Pupils across Nottinghamshire will join thousands of others at schools throughout the country in learning about whales and dolphins and the threats that they face.
ORCA, one of the UK’s leading marine conservation charities, is running Whale Education Month in October to coincide with World Animal Day on 4th October. The programme teaches children about the whales, dolphins and porpoises that can be found on their doorstep and the environments they live in.
The scheme first launched in 2017 and has since proved a phenomenal success with thousands of children taking part at schools in the UK. It has even been taken up in other countries around the world with teachers as far afield as Abu Dhabi and Malaysia signing up for their classes to take part. This year the charity has grown Whale Education Month with more than 700 schools taking part. ORCA has also increased the amount of materials that teachers can draw on by a whopping 50%.
The theme for 2019 is voices of the deep, allowing teachers in Nottinghamshire to talk about the different types of communication in the underwater world, and what whales and dolphins sounds like! The series of one hour lessons that ORCA conservationists have developed is available free of charge to any school by simply visiting the ORCA website and signing up online.
Packs include interactive presentations, games and other materials designed to inspire children, with a particular focus on Key Stage 2. The lessons have been designed with the National Curriculum in mind, and are a great way to teach science in an engaging and educational way.
Anna Bunney, ORCA Education Coordinator, said: “Whale Education Month is a programme close to my heart and last year we had an incredible response. We’re aiming to go one better in 2019 and will reach thousands more children so that they can marvel at the wonder of the ocean and marine mammals, but also understand the role we all have to play in keeping it safe.”
To find out more about Whale Education Month, visit www.orcaweb.org.uk/schools and keep up to date using the hashtag #WhaleEducationMonth. The programme runs from 1st October to 31st October 2019.