The Marine Wildlife Champions Beach Conference is being organised by Wembury Marine Centre, which overlooks one of Devon’s most popular beaches and most wildlife rich rocky shores. The beach and rocky shore, which are five miles to the east of Plymouth, will be the focus of the outdoor event which is aimed at raising the profile of marine conservation.

Wembury Marine Centre is run by Devon Wildlife Trust. Experts from the charity’s Wilder Learning Team will be joined on the day by others from the Ocean Conservation Trust. Together they’ll work with Marine Wildlife Champions – pupils drawn from schools including Old Priory, Wembury and Sparkwell Primaries, UTC Plymouth and Brook Green Centre for Learning.

The conference will see experts and students working together at a series of outdoor workshops and activities which will include rockpooling, stream dipping and climate change themed sessions.

Devon Wildlife Trust’s Coral Smith manages the Wembury Marine Centre. Coral says:  

“We are really pleased to be welcoming school groups back to Wembury Beach, especially after the long moths of COVID-19, which made outdoor education trips very difficult.  We are also really excited to be working with colleagues from Devon Wildlife Trust and the Ocean Conservation Trust to enthuse and engage the next generation of Marine wildlife Champions in South Devon!”
 

Coral Smith says:

“We can’t wait for schools to start using this resource pack and begin to integrate ‘ocean literacy’ into their curricula, as well as learning about and appreciating the amazing marine wildlife we have right here on our doorstep.  Most importantly though, we hope this pack will help pupils and teachers work together to take practical action to raise awareness of our fragile oceans and encourage everyone to protect and safeguard them for the future.”

The Wildlife Champions Beach Conference and resource pack have been supported by South West Water. Customer Service Director, Jo Ecroyd, said:

“We’re excited that students will be able to start using the new marine education resource packs and can come together to be inspired about the wonders of the marine environment.

“We play a vital role in protecting the natural environment but we can’t do it alone. Partnerships like this provide a great platform to collectively raise awareness and encourage people to play their part in protecting the natural environment.”

The resource pack and more details about the work of Wembury Marine Centre can be found at www.wemburymarinecentre.org