| Conservation at the National Seal Sanctuary
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Tucked against the picturesque backdrop of the Helford River - a designated Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI), Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) and Voluntary Marine Conservation Areas (VMCA) - the Cornish Seal Sanctuary strives to deliver a strong and reputable conservation message that befits such a significant environment.
A range of projects are currently underway around the Sanctuary site, some of which you may see when you visit. Look out for a variety of nest boxes for many different creatures, including hedgehogs and woodpeckers, made by our staff especially for them to use as part of our site-specific Biodiversity Action Plan.
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We record our wildlife sightings around the Sanctuary and pass them on to the local Environmental Records Centre, adding an extra piece to the ever-growing jigsaw of where different animals are found in different habitats in this County. You may spot our emerging wildflower meadow and wildlife garden area near the paddocks during your visit, which was created with the invaluable advice and assistance from staff at Trewidden Gardens, near Penzance. Also look out for the annual petition we have for a particularly important marine conservation issue, so you can take the opportunity to stand up for the animals that don't have a voice to protect themselves from things such as seal culling, whaling, pollution and overfishing.
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Out in the community, we have organised annual beach cleans in conjunction with the Marine Conservation Society, given talks for schools and interest groups, and assisted with fundraising events for various conservation charities.
In the meantime, members of our team regularly get their hands dirty by helping other organisations with things such as survey work and habitat restoration, amounting to hundreds of hours of voluntary contributions each year.
We don't want to stop there though, so as well as continuing with the above in the future, we are looking for new ways of giving back to the natural world and in turn give our visitors the chance to experience the same enthusiasm we have for it.
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| Our next major target to achieve will be a wildlife hide overlooking the Helford estuary, filled with fun and interactive tools to get everyone that comes here that little bit closer to nature!
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