Top design role for shipshape students
Help on environmental research project
Graphic design students from Forth Valley College helped an environmental research organisation with a Pacific Ocean project.
A total of 23 students worked on the Sea to Shore initiative with the Schmidt Ocean Institute.
It was carrying out scientific studies on board the Falkor’ research ship which was engaged in studying ancient sea levels off the coast of Hawaii.
FVC creative industries lecturers at the Stirling Campus linked up with former colleague Natasha Russell – who had previously worked as the college’s printmaking operations technician, but is now with the artist-at-sea programme on board the Falkor.
After receiving their brief via ship-to-shore video link in September, the HND first- and second-year students’ set to work on their four-day challenge.
They were tasked with developing educational and awareness-raising posters, collages, t-shirts and films relating to the decline of the coral reefs around the Hawaiian islands, as a result of the rise in sea levels.
Logan Mock-Bunting, an outreach specialist for the institute - a private non-profit operating foundation established to advance oceanographic research, discovery, and knowledge, and catalyse sharing of information about the oceans – assisted the FVC students in their project.
He said: “We used technology to communicate with students via satellite over internet video, discussing a scientific expedition that was exploring places no human eyes had ever seen, and then the students used their unique talents to share the science produced with simply marvellous results. We loved the final products and hope the students learned something interesting and useful.”
Lecturer Hannah Keba said: “The students worked on this project for a short, intense period and many have made use of imagery and video available on the institute website and social media and it was a great experience for them.”
Jenny McGibbon (23) from Balfron said: “Our group created a film using footage the Schmidt Institute had already put up on YouTube.
“It was great to work with the first years and do something different that I had not done before and I now want to do more film editing. It is really interesting what the Institute are doing and it was great to be involved.”
For more on the project visit https://hannahkeba.wixsite. com/seatoshore or https:// schmidtocean.org/cruise/ discovering-deep- sea-coralsphoenix-islands//
For more on FVC Creative Industries courses at Stirling visit www.forthvalley.ac.uk or call 01324 403125.