Frank Gardner, the president of The British Trust for Ornithology, is an intrepid birdwatcher, as well as a wheelchair user (see this link of his trip to Papua New Guinea).
When visiting the nature reserve at the end of October, he was keen to have a “hard hat” visit inside our developing Discovery Centre. He was accompanied by Tony Lloyd, chairman of the nature reserve’s management committee (pictured right) and Barry Yates, manager of the nature reserve (left).
After his visit Frank said ‘I am so pleased to see that this new Discovery Centre not only enjoys picture window views over the ever-changing scenery of Rye Harbour, but its planners have been kind enough to make it fully accessible. For wheelchair users like me, and for families with prams, this makes a huge difference. Thank you!’
Later we visited four of our five accessible birdwatching hides on the reserve where Frank was keen to photograph some of our wintering birds. Those now feature on his Instagram nature site. His image of the little egret was taken from inside the centre.
Thanks to our contractors, Baxall, for making this visit possible.
The Discovery Centre is a joint project between the Sussex Wildlife Trust and the Friends of Rye Harbour Nature Reserve, due to open spring 2020. For more information, see the Discovery Centre website.
Image Credits: Sussex Wildlife Trust , Barry Yates .