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Hi Harry,
Great to hear you connecting aquaculture back to your own local communities and the benefits it is providing to them! Having aquaculture incorporated into the curriculum can help to benefit children in many of their subjects such as geography, science and socio-economics. Sustainable practices such as aquaculture are essential for protecting our environment and ecosystems, whilst still supplying a food source for a growing population.
Hi Laura,
Thank you for your positive feedback to the online lessons and the ARC programme! We currently have over 500 schools on the waiting list, but when we are next in your area we will try and provide a visit to your school.
Taste the Atlantic has been a great success in following on from the Wild Atlantic Way and is another aspect in how aquaculture producers are supporting their local communities through a seafood tourism aspect.
Hi Cathriona,
Most people understand healthy eating in terms of the essential macronutrients we need each day like protein, carbohydrates or fats. Many don’t know how much of the essential micronutrients, their vitamins and minerals, they should be consuming each day and because they’re needed in such small amounts, most don’t know their role in our body! Seafood especially as it contains so many essential vitamins and minerals that are found in our ocean waters.
The five climates is an interesting theory that can be delved into a lot deeper, especially considering a Meditterranean climate may fall under the same umbrella of temperate climate that we see in Ireland. This shows the influence of latitude specifically in sub-climates. It is great to see so much productivity on the east as well, with Clogherhead supporting many local fishing groups as well!
Hi Eleanor,
There is great tradition and culture surrounding some of our seafood species here in Ireland ranging from our salmon of knowledge story, to oyster festivals such as the Galway Oyster Festival in September, and even in place names where the Irish for Sligo (Sligeach) meaning ‘abundance of shells’. Celebrating our seafood through the use of festivals and evets is a popular way of promoting Irish products and local Irish businesses. It also provides the youth with a chance to explore what they would like to pursue in future if they are interested in working in or around the ocean!
Hi Grainne,
The ‘Goldilocks’ climate is an excellent way of describing Ireland’s cimate to children as they can understand the term pretty quickly. What most don’t realise is that global currents such as the gulf stream, or El Nino currents for the Pacific, are key to maintaining the climates we see worldwide. Shifts in these current patterns can adversely affect Ireland’s Goldilocks climate in the future and farming here could be the worst affected.
Hi Robert,
This is something we notice when bringing the ARC around Ireland that agriculture is still more widely known even along the coastline when compared to aquaculture. It is always surprising though, how much the students know about marine life in general which is great to see! The various coastal features created by the Atlantic ocean on our west coast provide a unique opportunity for different regions in Ireland to be able to focus on diferent species such as the differences between oyster and mussel farming.
Hi Pauline,
These are all excellent ideas for the children, it’s great to hear sustainability being promoted through the community and the school! Sustainability can be practiced at so many levels. Through a community or school, through local county/city councils and at national and international levels so that everyone can take part and play their role.
Hi Gillian,
These are all excellent ideas for teaching about healthy food and healthy eating within your class! It would be very interesting to see just how many different types of seafood found in Ireland that a single class could name, they could then look up each type that was mentioned in stores and compare/contrast the nutritional benefits between seafood like shellfish, whitefish (Cod/haddock), and salmon. Writing their own legend based around seafood is a great way to get the students excited about eating seafood as well!
The online resources developed for the ARC are an excellent tool in classrooms as they provide an overview of the benefits of seafood and aquaculture here in Ireland. This can be used in the classroom quite well when teaching about subjects such as geography, history, science, and sustainability. It also gets people to realise the benefits of having an aquaculture farm or processor in your area as it can provide jobs to people directly and indirectly, supporting your local communities!
Hi Azora,
These are some excellent points as to how aquaculture can also benefit the wider community. In ireland, there are just over two thousand people directly employed in aquaculture, but many others can also be employed indirectly such as accountants, fishmongers, and research scientists. Aquaculture is always striving for improvements, especially those which do not negatively harm the natural environment surrounding.
Hi Cathriona,
We tried to make shorter videos that are still informative as it holds the children’s attention better than ones that are longer and more drawn-out. It also makes them quite flexible as you will see going through each module on this course, many of the topics are quite intertwined! The Young Chef Ambassador programme is very exciting in trying to promote foods which may not be as popular in Ireland now as they were in the past, and trying to showcase the nutritional benefits and the product in new and exciting ways.
If you would like the ARC to visit your school, you can find the registration link for an ARC visit here: https://bim.ie/a-seafood-way-of-life/the-arc/registration-form/
Hi Shona,
Fish and seafood are excellent sources of proteins, containing so many of the essential amino acids our bodies need as well! Most people are unaware of the many other nutritional benefits found in seafood like iron in shellfish or vitamin D in oily fish like salmon, so it’s great to hear you thinking of using this information in the classroom. Encouraging the children to eat fish may then spread it throughout the family so it would be interesting to see if the students can get the family on board themselves!
Hi Aoife,
I’m happy you found the introductory module to aquaculture informative, many people in Ireland would not know about the variety of aquaculture species and how different to each other they are! Aquaculture is aimed to relieve some of the pressures as well that the fishing industry may face and also offer more opportunities to people in rural, coastal communities.
IF you would like the ARC to visit your school, you can find the registration link for an ARC visit here: https://bim.ie/a-seafood-way-of-life/the-arc/registration-form/
Hi Dervilla,
It’s great to see the understanding that a macronutrient like protein, does not just work on our muscles, but plays many vital roles including growing out our hair and nails and much more that aren’t visible to the naked eye. And the Eye Spy in the Supermarket activity works on both a nutritional and sustainability standpoint. Students can learn how to read nutritional information off food packaging for maintaining a healthy diet, but they can also identify which food products have been sources sustainably. You will find out more about food labels in Module 5 – Sustainability.
