Coastlands

One of Sefton's greatest assets is its 22 miles of natural coast. A designated Special Area of Conservation, it contains rare species of animals and plants along its sand dunes and woodlands.

Ashleigh Panther investigates the natural and man-made threats to this wildlife haven, as well as the efforts being made to preserve it.

She talks to Dave Mercer, Senior Reserve Manager at Ainsdale Sand Dunes National Nature Reserve, who describes the management of the sand dune system, as well as flora and fauna, including the Natterjack toad.

She also hears from Cath Johnston, Environment and Energy Manager at Merseyrail, about their strategies to support the local environment — and in particular about the re-development of Ainsdale Station, which will be the first 'eco station' on Merseyside.

Ashleigh finally attends the 2015 Sefton Eco Champion Awards, which took place at the Ramada Hotel in Southport in July. These awards, organised by Southport Eco Centre, recognise young people from across the borough who go the extra mile to support their local environment and communities. The work being devised and executed by all of the entrants is innovative, inspiring and effective.

Part of the Coastlands project: six documentaries about the Sefton coast.

Created by Ashleigh Panther.

Supported by Arts Council England and The Hemby Trust.

"Wistful contemplation of the sea." "Council bullied into buying scrap." Antony Gormley's Another Place provokes diverse opinion. So what is the value of public art in Sefton?

Through the fictionalised narrative of a pirate radio station, manned by a local with serious spleen against the Iron Men, Phil Montgomery looks for answers.

We follow pupils from Forefield Junior School, in Crosby, who undertook a project to make a musical composition inspired by Another Place. As the Iron Men arrived on Crosby Beach before the pupils were even born, they offer a unique perspective on the artwork and how we can interact with it. They also discuss how they might feel if they had never met the Iron Men — if, indeed, they had moved on to 'another place' as originally planned.

We also canvassed the internet's views on the installation — which, in some respects, marks quite a contrast with the children's experiences.

Meanwhile, at the radio station, another drama is unfolding...

To capture the raw nature of a pirate station, the final version of this piece was recorded by broadcasting the finished track to an unused FM frequency, then re-recording it 'as live' through an actual radio set.

Formby isn't all squirrels and Waitrose. There is a sacred sound here that connects us to our ancestors — as well as to each other. For many, the coast holds an ancient, transcendent wisdom.

Chelsea Bassnett sets out to discover the spiritual side of Formby by joining Suzie Price, founder of Sacred Sound Journeys. Suzie uses sound as a healing tool, capturing its therapeutic and meditative qualities to induce nurturing, relaxing and blissful experiences for participants.

Chelsea partakes in a 'gong bath' in Formby Scout Hut, as well as a beautiful earth chant on Formby beach. Suzie also talks about the palliative power of sound in pain clinics, helping to relieve the physical and mental stresses of illness.

Ultimately, we are given a love letter to the Sefton coast and to Formby beach: a place of tranquility and possibilities that we can happily call home.

Part of the Coastlands project: six documentaries about the Sefton coast.

Created by Chelsea Bassnett.

Supported by Arts Council England and The Hemby Trust.

This is the documentary that started with a man from the Church of England shouting at us, and ended with police involvement.

Writer and journalist, Helen Stenson, investigates Sefton's spooks. She meets Steven Tucker, author of Paranormal Merseyside, and learns about local legends such as Old Trash — the demon dog of Formby, and Teresa Higginson — a religious fanatic from Bootle who believed she was persecuted by the Devil.

She also talks to the former owner of a house in Altcar, who was moved to have the place exorcised — twice — due to violent poltergeist activity.

And whilst a polite enquiry to the warden of a church in Sefton about its history yielded only being yelled at, feedback from the internet produced a far more interesting story: current and historical occurences of flashing lights at the abandonded Seaforth Radar Tower.

Then things got really weird. Helen went AWOL. The police were involved. Her tapes were recovered. And then the whole thing was pieced together by Rebecca Downing, resulting in the piece we hear now.

Part of the Coastlands project: six documentaries about the Sefton coast.

Created by Helen Stenson and Rebecca Downing.

Supported by Arts Council England and The Hemby Trust.

A cab is like a confessional: passengers tell drivers things they wouldn't tell a priest. And now you can join a ride through Southport, from one dawn to the next, hearing what the cabbie hears, seeing what the cabbie sees.

From candyfloss to clubbers, and businesswomen to bartenders, Southport is a place of contrasts. Its culture and character shifts with the sun. We hear from night-shift nurses and go behind the scenes at Beales. We discover how a fast food restaurant feeds a hungry town. We hear from tourists who return year by year. And then, when the sun sets and the shutters go down, we hear from clubbers and bartenders while the music throbs.

This piece's creator, Joseph Rynhart, also looks into the history of Southport, from its Victorian pomp to its contemporary renewal. He talks to Jane Little-Smith, Community Development Officer at King's Gardens, about their re-development and symbiotic relationship with the town. And then meets Mark Catherall, dubbed Sefton Council's 'tourism boss' by the Southport Visiter, to hear about the tourist economy and efforts towards retail renaissance.

Forget Delta, forget Uber: this is 24 Hours in Southport.

Part of the Coastlands project: six documentaries about the Sefton coast.

The Litherland Running Man is a local phenomenon. A mystery athlete who has captured the imagination of the Liverpool borough of Sefton's residents with his daily, half-clothed, all-weather running regime.

But what begins as a roadtrip to find the phantom marathon man emerges as something more significant: a journey through a peculiar kind of fandom. Because the Litherland Running man has become a social media icon, with legions of spottings and theories posted online.

Emmey talks to Dr Nedim Hassan, Senior Lecturer in Media and Cultural studies at Liverpool John Moores University, to learn more about fandom, culture and identity, and how this applies to the creative mythology that has arisen around the Litherland Running Man.

And as the roadtrip around south Sefton reaches its climax, things come to a head at The Netherton pub...

Part of the Coastlands project: six documentaries about the Sefton coast.