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Marine Ranger Week 1 Roundup: Welcome Rangers!

BMR

12 Jun 2023

Marine Ranger Week 1 Roundup: Welcome Rangers!

Welcome to our new blog! Each week our Summer Rangers Sarah, Seren and Finlay will be providing a roundup of all that is happening at the BMR. Read on to find out more about the new rangers and what they have been up to in their first week.

Day one: Settling in. Go Go Marine Rangers!


Our first morning consisted of visiting the centre at Eyemouth, meeting the team, going over the outline of the next few weeks and being made to feel welcome. We then went on a walk of the reserve coastline, getting to know the bay and beach names, and familiarising ourselves with the landscape we’ll be working on over the next few months. The remainder of the afternoon was spent brainstorming ideas for new activities and games to engage with local and visiting children that would inform on climate issues whilst also remaining light hearted and fun. 


Marine Rangers (left to right): Sarah, Seren, and Finlay

Day two: Meeting the (younger) locals


Today we were joined by the children of Ayton Primary School where we guided them through two activities, rockpooling and bird-watching. They got the chance to explore the intertidal environment, finding different plants and animals and safely collecting them by following our rockpooling code of conduct. We then offered identifications and facts about the species collected, before explaining the importance of placing the collected species back where we found them. The children then took part in a small Easter-egg-quiz activity, where they had to find the answers to their quiz in different posters and pictures around the St Abbs Head Centre, before a walk to Coldingham beach. After one more Easter-egg activity, the children, their soggy socks and sandy shoes got on their bus and travelled home. 


Lauren with the pupils of Ayton Primary School ready to tackle the BMR’s rock pools

Day 3: Coldingham Nursery Rockpool Ramble

Lauren and Finlay were joined by Coldingham Nursery on Friday’s gloomy morning for an exciting rockpool ramble. The mini-marine biologists of Coldingham Nursery took to the rockpools armed with nets and buckets to see what they could find, coming up lucky with a range of sea life from crabs of all sizes and colours, shrimps, jellyfish, and some little bitty fish. There was some inventive naming of the little critters from 'Pinchy' and 'Shaun' the crab, to 'Sprinkles McSprinkles' the shrimp. We even managed to squeeze in a little beach clean, keeping the beach tidy and healthy.



The mini-marine biologists of Coldingham Nursery out on the hunt for critters

Local Stars!


Our very own Head Ranger Charlotte, and Project Officer Alex made an appearance on ITV news on Wednesday night representing the BMR for World Ocean Day. They were joined by some strong volunteers of Sparta Gym who helped remove some of the heavier pieces of rubbish, such as tractor tyres.  They did a fantastic job of showing how important beach cleans are by not only keeping beaches clean but aiding in political and scientific decisions. You too can help join the beach cleans if you haven’t already! 




Saturday’s trash shovelling 


Our team were joined for a beach clean at Linkim Beach by a fantastic team of eager volunteers helping to ensure that we maintain our valuable and beautiful beaches to be as clean and as healthy as possible. A total of 27 kg of litter were removed from the beach and hiked back to Coldingham Beach for Scottish Borders Council to collect. Items ranged from small cut offs of rope and bits of plastic to a buried creel pot. A great effort put in by all involved! 



Concluding, our first week was full of engaging experiences, a welcome atmosphere and all in all, a great taste of what is to come in the following months! With promising signs of some sunnier weather we now prepare for what should be an exciting second week with lots happening. Make sure to check back next week to find out what we got up to!


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