Spotlighting nature-positive coastlines
Wild Spaces Episode 5 is now showing in cinemas across the UK as part of the Wild Spaces partnership with Pearl & Dean.
The latest short film takes audiences to Staithes, a historic coastal village within the North York Moors National Park, where an innovative project is transforming how we think about coastal protection and marine conservation.
Reimagining our concrete coast
Episode 5 shines a light on the Concrete Coast project, led by the Yorkshire Marine Nature Partnership (YMNP). The initiative challenges the idea that sea walls and coastal defences are lifeless structures, instead revealing how they can be redesigned to support rich marine ecosystems.
Working alongside ecologists, designers and local partners, the team in Staithes is demonstrating that infrastructure can do more than protect communities from erosion and rising seas – it can actively help nature recover and thrive.
Small interventions, big impact
One of the most exciting developments featured in the film is the installation of rockpools and refugia tiles along the Staithes waterfront. These carefully designed features mimic natural habitats, creating vital refuge for marine species such as barnacles, limpets and small fish.
Rockpools retain water during low tide, while textured tiles provide shelter and surfaces for marine life to attach and grow. Early signs are already promising, with biodiversity increasing as nature begins to reclaim these enhanced coastal structures.
People at the heart of the project
Wild Spaces #5 also highlights that this work is about more than physical change. Community involvement is central to the Concrete Coast project, connecting people with the shorelines they live alongside and helping to build long-term stewardship of the marine environment.
By combining science, design and local engagement, the project offers a hopeful vision for how coastal communities and nature can adapt together.
Wild Spaces: an award-winning partnership
Wild Spaces is a ground-breaking cinema initiative from National Parks Partnerships and cinema advertising partner Pearl & Dean, created by DIVE and MG OMD. It combines the power of storytelling and cinema-going with tangible support for nature restoration projects across the UK’s 15 National Parks.
Since its launch, the initiative has already been recognised in the sponsorship and sustainability space for its innovative approach — blending conservation impact with cinema media — and continues to set a new standard for purpose-led partnerships. The partnership won at the 2025 Campaign UK Ad Net Zero Awards and is shortlisted for the 2026 European Sponsorship Association (ESA) Awards for ‘Environmentally Sustainable Sponsorship’.
To date, the Wild Spaces episodes have reached over 18 million cinema goers nationwide, bringing nature-positive storytelling into mainstream audiences and helping broaden public engagement with National Parks vital work.
To discover more about the series and explore all Wild Spaces films, visit yourwildspaces.com.