Carradale school trip on survey boat

On Thursday 15th May the children and staff from Carradale School climbed on a coach and went to Campbeltown. There they were met by members of the Kintyre Coastal Network and joined the survey boat owned and run by the Community of Arran Seabed Trust (COAST).

The survey vessel had been brought over from Arran to give the children experience of Marine Surveys. The children went out in two groups (with the other group visiting the Town Museum) to engage in some citizen science. Following a briefing from the skipper we set out from the pontoon with the morning group being taken out of the harbour and a little to the north and the afternoon group being taken south of Davaa Island. On the way we saw gannets fishing and seals swimming.

The surveys were carried out on location using a submersible ROV where we could see the bottom on a screen and watch for animals such as starfish in amongst the colourful seaweeds. The crew also demonstrated an underwater camera with us again being able to monitor the pictures from the boat.

While re-entering the harbour the crew put a plankton dragnet over the side and collected samples of plankton which we could examine using magnifying glasses. We also carried out a water clarity check using a disc with a weight dropped over the side on a long tape. The distance the disc had sunk when it disappeared was noted.

A brilliant day was had by all involved.

Our grateful thanks go to all on the COAST team for giving the children and us this wonderful experience.