Pupils see creatures from the deep in Dunstaffnage

PRIMARY and nursery children got their hands on a variety of creatures from the deep at the Ocean Explorer Centre at Dunstaffnage on Wednesday.

Blair Watson brought in a number of deep sea ‘beasties’ such as spiny spider crabs, sea slugs, a fangtooth fish and a warty octopus, to name just a few.

In the morning, pupils from Gigha made their way to Dunstaffnage to look at the creatures, and in the afternoon the Little Learners Nursery explored the centre.

The 21-year- old marine science graduate answered questions from the children and showed them a series a live specimens that he found in the ocean in the morning.

The children also enjoyed a number of other activities, such as looking at organisms through microscopes, watching films in the cinema and drawing different types of species.

The display was part of Blair’s internship at Capturing Our Coast Scotland.

The project aims to survey and protect the coastlines, in particular to investigate how the marine environment is responding to climate change. It asks people who live near the coast to get involved and help document their findings. To take part, email cocoast@sams. ac.uk.