New Annan festival celebrates merse and marine environment

The ImMerse Festival pulled in the crowds keen to try water quality testing and invertebrate investigations

A new green festival celebrating the merse and marine environment was held at Annan Harbour, river and saltmarsh on Sunday.

It coincided with World Rivers Day, The Great UK Water Blitz, the Global Goals and the Scottish Government’s Climate Week.

The ImMerse Festival was organised by the Solway Marine and Coast Project (SCAMP) with Annan Harbour Action Group and the D&G Climate Hub and pulled in the crowds keen to celebrate nature and the local environment.

The fun-filled day offered talks and a saltmarsh school as well the chance to try water quality testing, countryside crafts, invertebrate investigations, wildlife and sketching.

Environmental artist Jan Hogarth, from SCAMP, said: “The merse is a magical, dynamic place full of wildlife that’s constantly reshaped by ebb and flow of the tides.

“It provides nature-based solutions to challenges including carbon sequestration, flooding and biodiversity loss – but it’s under threat due to climate change.

“The Solway contains a quarter of the UK’s saltmarshes and ImMerse was a chance to discover more about those that have done so much to shape the Solway coast, and about the river Annan and its harbour.

“It’s an event we’d love to see grow and develop to become the region’s main environmental festival.”

One of the most popular events was a walk with Alan Thomson, whose family have farmed near the Annan Estuary for generations, and the opportunity to hear about the past and future plans for the river and its harbour.

And there was an evening event at Annan Lonsdale Cinema with the public invited to watch a special film showing of “In Nature” the Annan premier of films by young eco filmmakers and an other inspirational film, Why Not Scotland?, by the Big Picture about a young person’s journey from loss of hope to the potential to re-wild areas of Scotland.

The films were followed by a panel discussion.

Visitors also got to find out more about Saltmarsh Science with a freelance ranger and saltmarsh expert; Up the Creek, walks with Galloway Fisheries Trust Wood etching with D&G Woodlands; Moth ID with the South West Scotland Environmental Information Centre; Birds on the Solway with RSPB; South of Scotland’s Golden Eagle Project; Learn about Wild Woods from Borders Forest Trust and Get into Soil with Propagate and Woodcraft with a Southern Upland Way ranger.

And it ended on a high note with bat box making workshop and an evening Bat Walk with Species on the Edge.

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