Day 12

I arrived on the Silurian bright and early today to help out with the last leg of this 2 week education trip. We will be spending the last three days of the trip carrying out educational workshops with students from Oban High School. On this first day of the visits, although the weather was rather wet we had a great day carrying out a range of actvitites. During the plankton session which I helped to run we had great fun throwing the nets out to catch a sample of plankton and identifying the creatures we caught under the microscope. We found copepods, Daphnia and crab larvae. The children also did sessions with the touch tank and marine mammal acoustics and learnt a bit about the boat and some of the special adaptations of whales and dolphins.

Day 13

Today we had 2 more sessions with Oban High School. Although the weather was wet yet again the children were very enthusiastic. During the plankton activity we found a baby jellyfish, fish larvae and our old favourites the copepods. We also found an unusual worm looking creature with long spines which shone fluorescent green under the light. In the evening from 5 - 8 pm we ran an open boat session which welcomed the people of Oban onto Silurian to look round and find out about the work of the HWDT. We hd a touch tank which was extremely popular with both adults and children who were all really interested and eager to learn about the creatures of the sea around Oban. After a busy and enjoyable day we sampled the local fish and chips which were fantastic.

Day 14

Today was the final day for the education sessions for Oban High School. We had a bright start to the day with Nicole's blueberry muffins, a seal in the harbour and dry weather which was great as it meant we could do the touch tank session outside on deck. In the plankton sessions we found copepods with their egg sacs, barnacle larve andsome diatoms under the highest magnification. By the afternoon the weather was great and we all prepared the boat for our sail back to Tobermory.


Louise Parker, Marine Education Volunteer

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

Days: 3 & 4 Education Trip

Day 3 saw another group of primary school children spending the day on board Silurian. Everyone was enthusiastic from the get go - no doubt engergized by the warmth of the sun and a blue sky! The touch tank proved to be a big hit with a Rock Goby, numerous crabs and even a large sea star (named "Patrick"). The competition was intense during to the shore walk as the kids tried to find as many interesting creatures as they could. We discovered that the beach was absolutely crawling with baby crabs and amphipods not to mention numerous periwinkles and cockles. This group also proved to be particulary adept at catching plankton!



The Silurian crew was also able to enjoy a relaxing afternoon and evening. We took advantage of the sunny weather to walk over to the castle and walk through the wooded trails and along the stone beaches.

Day 4, Wednesday, we traveled from Dunstaffinage to Port Ellen on the Island of Islay (an 11 hour passage). The day dawned cloudy and rainy and we left early so as to have the tides in our favor later in the day. We were able to cut the engine and put up the sails for a brief stretch. But strong winds and rain made for a rough passage through to Port Ellen. Duncan and Brian braved the high seas and succeeded in bringing us safely into the harbor.

Molly, Marine Education Volunteer