Fun and Learning at Lough Hyne
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Fun and Learning at Lough Hyne
24.08.2010

The Lough Hyne Research Team within the School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences at University College Cork, has been involved in two major community education events within the last two weeks, aimed at helping young and not so young to appreciate the marine environment.
On August 10th last, the Research Team hosted a group of 12 young people from the Mercy Home for Underprivileged Teenagers in Chicago in conjunction with Baltimore Diving and the Skibbereen Heritage Centre. The Mercy Home caters for teenagers from some of the poorest areas in Chicago and the group was on a 10-day trip to Southwest Ireland. The group first took part in a touch tank event where members of the Research Team showed some of the different animals found within the Lough Hyne Marine Reserve, before getting into wetsuits for some swimming and snorkelling around the Lough with instructors from the Baltimore Diving Centre. For many of the visiting teenagers, it was their first encounter with “the Ocean” as they called it, and it will be something many will never forget!

On August 21st, the Research Team was again on site at Lough Hyne, to kick off Heritage Week events in West Cork with another touch tank event. This is the fifth consecutive year the team has hosted this popular event on the North Shore at Lough Hyne. The estimated 150-200 adults and children were thoroughly appreciative of the opportunity to learn about some of the common marine animals usually hidden out of sight to most people, and more importantly, to interact with some of these animals.

Dr Rob McAllen, the UCC Lough Hyne Reserve Research Coodinator said: “Our public awareness and community events are very important in making the local community and visitors aware of the importance of Ireland’s sole Marine Nature Reserve, while at the same time highlighting UCC’s research in this area.”



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