Shoreham pupils praised for heart-warming contributions to Letter to the Sea project run by the Sea Library in Latvia
A call to people around the world to write a letter to the sea has inspired pupils at Shoreham Beach Primary School to pen their thoughts – and the result is a special exhibition in their honour.
Year-three pupils in Dolphin Class produced a total of 29 letters for the Sea Library in Latvia to help celebrate its seventh anniversary.
Anna Iltnere launched the library in June 2018 to share stories about salt water, sea creatures, adventurous spirits and deep secrets. It has grown into a place of connection, correspondence and care.
On the website sea-library.com Anna shares books as well as regular Letters to the Sea updates. She launched the long-term letters project in May, asking people to write about what the sea means to them, to form an archive of voices in conversation with the sea.
Anna said: "There are moments when you just melt into the warmth of the things happening around you. I received 29 letters from Shoreham Beach Primary School. Soon, I’ll be publishing a special series featuring each of these absolutely wonderful letters."
Teacher Adam Joseph encouraged the pupils in Dolphin Class to write to the Sea Library to express what life by the sea was like for them and what it meant to them.
He said: "They wrote about books they enjoy that are inspired by the sea, their school classes that are named after marine animals and they asked questions about the Sea Library – especially about the resident dog!
"They also described the creatures they see in the area, including the seagulls who always try to steal their chips! The children illustrated their letters with various marine drawings, which were sent all the way to Latvia."
Anna moved to the outskirts of Jūrmala, a coastal city by the Baltic Sea, when she turned 30 and walks the paths to the sea and the river every day.
She said: "I slowly fell in love with the sea. So much that I wanted to read everything about it. All the books gathered in one little room, that soon turned into an open library, a Sea Library. A magical place. I opened the doors in 2018. My life changed.
"There are now more than 1,000 books in the collection. All of them are dedicated to our blue planet: to its waters and inhabitants, to sailors, surfers, and swimmers, to mermaids, dragons and pirates, islands and abysses, lighthouses, and seaside huts.
"Over seven years, the Sea Library has turned into a community-led place that gathers sea lovers from all over the world, both in person and online. All boundaries are fluid like water. There are no rules. It’s not an ordinary library. It was born out of the sea."
Anna is now writing a book, Sea Libraries, about libraries around the world connected to the sea and water in one way or another, due out in June 2028 with Facet Publishing.