Exploring the Cool Seas

Monday 07 March 2011

Surprised pupils got a fish-eye view of some of the UK's biggest sea creatures today - when several specimens turned up in the Sports Hall!

The Cool Seas Roadshow, run by the Marine Conservation Society, visited us for a day, complete with life-size inflatable models of dolphins, porpoise, turtles, seals, a hungry basking shark and an enormous eight-metre long pilot whale.

The presentation introduced the children to some of Britain's largest creatures and the complex eco-systems that they rely on, as well as explaining the threats and dangers to marine wildlife from pollution, litter, fishing and global warming. Pupils then had an opportunity to touch and handle the inflatables, and explore the shark's gullet - from the inside!

'It's really important for our pupils to understand the impact that they can have, positively or negatively, on their world', said teacher Alison Phillips, who arranged the visit, 'and we run events like Cool Seas to help them think about the consequences of the everyday things they do. Today they've learned that even a simple action like flushing a cotton bud down a toilet or releasing a helium balloon can end up harming sea life - seemingly small, but with a large, and potentially devastating, effect.'

The Roadshow fits well within Longvernal's new Outdoor Learning curriculum which puts an emphasis on understanding and caring for the natural world and practical ecology. 'We want all our children to value our planet and experience its diversity close-up', says Headteacher Jane Richardson. 'And you don't get more hands-on with a whale than Cool Seas!'