New Wildlife and Heritage Trail on the River Bourne in Bournemouth.
As part of The Linbury Trust funding legacy Wessex Rivers Trust has produced a Wildlife and Heritage Trail on the River Bourne in Bournemouth. The process has been a long one starting with 90 year 3 students from Heatherlands Primary School attending an assembly, riverbank and classroom sessions with River Educators Kate Carpenter and David Swan back in April 2023. The children used their newfound knowledge to produce some beautiful artwork linked to the river. Using this artwork, work placement student, Libby Norton, produced the trail with Alex McKay adding all the information onto the Trust’s website. Waymarkers were then produced and installed by the Trust’s habitat team and Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council’s parks team.
The trail travels along the river through the formal gardens in the centre of Bournemouth, making it one of the most publicly accessible rivers in the Wessex region. The 3-mile-long trail is split into 5 small loops, with 38 points in total. Residents and tourists can scan the waymarker QR code at each point. This will take them to that point along the trail which will provide directions and some interesting facts about the wildlife and heritage of the river, as well as some challenges it faces.
