The Lost Words project launched

The Discover Rye Harbour team are very pleased to share that the tender for The Lost Words community arts project has been won by local writer, teacher and workshop facilitator, S. Morgan, known as Morgan.

Proposals for the project were received from a cross-section of artists and writers, from which Morgan was shortlisted and then awarded the activity contract. Morgan runs the local Avocet Gallery in Rye Harbour village, with husband Peter Greenhalf.

Senior Communities and Wildlife Officer, Lucy Bowyer, said: 'Morgan's project stood out as having both the beautiful book, on which this project is based, and the nature reserve, at the very heart of it. I am so excited to work with Morgan on delivering a range of arts activities to local communities, and helping people to find the species represented in the Lost Words at Rye Harbour Nature Reserve.'

After receiving the news, Morgan has immediately begun preparing to bring the varied aspects of her proposal to life - inspired by the wonderful book The Lost Words -  against the beautiful backdrop of the nature reserve. Activities will include writing workshops, school activity days, plus family and community art, poetry and music activities.  

The project will benefit from Morgan's passion for the reserve and her extensive knowledge of some of its species and habitats, as well as her love of the book, by Robert McFarlane and Jackie Morris. As Morgan explained: 'My joy of helping individuals to be in and to focus on nature, and encouraging them to speak the names of what they are seeing enables them to form real connections with the natural world. Saying the true name of the thing leads to enchantment and when you are enchanted by something, it becomes important to you.'

Morgan has previously shared some of this knowledge and enthusiasm when working with Reserve Manager, Barry Yates, on previous book projects. 'When Barry and I co-authored The Shingle Shore, I suddenly felt a passion for it and why it should be protected. I never understood the uniqueness of the location before I started researching and, once I started to understand its uniqueness, I fell in love with it.'

This Lost Words project is a Discover Rye Harbour activity, supported by the National Lottery Heritage Fund. It's the second time the book has been used by Sussex Wildlife Trust to inspire an interest in the natural world and the varied, vibrant vocabulary used to describe it. Previously, the trust presented a copy of the book to every primary school in Sussex.

The Discover Rye Harbour Lost Words project will begin on 28th January 2023, with the first of six writers' workshops. The full workshop schedule can be found on our events page here.. There will also be several other events and activities throughout the year, plus a celebration of the book and of the outcomes when the project is completed later in 2023. Please follow the Rye Harbour Nature Reserve website and social media for more details and updates.