On Tuesday 16th of May we welcomed The ARC to our school for a fascinating, futuristic and fun filled learning experience. The Aquaculture Remote Classroom (ARC) is a mobile classroom which has been designed to raise young people’s awareness of aquaculture. The ARC travels all around Ireland, visiting primary schools and sharing all that aquaculture has to offer. The ARC is completely funded through the EU. We were so grateful that our school was given the opportunity to experience this wonderful initiative.
Katie and Hugh from The ARC taught us all about Aquaculture and its importance in our world. Aquaculture is the farming of plants and animals in the water. Although almost all of us have seen and understand farming on the land, not many people are aware that we also farm plants and animals in the water.
Throughout the day 6th class explored a range of learning resources such as interactive videos, VR headsets, mapping, teamwork exercises and an interactive quiz. We also had the pleasure of welcoming the multi-talented Kelly family from "Wild Atlantic Oysters" back to our school, the Kellys are former pupils of our school.
The Kelly family explained how their business "Wild Atlantic Oysters" sustainably farms and grows Premium Grade Oysters for an international market. We learned all about the life cycle of an oyster from the nursery to packing and how the oyster makes its way onto some of the most expensive restaurant tables in the world.
It was amazing to learn about a local sustainable business that employs numerous people and exports their product across the world. The Kelly family even brought samples along and some brave pupils decided to try them out.
A huge thank you to Katie and Hugh from The ARC and the Kelly family from Wild Atlantic Oysters for a very memorable, fun and informative experience, we hope you will return to our school again in the future.
