Historic England and Wessex Archaeology are pleased to announce that the Iona II Dive Trail has been shortlisted for an Association for Heritage Interpretation (AHI) 2015 Discover Heritage Award in the Interpretation for a Target Audience category. The shortlist nomination adds to the growing recognition of Historic England's diver trails. In May 2015 UNESCO recognised the five trails as international examples of best practice for public access.
The Iona II Dive Trail was created, in conjunction with the diving community, to improve diver engagement with protected wrecks and to enable responsible licensed access to the wreck. The trail consists of a range of themed underwater guides to entice divers of varied interests to explore the wreck and learn more about its diverse history. A self-sustaining monitoring scheme also allows divers to actively participate in the ongoing preservation of the wreck. By sharing images and video footage of the wreck in an online forum, changes to the wreck site can be tracked over time which is useful for Historic England’s management of the site. Non-divers can experience the wreck of the Confederate gunrunner Iona II through themed booklets and a detailed website. The Iona II Dive Trail was launched at the beginning of summer 2014 and has already proved popular with divers.
Wessex Archaeology created the dive trail on behalf of Historic England with Appledore Sub Aqua Club, Bristol Channel Divers, Ilfracombe and North Devon Sub Aqua Club, Potters Bar Sub Aqua Club and Severnside Sub Aqua Club. It is an honour for the Iona II Dive Trail to be shortlisted for an AHI 2015 Discover Heritage Award which is a testament to the collaborative team that created this unique interpretation project.
Winners will be announced at the Gala Dinner on 21 October at the AHI conference The Past, Present and Future of Interpretation.
You can find out more about the Iona II dive trail at: http://www.landmarktrust.org.uk/lundyisland/iona-ii-dive-trail/