Darwin200 Conservation Project

On Tuesday, four of our Year 8 pupils from our eco-team were given the amazing opportunity of participating in a live lecture, via the internet, on the impact of plastic pollution on marine life.

The event involved a live broadcast by conservationist Stewart Macpherson from Bass Rock (a Scottish island which hosts one of the most important seabird breeding sites in Europe) and was followed by a Q and A session, in which our pupils were able to directly ask their own questions to Stewart on the effects of plastic pollution on the seabird colonies.  The pupils really enjoyed the experience and are already thinking about how we can help in reducing plastic pollution of the sea.

The live lecture is part of a global conservation project, Darwin200, whose progress we as a school are hoping to follow throughout the academic year.  The project plans to harness the legacy of Charles Darwin by retracing his voyage onboard HMS Beagle on a tall ship and hopes to become the most exciting classroom throughout its 2-year voyage.  The aim of the project is to inspire conservationists of the future through involvement of schools and organisations via the internet, as well as providing hands on training for young conservationists of the future.

We would like to thank one of our Pre-Prep parents, Mrs Butler, for enabling our school to take part in the live lecture and hope to participate in further events as we follow Darwin200.  You can follow the project too with updates live from the ship: https://darwin200.com/live-from-the-ship/  or watch the live lecture from Tuesday here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M8IEtsbNl6o