An awareness of the wonderful array of marine wildlife within their reach and an understanding of the knife-edge on which it lives are crucial in influencing elected decision makers to safeguard this unique heritage. This is a vital part of MARINElife's role and to date over 1,000,000 people have been informed about marine wildlife through onboard displays, lectures, talks and guided whale watches given by our MARINElife team. By raising awareness in this way, people gain a new appreciation for whales and dolphins, as well as memories which will last forever.
Engaging local communities
We are
involved in a number of localised projects around the UK and
European coast and believe that vibrant and economically successful
coastal communities with local people who are passionate about
wildlife are important to the success of marine conservation. We
promote our research and its implications through the
media, our website and sightings surveys targeting the general
public and local boat operators in the Channel.
With such a high interest in whales and dolphins, we also work
closely with select eco-tourism companies including Naturetrek to
give people the opportunity to experience cetaceans and seabirds
first hand. This also has the potential to further local coastal
economies by promoting ethical whale and dolphin
watching.
Wildlife Officers
MARINElife developed the concept of ferry-based
Wildlife Officers and a successful programme of education to
thousands of passengers annually ran for several years until
the cessation of the ferry route we operated on in September
2010.
Feedback from the public about our Wildlife Officer Programme and their personal experiences confirm that for many, seeing these fantastic animals free in their natural environment can be a life-changing experience and we are proud and honoured to enable this.
Resuming a programme of face to face marine wildlife education remains a priority for the charity as does the development of shore-side education to adults and children.