at Bexhill Sixth Form college, where the natural world and particularly the coastline, were a huge inspiration for my students' projects. Most recently, I've been working as a beekeeper for a charity in Hawkhurst where I worked with volunteers to look after the hives in the apiary. I enjoyed sharing my passion of bees with children and adults, teaching them about their importance as pollinators and how to help improve their habitats.

Tell us a bit about your new role

As the new Wilder Learning and Communities officer, I will be delivering sessions to schools and home educated groups, to enable children to build a stronger connection to the changing rhythms of the nature reserve. I will also be running a programme of family activities that will take place in the school holidays and will bring to life the nature reserve in an explorative and creative way.

What have you been up to in your first month with us?

My first week involved lots of playing on the beach at Wild Beach school. I learnt lots of ways to engage young people to have the confidence to discover new species of plants and sea life, develop practical skills like shelter-making and fire-lighting, and maximise creativity using natural materials found on the beach. I have been learning lots about the nature reserve and joined volunteers, Janet and Peter, to identify and record moths in the moth trap. I've also spent some time at our nature reserve in Tilgate Park, helping to teach a Stone Age workshop to 60 children, who used their 'hunter gatherer' skills to find natural objects to create a piece of jewellery! 

What are you most looking forward to?

I've been a regular visitor to Rye Harbour Nature Reserve throughout my childhood, and now with my children, so I'm really excited to be working at the Discovery Centre. I’m especially looking forward to bringing my passion for both art and nature together to inspire, educate and connect children to the world around them and give them the tools and confidence to take action for nature. My two children have grown up with our little patch of nature at the allotment and it has shown me just how important the natural world can be on a child's social and emotional development. I can't wait to pass that on to more children and young people.

Do you have a favourite species at the nature reserve?

I find bees fascinating, so although I am yet to spot one, I'd love to see a Sea Aster Mining bee. They make waterproof nests in the saltmarsh, so they can live near their food source - how clever is that!

Tell us something about you that we might not know

I'm the 2024 Hands of Hope Wassailing Queen. For those who have not heard of it before, wassail is a pagan celebration held in an orchard that involves singing, drinking and making lots of noise to wake the apple trees and encourage the spirits to make a good harvest.

If you are a school or home educator group who would be interested in taking part in learning at Rye Harbour Nature Reserve, please send an email to [email protected]

To find out more about our family events, go here.