Back To School

On Tuesday we were invited to talk at Hillhead Primary school as part of the primary four’s Oceans Alive project. This project was specifically chosen due to us expressing our interest in coming to talk to the classes and it has been a great success overall.

We spent over an hour in three different classes. Lydia spoke about coral reefs; where they are found, what they are made of and what corals look like. I spoke about the fishes and bigger animals that use the reef like turtles, rays, butterfly fish and groupers. We even explained the different sections of the reef - inner, edge, and outer - usually something only us scientists know!

 

Lydia explaining staghorn corals to the class

Butterfly fish eat the coral and have cool ways to escape predators

Then we talked about the threats coral reefs are facing and the work we plan on carrying out in the Red Sea this summer. Are the reefs healthy? Are there still lots of fish using the reef?

Next it was on to all of us showing around a number of specimens of corals, provided by the Universities Zoology Museum for the day. From small specimens of Staghorn coral and Fire coral to a very large Brain coral, the pupils could get a real sense of the coral structure and that corals are not just one animal but are made up of thousands of tiny “polyps”.

Our next exercise was to help the children identify different reef fish species using identification books and cards. The pupils learned that biologists need to first look at the shape of the fish and then use the fish’s colour and pattern to get an exact match!

 

Identifying reef fish

The impact of our expedition being joined with this school did not only last one day. As part of the Oceans Alive project, the school children have already had a go at making corals out of clay. We were very impressed by them and can’t wait till they are finished - please send us photos of them!

And it doesn't stop there. We have asked the classes to design us a new expedition logo and the winning design will be printed on our t-shirts and hoodies as well as being posted on our blog and webpage.  We are super excited!

 

branching corals made from clay - good job!

For us, the pupil’s enthusiasm to learn about the reefs and the huge number of questions they asked was very rewarding. Well done to everyone and we really hope that we can return after our expedition and tell you about our findings and our adventures!

 

Thanks for having us Hillhead Primary!

Pyramid Challenge: Part I

Yesterday we made a start on our fundraising challenge -climbing 5700ft to match the combined height of Egypt’s 30 famous pyramids.

We took advantage of a sunny day and headed to the Campsie Fells- a hill range just outside Glasgow with spectacular views and some great walking routes. Our target: Earl’s Seat, height: 1800ft.

This is Guy’s neck of the woods, so he led the way whilst Anna, Michael and I followed behind. Check him out, looking all professional! Michael took a more casual approach to the ordeal…

 

Guy and Michael

Of course, the weather was as unpredictable as always! 30 minutes in and we were being battered with hail and wind. Michael’s shorts and trainers were not so ideal after all, but he soldiered on - wet feet and all!

When the sun did come out, the views were quite lovely and we could see all of Glasgow to the East and beautiful Loch Lomond to the North.

 

Loch Lomond View

 We found a not-so-effective shelter for our lunch break and after we had refuelled it was hats and scarfs on to start the second stretch.

 

The wind!

 

soldiering on

After some pretty steep climbs, crossing exposed moorland and jumping over swamps, we reached the highest point! We didn’t stick around for long though, the wind was so strong we could hardly hear each other speak! A quick photo and we ran off to start our journey back.

  

Our climb from start to finish lasted 5 hours.  Although it wasn’t a very high climb, we covered around 13k and it was a great warm up to our next climb to bag another few thousand feet. The more we climb the closer we get to our target and our goal of raising money for our expedition funds! 3900ft to go!

Help us raise as much money as possible, donate at our website www.gu-egypt-expedition.co.uk

Jen

Not long to go, expedition update

Thing have been pretty busy in the last few weeks. Getting the last lot of grants sent off, organising fundraising events as well as planning our stay in Egypt. Here's a little summary of our progress...

Michael, Emily and I are now qualified STEM ambassadors! STEM stands for Science, Technology, Engineering and Math. It is a programme where professionals (yup that's us) volunteer to help out at schools and events to inspire young people to get involved in these subjects and hopefully go on to have a successful career in them. We can't wait to get in the classroom and do some science.

Guy and I also took part in a Remote Emergency Care first aid course. This was pretty intense all-weekend course teaching us how to handle emergency situations in the field. From bandaging up cuts, dealing with trauma and providing all important emotional support we are now prepped for any situation.

The whole team had a great day bag packing at Tesco Extra, Silverburn, in March. Not only did we have the chance to promote our expedition to a huge audience, we raised a massive £380. A huge thank you to everybody that donated and thank you Tesco for having us!

Emily



Michael

 

We also had a really good band night at Broadcast. Three awesome bands played their sets and everybody had a great time. Thanks to Suse Mon Beat, The Gazelles and Fairweather Soldiers, you guys rocked!



Micahel and Anna in charge of Box Office

 

Fair Weather Soldiers

 In other news, our flights and accomodation have also been organised and now our excitement can really begin! With this out of the way, we can look to planning the projects in more detail, putting together the training and dealing with any other logisitics and neccessary training.

With less than 6 weeks to go, I'm sure we will be busier than ever and we will keep you updated every step of the way.

Jen x

Amazing diversity of the Red Sea

There are as many as 1400 species of fish, of which around 170 are endemic, many species of corals as well as large fascinating animals such as dugongs, sharks and dolphins and little gems including sea slugs, star fish and sea cucumbers.

Here are a few of the species we have encountered on a university fieldtrip and will hopefully encounter again.

...wonderful.