• A Home for Marine Life

The most beneficial contribution to the wider environment that rock-pools provide is its ability to be a temporary home for marine life. This is particularly important in areas where natural marine habitats have been damaged or destroyed.

Rock pools can also serve as a nursery for fish and other marine life, providing a place for young creatures to grow and develop. As a result, rock pools can help replenish the populations of various marine species and contribute to the overall health of the ecosystem. Intertidal rock pools are considered critical habitats along coastal shores.

• Filtering Water

A rock-pool is linked to the wider world and to other ecosystems. This link is most apparent in the shape of two tides every day, which change the sea water in the pool and bring in new organisms from the open ocean (as well as allowing others to escape back into the sea). They can help filter and clean water naturally.

By using natural filtration methods such as plants and rocks, rock pools can remove pollutants and debris from the water, creating a cleaner and healthier environment for all living things in the rock-pool.

• Negative Impacts because of Rock-pools

I’ve found no information suggesting that rocks-pools are a negative impact to the environment, only that they are very important to the coastlines, acting as refuge and nurseries for a host of species which in turn can be a source of food for coastal communities.

-tiny but complex ecosystem

-when the tide is in it becomes part of the much larger ocean ecosystem

-limpets stick to rocks using their hard shell to protect them from predators

-oysters close their shells until high tide

-starfish have bony, hard skin to protect themselves

-crabs have a hard exoskeleton to protect them from waves and claws to ward off predators (And change colour with age to help them blend into their surroundings)

-creatures finding a home in a rock pools is a matter of life or death

-during low tide, they tuck themselves into low habitats with the most water

-sea slugs absorb toxins to taste bad to predators

-micro worlds are complex and traumatic places

- Based in Falmouth and Plymouth.

- Not for profit community interest company.

- They have a passion for connecting people of all ages and backgrounds to the wildlife found around our coastline.

- Their website:

They have a lot of online resources available such as blog posts written by team members, they offer expert advise and you can book a guided rock pooling session with an expert, online rock pooling course, bookable rock pooling safaris, virtual rock pooling and information on events in your area.

- They work with schools offering beach trips and mobile rock pool visits.

- Blue recovery project:

Made possible by the national lottery heritage fund, blue recovery aims to connect people with marine wildlife on the Plymouth and Falmouth coasts. It’s a fun, free and exciting project with positive physical and mental health benefits for participants. It engages local residents in discovering, comprehending and protecting their local wildlife and coastline.

- Adults and families have the opportunity to participate in free expert guided rock pooling events, gain citizen science training and enjoy exploring. Partnered with the marine biology association the data collected through public efforts contribute to conservation research.