Jane Powell, the LEAF Education Consultant in Wales, was invited to take part in a year 3 schools day for the Welsh Year of the Sea at Ocean Lab, Fishguard, Pembrokeshire. Four schools rotated around six activities with half an hour each. LEAF Education engaged local fisher Mandy Walters to do crab dressing. Other activities included plankton microscopy, investigating tides and marine charts, looking at human impact on the coastline, a seashore safari and even storytelling with virtual reality diving with dolphins!
Crab dressing was very popular with children enjoying dismembering crabs, then mixing the meat with mashed potatoes, peas and sweetcorn to make crab cakes.
The teachers were impressed with the quality of the activity and the way the children engaged. “It’s been a fabulous session for the children, we’re all looking forward to getting home and cooking our crab cakes.”
There were interesting discussions: apparently crab fishers look after their patches well as it’s in their own interests not to overfish. There are no licences so it is a “commons which works on trust.” Mandy has a stall at the local market and has noticed growing interest in local food.
“It’s so important that children get to know where their food comes from and this has been such a good opportunity to tell them about fish and get them thinking about eating more of it.”