Tuesday 10 November 2015

MCS Lancashire Local Group runs a marine ID day

The Lancashire Local Group members

The Marine Conservation Society (MCS) has long understood the value of people coming together in their community to discuss shared interests and work together for a common cause. In fact, that’s a huge part of the reason why the Sea Champions programme came about. However, long before the Sea Champions programme MCS had established Local Groups and we’re delighted to say that three of these are still going strong today in Lancashire, South East England and Pembrokeshire.

Back in the summer, the Lancashire Local Group ran a marine ID day which they opened up to the local community. Kathy from the group has shared a little more about the day:

The event was hosted by RSPB Leighton Moss Nature Reserve, Silverdale, which has featured on the BBC's "Springwatch" series. We had a great mix of people come along including RSPB Leighton Moss volunteers, local divers, students undertaking environmental studies and others interested in wildlife and conservation.

A varied and interesting programme was put together which included topics such as Plants of the Foreshore and Algae/Seaweeds/Phytoplankton.

A few interesting questions were raised, someone asked if jellyfish sting each other and someone else was surprised that dead men's fingers are cnidaria and not sponges. The highlight of the day was a quiz of marine life photos which an RSPB member had kindly brought along to share with us.

We had some really positive feedback from the people who came along. The Local Group felt that this was a successful day, providing the opportunity to promote local and national marine conservation, enthusing those who attended with the richness and diversity of the marine life of Morecambe Bay and promoting the work of MCS and the Lancashire Local Group. We’re hoping to run more ID days in the future.

If you live in the Lancashire area and would like to get involved with the Local Group then be sure to have a look at their website for details or what's coming up and how to join.