MAERL Seabed Superhome

About This Event

A fun interactive creative educational day for local Primary school children. We will be exploring the nearby marine ecosystem starting by immersing ourselves in the MAERL Seabed Superhome exhibition at the Sawyer Gallery, close to the Wester Ross Marine Protected Area.

Maerl is an tiny coralline seaweed which provides a vital habitat for young marine life to live in our coastal waters, which we are trying to protect for the health of our oceans.

Event starts – entering the exhibition, sitting between the maerl sculptures, imagining being on the seabed, watching the videos of marine animals living within the maerl in the local Marine Protected Area, Listening to hydrophone recordings of marine life living in a healthy maerl bed, imagining living there.

Event activities: Observing maerl samples under microscopes, drawing maerl, making camouflage patterned masks to hide between the maerl sculptures, playing a hide and seek game with maerl sculptures in the garden, chalking a maerl bed in the garden, playing a maerl habitat board game , the aim of which is to get ‘Herring eggs’ into the safety of the maerl bed through the seabed obstacle course.

Event learning : together sharing what we have learnt about – how important maerl bed habitats (Seabed Superhomes ) are in protecting young sea life. We will take home how we need to protect our maerl in our local ‘Marine Protected Area’ and celebrate how this helps keep the the Worlds Oceans healthy !

The MAERL Seabed Superhome exhibition is open daily at Inverewe Gardens, in the Sottish Highalands until 31st July, celebrating our local maerl bed habitats in Wester Ross Marine Protected Area.