The Sea Watch Foundation Education Centre was the hive of activity last week hosting 2 school groups and a Skype lesson.
Dolphin spotting on the pier / Isabel Griffiths
Our Education Assistant kicked off the week on Monday by giving a virtual lesson to some of our younger dolphin defenders from MacDuff Primary School up in Scotland! Thanks to the wonders of technology we were able to connect to the children remotely to tell them more about who we are as a charity and hopefully help them learn a little bit more about their adopted dolphin, Lumpy and other wildlife around our coast.
A particular focus of this talk were the threats that our marine life face in the modern world and how these threats are perceived by animals such as dolphins. All the children were very interactive during this part of the talk and demonstrated to Sea Watch their enthusiasm for tackling waste by showing us an incredible model dolphin they had constructed out of used plastic bottles!
A true bottle-nose dolphin! / Ronan Fayne
Later in the week two other schools visited us for a day out in New Quay and combined activities with us and one of our recommended boat operators Dolphin Spotting Boat Trips. Both schools started off indoors with some educational activities such as a dolphin anatomy lesson based on Flint, the dolphin the children had adopted. During this they learnt how we do our research, the differences between large whales and dolphins and the unique adaptations of cetaceans to the underwater world.
It was then time for some fun hands on activities with an interactive stranding demonstration led by Research Intern Isabel Griffiths! During this, the children were able to learn practical skills in how to deal with a cetacean stranding if they were to encounter it in the wild. Problem solving was the main focus of this exercise, aiming to allow the children to experience perhaps the more negative, but no less important, aspects of the marine environment.
Stranding demonstration / Isabel Griffiths
A trip to New Quay wouldn’t be complete without going out on a boat and thankfully the weather didn’t disappoint! A variety of different species were seen during the trip, from Razorbills and Guillemots to Atlantic Grey Seals and of course, dolphins!
It was brilliant to have so many young and enthusiastic people in the centre willing to learn more about our dolphins and asking so many interesting questions! If you want to take part in a school visit or interactive virtual lesson contact us via outreach@seawatchfoundation.org.uk to learn more.
