First anniversary blog

12 January 2026

From the moment we, Belinda and Duncan, first sketched out the idea for The Protected Areas Foundation, we hoped it could become something very practical and very human. A way to back the communities who are already fighting for their seas, whilst helping the UK government to actually deliver on its commitment to protect 30% of land and seas by 2030 (“30×30”). A year on from first creating The PAF, it feels both exciting and a little humbling to pause and look at what has grown from that first conversation. We have launched publicly, welcomed new people into the team, awarded our first grants, co-delivered our first tools with communities and are now getting ready to take coastal voices to Holyrood, all in our first twelve months together.

Our first year together

We created The PAF to help coastal communities access the skills, networks and finance they need to look after marine protected areas (MPAs) in ways that work for people and nature, based on international best practice. Over this first year, that intention has started to come alive as we’ve travelled, listened and begun working alongside communities and collaborators around the UK’s seas. Our launch event during London climate Action Week was a real milestone: a room full of community leaders, conservation practitioners, entrepreneurs and funders talking honestly about how to transform our degraded marine environments and “paper parks” to living, well managed marine places supporting thriving enterprises. Hearing so many people share their experiences reinforced our desire to help and validated where we can be most useful, from capacity building and sustainable finance to supporting fairer, shared governance of MPAs.

Working with coastal organisations

One of the greatest privileges of this first year has been getting to know many inspiring marine organisations and beginning to walk alongside them. Our contacts include the Community of Arran Seabed Trust (COAST), Ullapool Sea Savers, Edinburgh Shoreline, Dive & Sea Hebrides, the Coastal Communities Network and Fauna & Flora in Scotland, each bringing a different perspective on how community-led MPAs can thrive. Together they span youth action, seabed restoration, urban shoreline projects, community engagement, knowledge sharing and national policy work, giving us a much richer picture of what is happening in Scotland and beyond. We are also beginning to learn about locally-led work in England, including the amazing work being done in Studland Bay around seagrass beds, seahorses and anchoring by The National Trust and others.

Day to day, our work with these collaborators has included sharing ideas, co-designing tools, helping tell their stories and exploring how grants could underpin longer term stewardship of their marine areas. We have also participated in community-focused roundtables and events and started to knit together a more connected community of MPA practitioners who can learn from us and from one another.

Growing our small team

This year our small team has grown, which has changed the energy in a very positive way. Welcoming Dr Kat Bruce and Will Tingle has brought new skills, new questions and a lot of enthusiasm for what The PAF can become. Kat’s background in biodiversity science and nature technology and Will’s experience in storytelling and engagement complement the lived experiences and networks Belinda and Duncan bring from years in marine conservation and protected areas.

Working together, we are starting to feel like a team that can hold both the big picture vision and the very practical realities of community‑ led MPAs. We share a common deep care for our special coastal places, our marine life and the people who call them home.

What comes next

A key part of our work is showing the connection between grassroots community action at their local marine protected area and the marine conservation policies and ambitions of our governments. This is to ensure we collectively work towards co-governance of marine protected areas which is effective, socially just and adequately resourced into the longer-term. Our event at the Scottish Parliament in January with stakeholders from across government, communities, statutory nature conservation bodies and NGOs will highlight “Community 30×30” as a social regeneration opportunity.

We will be engaging more deeply and broadly with community groups across England and Scotland next year, and can’t wait to see how this new Community MPA network develops and how these communities and their special areas around the UK coast can be supported to thrive into the future. Stay tuned to learn how we fare! And if you can support our work in any way, we would love to hear from you.