Friends of Shoreham Beach

 There are many opportunities for schools to use the Shoreham Beach site to enhance local studies or to give a local dimension to a topic. The education programme can be used in three main ways; a teacher led site visit, a guided site visit, or an outreach visit to your school.

This Education page includes examples of activities and projects that we can provide for schools and information on how to plan and book a session.

Topics include science, geography and history. These can be approached as a single subject area or as a cross curriculum project.

Topics and activities are available for both primary and secondary schools. Many of the topics included in the education programme have been developed with the input of local teachers.

Our education coordinator is a biologist, natural history author and environmental educator. He has over 24 years of experience working with local schools.

For futher information about our education programme please contact Stephen Savage, Education Coordinator on stevep.savage@ntlworld.com

Please contact stevep.savage@ntlworld.com if you would like to be added to our list of schools who receive an annual update on the Shoreham Beach Local Nature Reserve and education programme.

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SHOREHAM BEACH LOCAL NATURE RESERVE VISIT 

Our general beach visit, for KS2 and above, provides an opportunity to explore three main areas, science, coastal geography and maritime history. The aim of field trip sessions is to provide the children guidance to enhance the visit and to provide experiences to take away and build upon back in the classroom.

In 2006 Shoreham beach was designated a Local Nature Reserve due to the large areas of vegetated shingle growing on the beach. Vegetated shingle habitat is not only rare in the UK, but worldwide is only found in 2 other countries Japan and New Zealand. In turn, the vegetated shingle provides a habitat for a wide range of terrestrial birds and invertebrates.

Practical activities include the following.

1. Exploration of the shingle plants and the special adaptations that allow them to survive in this harsh environment.

2. Terrestrial birds and invertebrates that visit vegetated shingle habitat.

3. Marine and coastal birds.

4. The seashore strandline and the clues they provide about life in the sea.

5. Threats to Shoreham Beach, local and global.                                

 

 

 

 

 

 

COASTAL GEOGRAPHY Coastal geography focusing on how the beach was formed and shaped by nature. Today, over 90% of the pebbles on local beaches are flint, in various forms and stages of erosion. These pebbles have made a fascinating journey starting with their creation in the Cretaceous period and many were washed from the eroding chalk during the end of the last ice age when melt water created the river valleys we know today. Some of the flint has eroded from the chalk more recently. Some non-flint pebbles have been deposited on the beach after being used as ships ballast.

 

Practical activities include the following.

1. Physical forces that shape the beach (e.g. coastal erosion, longshore drift)

2. Recording environmental conditions (beafort scale) including weather, wave type and tides.

3. Exploring the pebbles that make up Shoreham Beach.

4. Sea defenses

5. Uses of our coastline past and present

MARITIME HISTORY Shoreham has a fascinating maritime history, due to its importance as a sea port and as a centre for ship building. Some of the ships were built at Shoreham for trade while other battle ships took part in famous campaigns, such as the 100 year war against France and the Spanish Armada or defended the coast against pirates. 

In fact, until recently Shoreham was far more important than its seaside neighbour Brighton, a small fishing village until the seaside was made popular by the Victorians and the travel was made easy by the advent of the railway.

Shoreham Beach was first colonised back in the 1900′s, called bungalow town, which included a world famous film studio.

RIVER AND SEA

Shoreham also provides a unique opportunity for schools to study the river and sea as one system. This can be made up of different elements of our education programme, covered on this web page.

BEES ON THE BEACH

As part of a visit to the nature reserve you can take part in a special study called Bees on the Beach. The project aims to identify bees and other insect pollinators that are essential to the flowering species, (which plants each is associated with) that help make up the vegetated shingle habitat.

Recording bees on the beach can also make a great comparison between the harsh beach environment and the bees present in your own school grounds. A project for schools that also collects valuable data for our study. http://www.fosbeach.com/bees-on-the-beach-project/

 

SHOREHAM BEACH LOCAL NATURE RESERVE STUDY (Secondary schools)

Shoreham Beach was made a nature reserve 2006 to protect and enhance the rare and unusual vegetated shingle habitat.  Discover what a nature reserve does and how we work to preserve the vegetated shingle while at the same time attracting people to appreciate this valuable habitat. What natural and human activities threaten this habitat? Who uses the beach and how do we balance the needs of the community with the task of protecting the beach ecology. What global issues may potentially threaten the beach? This session can include other practical sessions discussed above, such as plant transect surveys, coastal bee project etc.

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OUTREACH PROGRAMME

These sessions have been designed specifically for schools wishing to include a local dimension to a topic, but are unable to take the class to the beach either because of the children’s age or travel challenges. These sessions can be tailored to contain a mixture of the same topics covered in a visit to the beach and may include other topics (such as pirates or seashore invertebrates, see below). Outreach visits are based around an interactive PowerPoint using high quality images and archive maps and photographs.  These sessions also include handling activity such as pebbles, seashells etc.        

                                                                                                                                                                        

OUTREACH PROGRAMME

Outreach sessions like the one mentioned above can also be used as a preparation for a teacher led beach visit. These sessions provide a structure for both children and teachers to follow on their beach visit.

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              OTHER SESSIONS YOU CAN CHOSE FROM

SEASHORE LIFE (All year groups)

There are two possible sessions available, a visit to the beach or an outreach visit.

There are two beaches that we use for school visits because of the abundance of wildlife and being safe beaches for children to explore. The format of this session is an introduction to the beach and tides.

We will also discuss the marine life and how it has adapted to the beach habitat. Pupils will have the opportunity to explore the beach and a  few examples of wildlife will be collected and housed in small tanks for a group discussion at the end of the day.

Both sites also provide opportunities to see coastal birds such as terns, turnstones, cormorant and little egret.

 

OUTREACH SESSION: SEA LIFE IN THE CLASSROOM (All year groups)

This session has been developed for schools that are unable to take their pupils down to the coast to experience local marine wildlife first hand.

Using a digital microscope and media projector, the session takes the form of a living lecture as the class will be able to see live marine invertebrates projected onto the whiteboard.

The pupils will be able to observe sea anemones opening their tentacles, barnacles feeding, crabs scuttling sideways, marine worms, crustaceans and sea snails (depending on specimens collected).

Through first hand observation, the pupils will experience and compare life processes, locomotion, defense and general adaptation to a rock pool habitat.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sessions are supported by an introductory PowerPoint about the Sussex Coastline and activities (depending on age range).                                 

This session could also be used in conjunction with a teacher led beach visit. An alternative session compares the habitat and wildlife of a pond and a rock pool.

OUTREACH SESSION: ONE WORLD ONE OCEAN – THE  ADVENTURES OF ED THE BEAR (KS1 & KS2)

This project allows the study of the oceans from the global perspective as well as our own local coastline. The adventures of Ed the Bear is a factual story seen through the eyes of a fictional character. Ed the bear is sent to different locations around the world to create this ongoing story. While visiting a global location he may explore a particular habitat or learn about a global conservation issue. With the aid of his specially constructed diving bell, Ed has dived on coral reefs and explored ship wrecks.

The project is a celebration of marine biodiversity which at the same time highlight the many threats to the oceans and the beautiful locations Ed visits.

 

 

 

Ed discovers that his local beach at Shoreham is threatened by climate change. As his beach is also a site for rare vegetated shingle, he finds this doubly worrying. To find out more about how this and other global problems may threaten his beach, Ed goes on a voyage of discovery. He not only learns about these global problems he also experiences what people are doing around the world to help, for example he visits a laboratory growing corals to replace those damaged on a nearby reef.  He also takes part in a conservation whale count, visits a turtle rescue hospital and much more.

Ed also discovers how we are all linked together by the ocean. He visits the Hawaiian Islands and meets some children, finds out what it’s like to live on an Indian Reservation and also visits the Black Scuba Divers Youth Summit.

 

 

 

 

However, we can all help by making small changes to the way we live. So when Ed is visiting schools and events, he encourages the children to think about how they can do things differently (e.g. turn off lights and computers when not in use) that together will make a big difference.

The Adventures of Ed the Bear can be enjoyed as a cross curriculum project about the oceans, as a separate project or to support sustainability topics. The project can include art and literacy as well as explore themes relating to citizenship and sense of place. An outreach visit to your school will be tailored to include selected themes, illustrated by Ed’s travels and classroom activities.  Schools can also contribute to a new weblog called The Friends of Ed the Bear, using the class bear to provide a web entry about their local beach or the sustainability work they are doing in school. 

You can also find out more about this project at http://adventuresofedthebear.blogspot.com/

The weblink below links to a session provided for the West Sussex Gifted and Talented Programme and provides an example of themes and activities that can be covered in an outreach session.

http://adventuresofedthebear.blogspot.com/2011/01/teaching-children-about-oceans.html 

ONE WORLD ONE OCEAN KS3 AND ABOVE

We can also provide an outreach session for secondary schools and above looking at the global ocean, biodiversity, conservation threats and the link to sustainable living. (including climate change, ocean acidification and marine litter)

 

SEASHORE STRANDLINE                                                                                                                           This is a great topic for schools who are unable to visit the beach because of age range or distance. The focus of the session is a selection of objects cast up on the beach and what we can learn about the wildlife that lives around our shores.

This session is supported by a PowerPoint about the Sussex coastline and marine life. Additional activities focus on marine and terrestrial scavengers that visit the strandline, marine plastic debris and myths and folklore surrounding the strandline.  

 

SUSSEX SEA MAMMALS     

This session looks at local sea mammals including dolphins that can be seen off the coast in the summer and seals that visit the coast and the River Adur. This session looks at their natural history, adaptations and local sightings.

Both bottlenose dolphin and common seal are threatened species and the session looks at why they are threatened and the wider conservation issues.  

This session can include a dolphin rescue demonstration with child participation (depending on size of groups). The children will discover why dolphins become stranded, what you need to do to help a stranded dolphin and how a dolphins adaptations work against a dolphin when it becomes stranded. The session is supported by photographs taken in Sussex waters (including Shoreham), a life sized inflatable bottlenose dolphin. The tutor has been monitoring local sea mammals since 1991 for the Sea Watch Foundation

For more information about our education programme, or to book a session, please contact Stephen Savage, Education Coordinator. stevep.savage@ntlworld.com