Scores of Year 5 school children from four inner city Plymouth primary schools have taken part in a series of inspiring and educational sessions at Mayflower Marina in the lead up to World Ocean Day.
The trip to the award winning marina is part of the innovative ‘Widening Horizons’ programme developed by the ‘Millfields Inspired’ charity, which is based in Stonehouse.
The dynamic Widening Horizons programme, which is now in its tenth year, aims to motivate young people living and learning in Britain’s Ocean City by giving them an experience and taste for the world of work, in order to inform their future career choices.
Josanne Stewart, development manager at Millfields Inspired said:
“The trip to Mayflower Marina is one of the highlights of the programme. The children live in Stonehouse, so the sea is their neighbour. This is an opportunity to show them the variety of jobs that can be found in, on and around the water, whilst also delivering some strong messages about looking after our ocean.
“We are so fortunate to have Mayflower Marina, Sonardyne International and Clean Coast Services who really get the children engaged in their activities and in doing so are expanding the children’s knowledge of what jobs might be open to them in the future.”
The sessions for local schools including Plymouth School of Creative Arts, St Andrew’s Primary and St Peter’s C of E School and Pilgrim Primary included a welcome and tour of the marina from Mayflower Marina managing director Charles Bush.
“It is a wonderful opportunity to be able to showcase how many diverse jobs you can have in connection with working on and near the ocean”
The children also ventured on board a floating classroom, courtesy of sonar specialists Sonardyne, to experience the sonar equipment in operation and get hands on experience with equipment.
Tom Rooney, lead trainer with Sonardyne International said:
“It is a wonderful opportunity to be able to showcase how many diverse jobs you can have in connection with working on and near the ocean. We are so lucky to be living in Britain’s Ocean City which has companies with world renowned maritime expertise based here, these are potential employment channels open to young people in the future.”
The educational school trip was rounded off with an enlightening session about how to care for the ocean and coastline from award winning ‘environmental warrior’ Rikkie Carette of Clean Coast Services.
Rikkie, who highlights the problem of plastic pollution by creating one off art sculptures from recycled ocean debris, was a huge hit with the children who were fascinated by the topic and left inspired to create their own recycled artwork.
Charles Bush MD Mayflower Marina said:
“The marine sector is a significant employer within Plymouth and the South West and yet, when it comes to career choices, the wide range of opportunities within the sector does not seem to be understood by young people.
“Furthermore, many of the skills utilised within the marine sector are also highly transferable with the automotive and aircraft industries. The Millfield’s Inspired, Widening Horizons project is a terrific way to show local children the career opportunities that exist within their city. We at Mayflower Marina are proud to participate in the project.”
For more information on Millfields Inspired and Widening Horizons visit millfieldsinspired.com
