THE Scottish Seabird Centre will host its first ever marine festival, beginning later this month, in a bid to raise awareness of Scotland’s marine environment and the pressures it is facing.
The conservation and education charity, which has now reopened to the public, will see its two-week Marine Fest kick off on May 31, with a programme of events including workshops, live science shows, rockpool rambles, bird identification walks, beach cleans, puppet shows and sand sculpting.
Susan Davies, Scottish Seabird Centre chief executive, said: “As climate change warms our oceans and threatens the basis of all life, our conservation and education work is now more important than ever.
“The climate crisis is one of the most challenging issues to address but there are steps everyone can take individually, or in our communities, that can help reduce the overall pressures on our marine environment and seabirds.
“At the Scottish Seabird Centre, we help people to understand some of the things they can do to address this, we explain marine science, prompt ideas and motivate people to make their own behavioural changes in response to the climate crisis.”
The new festival, supported by EventScotland as part of the Year of Coasts and Waters 20/21 and Scotland’s Events Recovery Fund, will enable visitors to learn more about Scotland’s seas and the challenges they face, especially the climate emergency.
Susan added: “Our Marine Fest programme of activities should provide something for members of the local community and visitors to enjoy. We would like to thank EventScotland for their support through Scotland’s Year of Coasts and Waters, which has allowed us to create this new festival.”
Paul Bush OBE, director of events at VisitScotland, said: “We are delighted to support Marine Fest as part of the Year of Coasts and Waters 20/21.
“Scotland offers the perfect stage to explore our natural environment and this year’s festival will combine live and digital events to showcase and celebrate the country’s marine environment and wildlife.”
The Scottish Seabird Centre is now open daily and its Marine Fest will run from May 31 to June 13.
For more information, visit seabird.org
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