Explorers Education Team Provides Successful Seashore Education Course in Wicklow

Twenty-five primary school teachers recently completed an intensive five-day marine education Continuing Professional Development (CPD) course, the first of its kind in Wicklow, delivered by the Marine Institute's Explorers Education Programme and Blackrock Education Support Centre. This highly sought-after training equipped educators with innovative methods to teach children about seashore marine species, environmental impacts, and climate change solutions.

Patricia Orme, Director of Corporate Services, Marine Institute, commended the Explorers team for the successful Wicklow course, noting its significance alongside impactful programs in Galway, Kerry, and West Cork. "We are delighted to see the Explorers training continuing to provide teachers with the tools needed to integrate marine themes into teaching methods, especially with this new course on the East Coast at Brittas Bay, Wicklow," Ms. Orme stated.

Brittas Bay Mixed National School, recently awarded the Explorers Ocean Champions national award, proudly hosted the CPD workshop. This offered a unique platform to showcase the value of integrating seashore learning and local outdoor environments into the curriculum, providing teachers with valuable insights into their marine surroundings.

Imelda Burke, a teacher at Brittas Bay Mixed National School and course participant, expressed her enthusiasm: “Many teachers cited this as one of the best courses they’ve attended, finding it inspirational to finish the school year at the beach with the Explorers team. The ocean offers immense benefits, fostering wellbeing and inspiring our community to value our marine environment.” 

She added, "We particularly enjoyed the fun, innovative teaching methods and fantastic marine-themed resources, crucial for marine themed school projects about diverse marine topics from ocean energy to marine species like sharks, sea-turtles and squid. It was great to also learn about Explorers/BlueLightS initiative that focuses on engaging children with community initiatives creating environmental and climate change solutions.

Mona McCrea, lead tutor for the Explorers Education Programme, thanked Blackrock Education Centre for their support. She highlighted the course's success: “Each day was different, packed with activities for both classroom and outdoor settings. There were always exciting surprises on shore, offering unique learning opportunities about our local environment and native marine species, including sightings of a bobtail squid, sand eel, and a smooth hound shark!”

Beyond Wicklow, the Explorers Education Programme successfully conducted three other five-day CPD courses via Education Support Centres in Galway, West Cork, and Tralee-Kerry, further expanding outdoor marine education opportunities for teachers.

Teachers can also access the Explorers Education Programme’s online course, “Explore the Seashore - Creative Curricular Learning & Skills Development,” offered by Mayo Education Support Centre. Registration is open until August 20th, with the course running until August 22nd, featuring engaging activities like short films, arts and crafts, and creative writing to make marine learning enjoyable.

The Explorers Education Programme is funded by the Marine Institute and has been delivering marine-themed modules to classes for nearly 20 years.  The Explorers outreach team brings together scientists, teachers, outreach teams and communities together, inspiring the education network to create marine leaders and ocean champions. For further information: www.explorers.ie

ENDS

Media contact:
Cushla Dromgool-Regan
Strategic Education and Communications Manager
(Marine Institute's Explorers Education Programme)
Camden Education
Mobile: + 353 (0) 87 9185519
Email: cushla.dromgoolregan@thecamdentrust.org
Website: www.explorers.ie

Photographer: Cushla Dromgool-Regan