The diet of a Leatherback Turtle and the truth about the sharks were amongst the many facts learnt by classes at St John’s Primary School last Friday (10th July) when the Cool Seas Roadshow came to town.
The Roadshow, which has been developed by the UK’s Marine Conservation Society, has been a regular visitor to the Island in the last 3-4 years, taking in several primary schools in one trip.
In co-operation with the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, its ‘star cast’ of life sized inflatable marine creatures has also been a popular feature at the Queenie Festival and at this year’s Manx Food Fayre (6th July).
‘Cool Seas’, which is also supported by the Save Our Seas Foundation, a global marine conservation initiative, aims to foster awareness and knowledge of our marine environment – and the threats it faces - in children and young people.
With the talk content carefully tailored to suit different age groups, and a wealth of striking and imaginative visual aids, the roadshow has made a strong impression on the Island’s schoolchildren.
At St John’s School, speaker Andy Starbuck kept his audience fascinated as he described the biology, behaviour and feeding habits of sea creatures to be found in the British Isles, from Plankton to cetaceans (whales, dolphins and porpoises).
He explained the way in which the food chain connects all sea life and how harmful human activity affects the links in that chain.
Addressing some of the stereotypes about sharks – which are annually killed in their millions for sport and profit - he emphasised that ‘sharks do not eat people’ and told the children that more people are killed per annum by falling coconuts than by shark attacks!
The Cool Seas inflatable models (Basking Shark, Bottlenose Dolphin, Harbour Porpoise, Grey Seal and pup, Leatherback Turtle, Minke Whale and Great White Shark) helped the children to visualise some of the creatures under discussion, while their imagination – for instance, when asked to consider that a Blue Whale is twice the size of the school sports hall - did the rest!
Particularly popular was an exercise in which Andy asked two children to be ‘conservation workers’, protecting turtle eggs as they hatch and attempt to reach the sea.
Addressing the issue of marine pollution, Andy urged the audience not to drop litter, and to recycle as much household waste as possible, by showing them how it can harm and kill seabirds, turtles and other marine life.
From their intelligent questions, it was clear that the children were engaged by what they had heard. To support the Roadshow, the Marine Conservation leaves educations pamphlets and books at the school for the children to study, and suggests projects they might like to undertake in class.
The Wildlife and Conservation division of DAFF follows up the Cool Seas Roadshow by gathering feedback from all the participating schools, and has also arranged for the Roadshow to return to the Island in the run-up to the Basking Shark Conference (3rd - 6th August 2009).
'A Celebration of Basking Sharks - Educational Activities' takes place from 31st July to 2nd August at the Erin Arts Centre, Port Erin. For more details, contact Erin Arts Centre: www.erinartscentre.com
Pictured: Andy Starbuck of the Marine Conservation Society, flanked by Great White and Basking Shark models.
www.mcsuk.org
www.saveourseas.com
