On March 4, the SongMaps Rye project launched their series of five workshops with the Rye community. This was described as the beginning of a journey together, with the differently skilled artists meeting up with participants in their open introduction.
The workshops are scheduled to take place between March and May. You can find more about the SongMaps project here
This project offers an inspiring opportunity to use the arts and sciences to create a final presentation, performance or sustainable ‘activity’, combining the lives and stories across all the communities in Rye in respect to the changing climate and the local landscapes.
At the launch event, we heard the insights of a local fisherman, Paul Hodges, explaining how sudden extreme weather events have in the past, and still can, make or break the livelihoods of an entire industry overnight.
This information of historical extreme weather events, when applied to the shifting climate of today’s world, shows the risks to the fishing industry particularly. Paul spoke about past events which dramatically changed the course of our shoreline forever, and the impact of climate change on his work as a fisherman during his lifetime.
The impact of extreme weather on fish
Paul began his talk by giving examples of how natural storms can change the species of fish in different areas. He gave the example of the 1987 hurricane, which was the first time that scallops and sea mice were washed up on the shore at Dungeness. This is because, as Mr Hodges described it, the sea is like the land; it is filled with different habitats and ecosystems. Each of these habitats and ecosystems rely on a different topography of the seabed. Therefore, when a large tidal current changes the relief of the seabed, the species relying on that particular habitat have to relocate, meaning that fish which used not to be off our shores suddenly appeared there overnight, and others were lost.
With the melting of glaciers and huge shelves of ice at the earth’s poles, this
impacts sea levels as well as the currents of the oceans, forcing fish to relocate, and some species to disappear.
Severe storms dramatically change our land and seascapes
Rye didn’t begin as a port. In fact, (Old) Romney was the main port for this shoreline, and Rye only began to develop properly as a vibrant port community in 1257-1280. Previously, the area around Rye had been based on agriculture, but when huge storms changed the pattern of our coastline in 1257 and in 1280, the Rye community turned to the un-taxed resource in our oceans – fish. Dungeness and the Romney Marsh were ‘created’ almost overnight, when a huge amount of shingle was moved from out in the channel and washed up, resulting on the port of Romney suddenly being inland surrounded by the expanded Romney Marsh. This destroyed that prosperous port. Instead, Rye suddenly had a large port crafted out of the shingle for them, with the river changing its course. This storm also caused, or hastened, the loss of Old Winchelsea, while avenues for increased wealth opened up for Rye.
The royal family were one example of a major buyers of East-Sussex fish, and Rye port was the major supplier at the time for Hever Castle and the royal palaces in and near London (one tonne of fish sent from Rye each day under Henry VIII). Rye also became a strategic location during the Tudor times, having more than 300 ships moored up around the hill town. Around 6,000 people were employed in commercial activities around Rye, and Paul described that it became the key area of the Sussex coastline. Rye itself had 50 inns (pubs)!
At that time, about 20% of England’s population were French. Rye was a major hub for immigrants crossing the channel, particularly the highly skilled Huguenots around the 1580’s, as it was so easily accessible and of huge importance. And, if we look back, the only reason why Rye is now built on such wealth and (albeit previous) fame, it is all because of one extreme storm event that took all those possibilities from the port in Romney and brought it to Rye almost overnight.
Mr Hodges’s fascinating talk continued to give more examples, such as the impact of the Black Death on the labour market and consequent shifts in livelihoods from agriculture to fishing and sheep farming, as well as long-shore drift causing different naval opportunities in East Sussex.
He has also seen shifts with his own eyes in his lifetime, related to climate change. One of these is the disappearance of cod from our waters. In 1988, he remembers having “boxes and boxes” of cod all the way up his drive in Dungeness! Due to the warming of waters further north, we can no longer easily get cod in the Channel waters. This is because of a change in the food chain, where the plankton and other small prey have been able to move further north, causing the fish to follow who need them to survive. He described this is also true for herring and mackerel.
A creative wake up call
In conclusion, it was a fascinating afternoon, listening to how much our coastline has changed and continues developing, but also a wake-up call to the powers of the elements around us. As human activity continues to impact weather patterns and cause more extreme weather events, it is important to remind ourselves of how quickly an entire town could be washed away (Old Winchelsea), or an entire industry made redundant within a few weeks (the loss of the port at Romney). Furthermore, recognising the changes and loss of species of fish in waters within one fisherman’s lifetime, that had been richly plentiful for centuries.
We must monitor the effect we have on the earth and our oceans to try and protect what we need sustainably. This is the ultimate aim of the SongMaps project, to bring the community of all ages and livelihoods together to raise our shared awareness in creative and impactful ways.
Image Credits: Chris Lawson , Susan Benn .