On Thursday 20 and Friday 21 June, school parties are booked to undertake 40 minute interactive workshops following the journey of a seafood species from sea to plate. The workshops include a ‘fun facts and figures’ briefing, a tasting session, and a ‘Mastermind- inspired quiz to test what the children have learned! School groups can choose to follow salmon, mackerel, langoustine or haddock.
On Saturday 22 and Sunday 23 June, Seafood in Schools is running open sessions for children and parents, featuring a display cabinet of seafood kindly provided by Welch’s Fishmongers in Leith, and a ‘Come Dine with Me’ tasting session hosted by Fish For Health. Here, visitors will learn why seafood is especially good for our health and taste species high in Omega 3, including salmon, trout, mussels, crab, herring and mackerel. Seafood for the tasting is sponsored by the Scottish Salmon Company, Scottish Shellfish Marketing Group, Dawnfresh and Lossie Seafoods.
“We will also be demonstrating how to make simple store-cupboard dishes like smoked mackerel pate, which is a firm favourite with children and adults alike,” said Fish for Health’s Catriona Frankitti.
Seafood in Schools has just started its second year of operation, which is building on a highly successful first year. “We worked with 19 high schools and 103 primaries, directly interacting with more than 10,000 pupils, and indirectly through project work, with more than 45,000 children,” explained project manager Nicki Holmyard. “We also provided continuing professional development sessions for over 800 teachers, which means they are now more confident in using seafood as a context for learning in the classroom.”
Seafood in Schools undertakes 2-day workshops with groups of associated schools, after which they undertake a seafood project and present the results to the rest of the school. The project covers the costs of transportation, and encourages schools to make outward visits to ports, vessels, processors and retailers, to learn about the seafood industry at first hand.
The project, which is funded by Scottish Government, is also supported by Seafish, the Scottish Salmon Producers Organisation and the Scottish Fishermen’s Trust.
“We also receive vital contributions from industry and are grateful to the many chefs, fishermen, scientists, processors and retailers who visit schools to work with the children, invite them to their own premises, or provide product for tasting and cooking. We couldn’t manage without them!” confirmed Nicki.
