Pupils help scientists map marine life
18 March 2017
Western Isles pupils are joining scientists from two universities in a national marine research project.
Data collected will help create a map of where key marine animals – known as zooplankton – are found in west coast waters.
The initiative -
Scientists are visiting Daliburgh School in South Uist and are providing children in P6 and P7 with kits to help them study marine life around the Uist coastline.
Pupils will construct their own plankton nets to catch sea creatures, and identify them using smart phone microscopes and guides supplied in each kit.
Similar kits are being supplied free to 50 primary schools across the Hebrides and
west coast islands on a first-
Edinburgh University and Heriot-
The project also gives children, parents and teachers access to online resources to submit their research findings.
“The data that is collected by these children will be added to our national research, which is really exciting,” said Laurence de Clippele, a marine science PhD student at the university
Dr Sebastian Hennige, of Edinburgh University’s School of GeoSciences, said: “This is a chance for the kids on Scotland’s islands to find out how scientists make discoveries, and actually help us find out exactly which beasties are living off the coast of each island.”
Scientists are providing children in P6 and P7 with kits to help them study marine life around the Uist coastline.
Pupils will construct their own plankton nets to catch sea creatures, and identify them using smart phone microscopes and guides supplied in each kit.