Salmon Ambassadors is a primary school age educational outreach programme. Through the Salmon Ambassadors we hope to create an informed generation who will value salmon and our shared environment.
Eight schools will be selected from the Foyle and Carlingford catchments to become Salmon Ambassadors. . Schools included are from Northern Ireland and Ireland.
The educational outreach programme focuses on the Atlantic salmon found in our local rivers and aims to teach primary school children about salmon lifecycles, migration and the threats they face whilst in our rivers and out at sea. The programme includes a mixture of classroom, practical and field learning experiences.
A key part of the programme is bringing fish directly into the primary classroom. We will provide a simple hatchery system to each school containing salmonid eggs. This will enable the children to watch daily development of the eggs and development of the baby fish. The children not only learn about the natural history of the fish, but actually get to look after them.
The project will culminate in a “Salmon Ambassadors Conference” where participating schools will come together and share what they have learnt during the programme. The conference will give the children a further learning experience where they will get to learn about other salmon issues in other rivers and how the whole system is interconnected. At the conference representatives from each class will be asked questions on what they have learnt by a compere in a “chat show style” format. At the conference each school will also have an exhibition stand to display pictures, photographs and other artwork they have produced throughout the programme.
Aims
• To connect school pupils to their local river habitats and use the lifecycle of the Salmon to teach them about the broader themes of biodiversity, ecology and the links between aquatic and terrestrial biodiversity.
• To inform and educate pupils and teachers within the Foyle and Carlingford catchment’s on the plight of the Atlantic salmon from local to global level.
• To create valuable learning experiences both in class and on the banks of the river to participating pupils and school staff.
• To stimulate thought on the effects our lifestyles have on the environment and wildlife local to us.
• To encourage ownership of wild places and wild things so that they can be better conserved for future generations.