Environmental education holiday in Scotland
| country: | Scotland |
| location: | Inner Hebrides |
| departures: | Please contact us for departure information |
| price: | From £535 (7 days) excluding flights. Price includes food and accommodation plus all education and yachting training |
the amazing things you'll be doing
As part of the team on our vessel Silurian, you will help us undertake educational visits to schools.
Our visits are aimed at raising awareness of the marine environment, especially cetaceans. We use a combination of visits into schools (by our education team) and marine education workshops onboard Silurian. We involve both primary and high schools of the Argyll and Bute islands and also some coastal mainland schools. Most schools have been involved with this project for the past 4 years and we have received excellent feedback from schools about our visits.
In the spring term of 2007 we will continue our visits with two, week long, education trips with Silurian. On each trip we will travel to an area, moor-up for several days (to allow the school work to occur), then move to another location later in the week to visit another school, before returning ‘home’ to Tobermory.
As a volunteer on an education project we would value your input in the day-to-day boat tasks, would offer you the opportunity to observe some of our work with schools and give you the chance to explore the locations at your leisure. We can point you in the right direction with maps and ideas. Also you will have the chance to observe marine life with experts as we journey through the wonderful scenic Hebridean islands. You never know, we might even get you to help us source some animals for our much loved make shift touch tank or collect plankton samples (and examine them under the microscopes) in preparation for our marine life workshops! There are lots of ways in which we think you can help.
Being involved in running the vessel is an important aspect of projects like this. The project provides an ideal opportunity to learn these skills and the HWDT Skipper is certified with the Royal Yachting Association (RYA) certified instructor so can help those with an interest in sailing.
No specific skills are required however a good grasp of the English language and a willingness to get involved would be helpful. An interest in education work and exploring the Hebrides would stand you in good stead to enjoy this great opportunity.
We also welcome anyone who already has education skills and who wishes to be actively involved with our work. Just let us know about your previous education experience, so that this can be discussed with our Education Officer and planned into the programme several weeks in advance.
Our visits are aimed at raising awareness of the marine environment, especially cetaceans. We use a combination of visits into schools (by our education team) and marine education workshops onboard Silurian. We involve both primary and high schools of the Argyll and Bute islands and also some coastal mainland schools. Most schools have been involved with this project for the past 4 years and we have received excellent feedback from schools about our visits.
In the spring term of 2007 we will continue our visits with two, week long, education trips with Silurian. On each trip we will travel to an area, moor-up for several days (to allow the school work to occur), then move to another location later in the week to visit another school, before returning ‘home’ to Tobermory.
As a volunteer on an education project we would value your input in the day-to-day boat tasks, would offer you the opportunity to observe some of our work with schools and give you the chance to explore the locations at your leisure. We can point you in the right direction with maps and ideas. Also you will have the chance to observe marine life with experts as we journey through the wonderful scenic Hebridean islands. You never know, we might even get you to help us source some animals for our much loved make shift touch tank or collect plankton samples (and examine them under the microscopes) in preparation for our marine life workshops! There are lots of ways in which we think you can help.
Being involved in running the vessel is an important aspect of projects like this. The project provides an ideal opportunity to learn these skills and the HWDT Skipper is certified with the Royal Yachting Association (RYA) certified instructor so can help those with an interest in sailing.
No specific skills are required however a good grasp of the English language and a willingness to get involved would be helpful. An interest in education work and exploring the Hebrides would stand you in good stead to enjoy this great opportunity.
We also welcome anyone who already has education skills and who wishes to be actively involved with our work. Just let us know about your previous education experience, so that this can be discussed with our Education Officer and planned into the programme several weeks in advance.
volunteer travel - what's it all about?
Are you are looking for an adventurous trip with a purpose, or on a gap year or career break? If you want to make a difference in some of the world’s most important conservation areas - and in community projects - then volunteer trips are for you! Volunteers tend to have a sense of adventure, and come from a range of different backgrounds and from all over the world. Edward Abbey said 'sentiment without action is the ruin of the soul'.
how this holiday makes a difference
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We undertake a wide range of research activities focusing largely on the common species such as harbour porpoise, minke whale, bottlenose dolphin and basking sharks. We utilise many survey platforms including our research vessel, Silurian, RIBs (Rigid Inflatable Boats), ferries and also land based sites.
Another of our areas of work is the promotion of the sustainable use of the marine environment. In the past, mans uses of large oceanic species have often been exploitative (e.g. whaling and shark finning). We are now seeing a growing interest in wildlife tourism globally and the diverse range of Scottish habitats and species here make Scotland one of the prime nature destinations in Europe.  Our ultimate aim is to ensure that cetacean populations of the west coast of Scotland are conserved into future generations. By increasing our knowledge about whales, dolphins and porpoises and their environment and passing that on to others, we will be in a strong position to protect the animals from these and other threats which have proved so devastating elsewhere.We aim to generate a wider understanding of the ecology of the marine and coastal environments of the Hebrides, particularly those of the Argyll islands. By raising public awareness through education we hope to help safeguard these marine environments and maintain their biodiversity. This should also ensure that this area is preserved for future generations of Hebridean residents and visitors. Our “floating classroom” the 60 foot yatch Silurian is designed to travel to schools and groups in the Argyll area and let children and adults come on board to experience life on a research vessel and participate in workshops specially designed to cater for each particular group. We also provide on shore workshops and talks with boat or without the boat. We organise excursions outside the classroom along the shore or into the woods where we can cover a range of related topics. In Tobermory we have our Marine Discovery Centre where anyone is welcome to come in at any time to find out more about the marine environment and the cetaceans which live around the Hebrides. We also help arrange and participate in Beach Cleans around the coast of Mull. This enables the community to get together and help improve the environment at the same time. |
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