Who are we?
Gabby Morris (left) and Barbara Chalmers (right) are serial collaborators, both multi-award winning in their fields of Service Design and Futures Thinking. Together they led public engagement for the Solway Coast & Marine Project (SCAMP) - a pioneering coastal recovery project leading the rest of the UK.
why are we coastodians?
Barbara
I’m an armchair activist. Well intended but busy with many plates spinning. I will sign a petition, make a donation but after that, I didn’t really know HOW to help our coast in a hands-on way. It occurred that there might be thousands, maybe millions of folk who feel the same.
When I saw David Attenborough’s vital film Ocean on a visit to the glorious islands of Orkney, I wondered where the voice of the people was. And harsh, but someone’s got to pick up the baton when David passes it on. I think it would be glorious if it wasn’t a single charismatic leader but the undeniable force of many, many, many voices.
Gabby
I’ve always cared deeply about place—how we treat it, how we notice it, and what stories we inherit about it. But coastal care often felt like something for others: scientists, charities, people with wetsuits and data. I didn’t see where someone like me, curious, creative, not a marine biologist, fit in.
Coastodians started as a way to shift that. To say you don’t need to be an expert to pay attention, to feel responsible, or to act. You just need to care—and to find others who care too. I believe in slow noticing, in collective action, and in finding new ways for people to connect with what’s already there: tides, histories, seaweed, plastic, poetry.
why be a coastodian?
Because the coast needs more than concern—it needs company.
You don’t need to be a conservationist, campaigner or expert. You just need to care. Care enough to pay attention. To ask questions. To learn what’s washing up and why.
Coastodians is for anyone who’s ever stood by the sea and felt protective, unsettled, inspired—or angry. We’re building a quiet movement of people who want to protect our coasts not just by cleaning up litter, but by shifting the story.
It’s about showing up, even in small ways. About thousands of everyday actions adding up to something louder than a single voice.
If you’re looking for a way in—a place to start—this is it. Join us.
