Seabird Centre’s marine hub will be a sensitively sited resource for education

Regarding Jane Mcminn’s letter (20 June), it has never been more important to raise awareness of Scotland’s amazing marine heritage and the need to look after it.

For four years, the Scottish Seabird Centre has been working on plans to create a national marine centre for Scotland. This will be an unrivalled resource, exploring the wonderful marine life both above and below the waves in Scotland. It’s our vision as an environmental education charity to increase appreciation and understanding of our marine wildlife as well as showcase ground-breaking research taking place in this field.

National, regional and local consultation and collaboration have been central to this process. We have undertaken extensive national research and revised plans based on comments from the local community to ensure that the Centre will be a valuable asset for North Berwick, East Lothian and Scotland.

Our main aim is to increase educational opportunities. An improved Education Centre will allow us to meet the demand from school groups, enabling us to encourage children of all ages to learn and care about the marine environment and wildlife.

For visitors, there will be exciting new exhibitions, events and activities that highlight the importance of our seas and their wildlife, including seabirds, and the threats that they now face. There will be increased accessibility for all, including those who have additional needs.

We are very aware of the importance of the area in which we are situated. Our architects, Simpson & Brown, specialise in conservation projects, creative adaption of existing buildings and the design of environmentally sound initiatives. They strongly believe that their plans will benefit the area and significantly enhance their awardwinning Seabird Centre building as well as our adjacent Education Centre. We have worked closely with all interested parties to ensure the new Centre brings important benefits locally and nationally. We look forward to continuing that dialogue as we aim to inspire people to take action to conserve our marine heritage for future generations.

DAVID WINDMILL Chair, Scottish Seabird Centre

The Harbour, North Berwick