Author Erin Pettifer
Brighton Beach School
April marked the beginning of our exciting Beach School pilot with St Mary Magdalen primary school in Brighton.
It’s got off to a brilliant start with Sussex Wildlife Trust staff and teachers alike buzzing about the fantastic experience this lucky class are getting.
And the children’s reaction has been wonderful. Their enthusiasm for the incredible creatures they’re finding down on their local Brighton beach and their joy at the simple pleasure of being out in the fresh air, buffeted by the wind and witnessing the ever changing marine environment has been lovely to watch.
At first glance the shingle beach a mere stone’s throw away from their school could seem like it wouldn’t have much to offer for a day’s visit, let alone keep children occupied for weeks of outdoor learning. But when you take the time to really look, delve within the strandline dropped by the sea at high tide, search the surrounding pebbles and look at out to sea and up at the clouds, you’ll be amazed how much there is to do and talk about.
The children have been bursting with questions:
“Why is the sea salty?”
“How was the sea made?”
“Why is the sea blue?”
- they’ve definitely got me thinking!
The diversity of life that’s washed up at Brighton has astonished children and adults alike. Sea squirts, anemones, algae, dog fish, pipe fish, whelks, crabs, cuttlefish, egg cases galore and more!
This is just a mere taster of what our seas off Sussex have to offer. In fact half of all our plants and animals live in our seas!
On the Sussex IFCA enforcement vessel
At our most recent beach school day, we had a fantastic session kindly run by the Sussex Inshore Fisheries and Conservation Authority and hosted at Brighton and Newhaven Fish Sales. Children were wowed again by what we have living in our seas, getting up close and personal with some of the fish and crustaceans that are caught just off our coast and learning about the ways they’re caught. The Sussex IFCA even treated them to a trip on their enforcement vessel and the class got to meet a real live fisherman!
Collecting cuttlefish eggs
Meeting a fisherman
Packed full of wonderful creatures, responsible for regulating our climate, providing us with food and a huge range of other resources and even producing half of the oxygen we breathe… our seas are truly wondrous!
We have also been ‘live tweeting’ from the Beach School sessions. Catch up with our @SussexBeachSch tweets here:
The Beach School pilot is funded by Carnival UK with support from Betts Metals, and the Big Lottery’s Access to Nature Programme.
Hi
My classmates and i have really enjoyed beach school.I have especially enjoyed last week(rock pooling and cycling to ovingdean),the week before half term(general fun) and the IFCA outing.
I think I speak for my whole class when I say that it has been an amazing experience and never it want to end!We only have 2 weeks left and I’m sure they will be great.I hope that this experience will start of many more beach schools around the country.
From R C yr 5 St. Mary Magdalen’s school Brighton
Last weeks cycle ride to the beach and rock pools at Ovingdean was my favourite session too. I really enjoyed seeing the very positive reactions you all generated as you cycled passed people in the street, there was lots of waving and plenty of smiles.
Playing in the mud and sand was great fun as was searching through the tangled seaweed looking for snails and crabs. The delicious smoothies Bike It Ben created on the back of his bike through peddle power whilst you all shouted faster faster is something I will remember.
Mike
Hi,i also loved beach school. I really hope it succeeds and more schools get to do beach school. ;D
W SMM
Hi,
. I enjoyed the trip to IFCA the most, I especially enjoyed controling the vessel, HMS Watchful. I was so suprised at the amount of wildlife you can find on the shore of Brighton, especilly the Cat Shark!
I enjoyed beach school SO much! I’m so sad It’s at an end
I hope other children can have the oppourtunity to do such an amazing set of trips.
J SMM Brighton
Hi i also enjoyed beach school i especially enjoyed the bike ride to Ovingdean and i enjoyed the smoothies bike it ben made and the ice cream we had. Before beach school i didnt even know what a spider crab was i only knew the regular type of crab (Edible Crab). I enjoyed the IFCA trip i enjoyed going on the FPV and meeting Alberto, im sad beach school has to end but i really enjoyed it and i am going to miss Mike, Hugh, Erin, Katie and Nicki and i hope other children will get a chance to do such an amazing set of trips. M SMM Yr 5
Beach school is epic. I don’t want it to end.
Hi,
I have really enjoyed Beach School, learning about all the amazing things that are right on our door step. I have liked all the activities but the one I liked the most was cycling to Ovingdean rock pools. I hope that other schools will be lucky to experience the Beach School project because it is so FUN and you learn a lot of things about the ocean and how fish are caught (what’s the wrong way to fish and what’s the right way to fish)
From L S yr 5 SMM.
Hi
I really injoyed beach school my favorite part was rock pooling because we found new sea creatures.What i liked the most was meeting the sussex wild life trust they have made us learn lots of things and now we can tell our whole familys what we have learnt and how much fun we had……i hope that other schools can get lucky like us .
A SMM..THANKYOU FOR EVERYTHING.
Beach school has been amazing and I think that to have an opportunity like this is speechless so first a round of a applause to sussex wildlife trust for doing this for us.
My favorite beach school was going rock pooling in Ovingdean.
Hopefully other schools will take part in it and enjoy it like us , with true honesty I think beach school will go far. :-]
THANKYOU FOR EVREYTHING!!!!
J SMM
Hi
I really enjoyed Beach School,my favorite beach school was the rock polling even though I had to carry a big bag.The sad thing is that this week is are last week I really hope that Alberto and Paul are going to come to the barbecue,I really enjoyed beach school because I learned how to tells female crab and male crab.
Thank you wild life trust
A SMM
Hi,
I really enjoyed beach school so much! I have learnt many things about the seas and fish.The most amazing part in beach school is going to Ovingdean rock pools. I love playing in the mud and finding lots of weird creatures! But i’m very sad that there will be no more beach school
but I hope we have a nice time this week!
from: S M year 5 SMM brighton.
Hi
My class has really enjoyed beach school!!! But i’m really sad that is week is the last one. My favourite beach lesson was the IFCA trip
and we go to control a enforcement vessel, HMS Watchful. I nearly crashed the vessel five times, sorry!!!! Never mind, but all the trips were amazing!!!!!!!!!! THANKYOU WILDLIFE TRUST!!!!!!!!!!
Hi I really enjoy Beach School,my favorite part is roch pools on the beach. Thank you sussex wildlif trust for let as to learn abot shells, eeg case, cattle fish, makroll. We enjoy our learning. And don’t be sad because we have lots of fun I hope that other school can get lucky like as. from M
I’ve loved every beach school session and the class have been fantastic showing an enthusiasm to learn about their marine environment and a real desire to protect it. I shall really miss these sessions and hope that other schools take up the opportunity to explore the beach on their doorstep.
Thanks
Huw
Huw Morgan – Access to Nature Project Officer
Thank you everyone for your lovely comments about Beach Schools.
It’s been a fantastic experience for me too! I’ve loved seeing your great reactions to being out on the beach and the marine life we’ve found right on your doorstep – your excitement exploring the strandlines down near West Pier on the first couple of sessions was one of the highs for me.
I also really enjoyed the Sussex IFCA session when you got to talk to the enforcement officers and fishermen, hold crabs and drive a boat! And the other week cycling to Ovingdean with the wind in our hair and then putting our faces into the rock pools to watch marine creatures going about their everyday business through our masks was great. The amount of excitement there still was about the things we were finding and experiencing was ace.
Hearing you talk about everything you’ve learnt and your enthusiasm throughout has been wonderful. I’m so impressed that you’re going to be running your own campaign to protect our marine environment on our last session and have prepared your own well thought out arguments which you’ll give to people!
I’ll be sad to see this pilot end – like you say, lets hope that many more schools get this opportunity in the future
Erin
Erin Pettifer – Marine Conservation Officer
I’m gonna miss beach school. My favourite trip is when we went IFCA. Because I learnt lot of different fish. I’m going to miss all fo you!:(
I think Beach school is awsome! I hope all the other schools get to havean as epic time as we have had.Plus get to tryit out.