A 20ft long interactive wetland mural will visit the Metrocentre in Newcastle from 10am-4pm on Friday 10 March during its tour of the UK.
Commissioned by the Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust (WWT) and originally unveiled in Bristol on 2 February 2023, the mural highlights this year’s World Wetland Day theme of wetland restoration.
Members of the public can interact with the mural by standing on the jetty, sitting in the boat or snapping a photo as they plant a shoot in the saltmarsh, symbolising the regeneration of wetlands.
It shows a degraded wetland transforming into a flourishing habitat, filled with thriving wildlife and highlighting the incredible potential of wetlands to capture carbon, clean our water, protect us from flooding, provide a home to wildlife and boost our health and wellbeing.
A staggering 45% of people in the UK do not know what a wetland is[i] and this large-scale artwork by 3D Joe and Max is designed to help significantly increase the number of people aware of these types of habitat and the challenges they face.
WWT Campaigns Manager Laura Williams said: “Hundreds of people took their photo with the mural on World Wetlands Day, learning more about the amazing powers of wetlands to tackle the nature, biodiversity and health and wellbeing crises and we are very excited to be able to take this on tour to other places – from cathedrals and shopping centres to conferences and visitor centres.”
Gavin Prior, Centre Director for Metrocentre, said: “Customers visiting the centre on Friday can enjoy this one-of-a-kind picture opportunity, all whilst learning about wetlands and nature as a whole. We’re proud to showcase the mural and help to raise awareness of this vital habitat and the work of the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust. We are lucky to have the Washington Wetland Centre in our region and would encourage people to visit and see the wonderful work they do.”
Featuring iconic British species like curlew and kingfishers, otters and dragonflies, this mural is a vision of Britain’s ‘blue recovery’. This is a possible future if Britain chooses to revive its lost wetland ecosystems and invest in creating more wetlands.
Unveiled in one of the UK’s biggest shopping centres, it is hoped that hundreds of people will learn more about wetlands and why they matter. The location is just 10 miles away from WWT Washington visitor centre where you can immerse yourself in real-life weltands and staff will be on hand to tell shoppers what they can see there.
As the mural tours the UK thanks to support from Blue Recovery Leaders Group partners including the Church Commissioners, WWT is calling upon government, business and wider society to help restore and create 100,000 hectares of wetlands in the UK to combat the climate, nature and wellbeing crises.
You can show your support by signing the Wetlands Can! campaign pledge.
Key facts:
- The most recent research shows that the UK has lost around 75% of its wetlands in the last 300 years – half the wetlands in Europe have been lost in the same time period. (Nature)
- Coastal wetlands like the saltmarshes at WWT Steart Marshes store more carbon per hectare than other habitats such as forests. Steart Marshes is burying organic carbon at a rate of approximately 70 tonnes of carbon dioxide (equivalent) per hectare (per year)[ii].
- 22,000 hectares of restored saltmarsh would mean an extra 1.5 megatons of carbon dioxide equivalent per year would be captured and stored2. This is equivalent to taking 770,000 cars off the road for one year.
- Wetlands are among the most biologically diverse places on earth. Every year 200 new species are discovered in freshwater wetlands and 40% of the worlds plants and animals depend on wetlands.
- According to 2022 research data by NFP Synergy CAM
- Rapid carbon accumulation at a saltmarsh restored by managed realignment far exceeds carbon in site construction. Mossman HL, Dunk RM et al. BioRxiv preprint server. 19 October 2021