Adventures to the Wildlife Centre
10 preschool children and 2 adults visited the Montrose Visitor Centre on Thursday 25th April to do a mud study. Alison O’Hara, the head wildlife ranger, met us along with two other rangers, Rachel and Siobhon, and Rachel Stewart, a BBC radio reporter, who was there to learn what the centre had to offer children and youth groups.
We were led down onto the mud where Alison explained what the children were to do and what they could possibly find along the shoreline. The children were to lift the small rocks and look under the seaweed to see if they could find crabs, sea shrimp, worms, sea slaters and various types of shells. The rangers helped the children look for creatures and the reporter asked Alison about the centre and the wildlife that lived in and around the centre and what children could do while visiting the centre. While the children looked for the sea creatures, she asked Barbara about who we were and why we were there. Barbara explained that as part of our Eco Schools activities, “Life under Water”, we were there to explore the shoreline. Rachel asked about what the children got out of the visit and why it was important for them to visit. Rachel listened to what the children had to say and recorded some of their comments. After finding lots of creatures and hearing all about them we were taken back to the centre where the children were shown how to use the binoculars to explore further out on the mud. They could see the raft and the seals. In the children’s hide the children could listen on the phone to different bird calls and learn about the birds that live in the surrounding area.
All the children enjoyed the hands-on experience of holding sea shrimp and small crabs. The were very excited to be able to see the seals through the binoculars.