Day 6

Having collected a variety of small crabs and other shore life and being kindly given some crabs and starfish by a local fisherman we set off for day 1 of the Argyll and Bute Regional Educational Environmental Forum (ABREEF). The first day was for the local primary school children and a variety of groups had displays and activities to make learning about the environment and conservation interesting and fun. It was very hectic as class after class spent time with us talking about whales and dolphins, visiting the touch tank and finding tiny creatures in our plankton sample. We were constantly busy but it was great fun as we got to meet so many enthusiastic children who already knew alot about their environment but were keen to learn more. At the end of the day we returned all the touch tank creatures back to the spots where we collected them including the plankton! I did get few interesting looks as I walked down the main street of Bowmore in the rain with a tank full of plankton filled seawater to put back in the sea but I wasn't going to break my promise to the children to put them back where I got them from!

Day 7

After a very bumpy night in what we were told was gale force 8 winds we set off for day 2 of the ABREEF which was open to the public. It was pretty busy all day and I spent most of the day having a brillant time making origami whales with the visiting children (and some adults too)! We met lots of interesting people, both visitors and other groups at ABREEF, then it was back to the boat to hide from the continuing bad weather. Despite the strong winds and rain we had a cosy and relaxing evening on the boat.

Day 8

Day Off!! I woke to the fabulous smells of Nicole and Molly cooking us a traditional American breakfast -- the homemade cinnamon bread is out of this world. The sun is shining, the sea is calm, the island is beautiful -- is this the same windswept, rainsoaked freezing place?? We go for a walk around the island and end up on a deserted beach with the waves lapping. Fabulous.


Day 9

The morning is spent with more students from Bowmore High School showing them the various creatures we have found including a spiny lobster (which we would have liked to have caught but was given to us by a friendly fisherman) and talking to them about acoustics, noise pollution and marine litter. In the evening we had an open boat to show people round and explain what we do, how we do it and why. We had plenty of interest including Lorna, a very enthusiastic Bowmore student who we hope to see again as a volunteer in the future.

Tommorrow we set sail for Oban leaving behind Islay which has been both wild and wonderful.



Susan Foley, Marine Education Volunteer