“Sighting!…No…Exciting!”
Our popular floating classroom school visits provide primary school children the opportunity to jump aboard our research vessel, Silurian, experiencing what it’s like to live and work as a marine mammal scientist.
Thanks to our generous funders, The Waterfall Fund and Baillie Gifford, this April we were able to visit schools across Mull for the first time in 10 years.
“Great engagement. Good thought put into how to link to the curriculum. Enthusiastic and engaging leaders. ”
The trip started, with sunny skies and calm seas, a real treat for the team after a few weeks of rain and wind. As the team set sail for their first stop of the week - Iona - they deployed the hydrophone and set up the rota for the regular 15 minute listening station, determined to collect as much data as possible along the way. This determination was rewarded almost straight away, when a pod of approx. 12 dolphins were spotted in the distance by our eagle eyed Skipper, Emma. As the dolphins approached, the excitement grew as they were identified as bottlenose dolphins, the first bottlenose sighting onboard Silurian for our Education and Sightings officer, Sadie.
As the pod swam around the boat, the team worked hard to gather as many photo ID images as possible, with a few well marked individuals in the pod and several calves spotted, the team are hopeful the images will be good enough to make a match with our bottlenose dolphin ID catalogue.
With spirits high and a busy week ahead, the team prepared themselves and the boat to welcome almost 100 children, teachers and member of the local community aboard Silurian.
Day one of school visits saw the Iona pupils catching a ferry to Mull and a short bus journey to Bendoran Slip, where Silurian was safely anchored. After a short tender ride the pupils were soon aboard, ready to start exploring.
After finding their way around the boat, the pupils were split into two groups; one group heading down to the Science Station, while the other went above deck to watch out. At the Science Station, they discovered why and how whales and dolphins use sound, to communicate and echolocate for hunting and navigation, and why busier and nosier seas can be a challenge for these animals. The best part for the pupils was hearing all the different sounds animals make underwater, with one pupil finding the chatty nature of bottlenose dolphins to be very similar to that of their friend.
“I learnt so much. I never knew that shrimp made such an interesting noise. ”
“My friend could be a bottlenose dolphin. She is very chatty, just like them!”
“I want to work here when I’m 15...not 16. I can’t wait that long. I loved being strapped to the mast and calling SIGHTINNG!”
After a busy first day, the crew tucked into a well earned meal prepared by First Mate, Zoë. After which, Education Volunteer, Nici, pulled out her trustee game, HeckMeck, which she’d introduced to the crew during last years floating classroom. With the aim of the game to collect as many worms as possible to earn points, the competitiveness that had started last year, soon returned.
The next morning, the crew rose to a sunny, but windy day, so the decision was made to move Silurian to the more sheltered location of Bunessan Pier. After making their way across on the tender, the Bunessan pupils took no time getting stuck in with all the activities.
While exploring the boat, hunting down everything on their list, the pupils spotted the chart of the west coast, with some eagle-eyed pupils pointing out not only Mull, but the exact location Silurian was anchored. While other pupils enjoyed sitting at the chart table, pretending to be the skipper filling in the details of the day in the logbook. Up on deck, while learning how we watch out for whales and dolphins, one pupil proved to be an expert at estimating distances, with his guess of 60 metres being just 1 metre out!
“I like finding the map on the treasure hunt and pointing to Bunessan Bay where the boat was.”
“I liked pretending to be the skipper and filling in the log book. ”
“I liked doing the measurements. I guessed the pretend killer whale was 60 metres away and he was 59... I won the prize for best measurement. ”
To finish the day, Education Officer, Sadie and Education Volunteer, Nici, took to dry land to visit the P1s at Bunessan School, to introduce them to some of the animals they may see in their area, including bringing along a very special guest, Paddy the Porpoise.
After learning the names of some common species and what sounds they make, the group went outside to find out just how big these magnificent animals are and how many of them would make up each animal. The session ended with the pupils racing Sadie in a 30m blue whale race across their playground, which of course the pupils won, with Sadie coming in last.
“A great experience to get onboard and understand the importance of the research.”
The crew set sail for Ulva, with Education Volunteer, Andy and Sadie taking it in turns at the helm. The anchorage at Ulva was beautiful, with the view of Ulva, Inch Kenneth and Little Colonsay, as well as lots of skerries, which Emma and Sadie were just itching to explore on their paddleboards.
The next morning, before setting sail, Emma and Sadie, took some time to explore the skerries and do some yoga, in the beautifully calm and sheltered position of the anchorage. Once back on the water, all eyes were on the sea as we passed the Treshnish Isles, hoping for their first puffin sighting of the year. After hours of watching, they finally spotted their first puffin, which was soon followed by 5 more!
That evening in Tobermory, the crew prepared for their last open boat event of the week. Welcoming aboard 23 very engaged and enthusiastic people from the local area, including, a potential new Whale Track volunteer. The crew would like to thank everyone who came to both open boat events for their interest, support and enthusiasm for the work we do.
The day ended with a very special visitor to the boat. Camper Cat Kenny came for her third visit to Silurian, having been aboard when she was only 5 weeks old, now almost 2 years old, she decided to take part in the explore Silurian activity that the pupils had been doing all week, even choosing her favourite bed.
Whilst in Tobermory, the crew welcomed aboard pupils from Dervaig and Tobermory Schools. Exploring the boat, the pupils learnt about the hydrophone and how it works as an underwater microphone, recording continuously while being towed behind the boat.
Meanwhile the Tobermory pupils, showed good memories from their last visit to Silurian, as they recalled how many pumps were required to flush the toilet and where the secret stash of biscuits were kept. Though they did find a previously undiscovered area, while hunting down the anchor locker, with one pupil having a go at climbing into the locker and seeing where the anchor chain is stored. In the Science Station, they were able to see what the sounds recorded on the hydrophone looked like on the acoustic computer and learnt how sound travels underwater.
The final day of visits took us to Salen. Thanks to the generosity of Salen Pier Holidays, Silurian came alongside and the crew welcomed the final two groups from Ulva and Lochdonhead Schools. After carefully navigating the ladder down from the pier to Silurian, the pupils eagerly took part in all the activities, with several pupils enjoying the experience of being on a boat and one pupil eager to come back and volunteer when they are older.
As we sailed back to Tobermory after a busy week, we reflected on everything we had delivered and the experiences offered to almost 90 pupils and teachers. The sessions aimed to give the pupils a glimpse into what it is like to live and work on board a whale research yacht, including the different roles of both staff and volunteers who participate in research expeditions, learning basic nautical terminology, experiencing how we monitor acoustics and learning how to conduct visual surveys.
“I want to come back and volunteer on the boat when I’m older!”
“I love being on a boat...it makes me feel calm....”
“I liked being on the tender, I love the smell of the engine!”
“I really enjoyed looking around the boat. I think the design of the fridge and freezer is really clever.”
“I really liked listening to the porpoise, it sounded different to the other species. ”
“I liked listening to the acoustics, the minke whale sounded like a heart beat.”
“This was a wonderful experience for the children, we are very lucky to have this resource so easily available to us. ”
We finished the week doing a photoshoot with posters from Brentwood County High School pupils, who took part in a poster competition about the impact of plastic pollution on whales and dolphins. Great work! The posters are fantastic and we enjoyed looking at each unique design.
We would like to extend a warm thanks to Tobermory Harbour and Salen Pier Holidays for hosting us.
A big thanks to everyone else who made it possible, including our fantastic crew, Emma, Zoë, Andy and Nici.
Special thanks to our funders, The Waterfall Fund and Baillie Gifford whose support enabled us to inspire the next generation of conservationists.
