Festival of the Sea increases ocean awareness

Last month, our marine teams were involved with two Festival of the Sea events which helped hundreds of people learn about the Welsh marine environment. Here, the teams tell us all about these successful events.

Festival of the Sea celebrated the Welsh marine environment by spreading awareness of ocean literacy and our relationship with the sea at the local level. 

The festival worked with local people, communities and organisations to help recognise and improve ocean literacy. It also worked with community groups to create an agenda of Festival of the Sea activities which aimed to identify and remove potential barriers communities face in connecting with the sea and coast.

We were involved in the planning of the festival as well as the activities and presentations over the weekends. The days were split between stalls, activities, and presentations on specific projects relating to the sea and ocean awareness. Several of our staff were present over the weekends to showcase some of the marine work that is currently in progress.

Milford Haven festival

The first Festival of the Sea took place in Milford Haven on 8 and 9 March.

We offered exhibits and talks about the Skomer Marine Conservation Zone and the marine Nature Networks projects.

We set up a demonstration seabed for children (and the Deputy First Minister!) to try out real marine monitoring techniques using quadrats and underwater cameras.

Visitors also shaped the contents of a rock pool using plasticene to help them visualise the huge range of species that can be found in this important habitat.

Flint festival

The second festival took place in the ruins of Flint castle on the banks of the Dee Estuary on 22 March.

Visitors to our stand enjoyed raking for cockles in the sand pit and talking with us about the impact of different invasive non-native species in the Dee Estuary and around the Welsh coastline.

The biggest hit on our stand was the marine litter ‘Feely Box’ game, where visitors were asked to feel and identify what was in the different boxes, and then decide whether it should be in the ocean.

These interactive games generated great questions and conversations about the health and value of our marine environment.

Improving ocean literacy

The weekends were a great success with many people commenting on how engaging and informative the different stalls and presentations were. A range of marine and coastal organisations were involved, which highlighted the diverse range of stakeholders within the marine sector.

The Festival of the Sea is one of the first tangible outputs of the Y Môr a Ni (The Sea and Us) strategy. This strategy was prepared by the Ocean Literacy for Wales Coalition on behalf of the Wales Coast and Seas Partnership.

Visit the Y Môr a Ni (The Sea and Us) webpage to find out more: Y Môr a Ni (The Sea and Us) - Natural Resources Wales Citizen Space - Citizen Space