Druridge Bay nature sites to feature on national television programme

Earlier this month, presenter Joe Crowley interviewed Lee Rankin, the Trust’s West Chevington project officer at West Chevington - a former opencast mining site.

During the interview, Lee chatted about his work to develop the site as an area for rewilding, in partnership with local farmers and landowners.

Lee has a strong connection to the site having grown up in the area, his family’s mining history and his memory of West Chevington prior to the opencast mining, the mine itself and the subsequent transformation of the area into a site to combat climate change.

After West Chevington, the film crew headed to East Chevington to meet Sophie Webster, EcoNorth ecologist and former Catch My Drift project officer who discussed at length the importance of another former mining site.

Excitingly, the site has the largest reedbeds in Northumberland with specialist species, such as moths, bearded tit and marsh harrier breeding there, and the return of marsh harriers to the site in 2008 after an absence as a breeding bird in Northumberland since the 1850’s.

Lee Rankin, Northumberland Wildlife Trust West Chevington project officer said:

“I am delighted Countryfile will be highlighting two of our Duridge Bay sites on its upcoming programme. East and West Chevington have such a wonderful mining heritage and are a splendid example of how nature can be restored and nurtured on former colliery sites.

“We are so fortunate to live in a wonderful part of the world and hopefully, after the programme is broadcast, viewers will come and see it for themselves.”

The programme will be broadcast on BBC One on Sunday 19th May at 7:15pm.