How time flies! We have reached the end of our time in the South West of England. During our winter in Cornwall we have been interviewed live on BBC Radio Cornwall about shark conservation, completed a Freezing Swim for Sharks in Padstow harbour, met many wonderful shark enthusiasts and thoroughly enjoyed the stunning scenery of the Cornish coast. It has been a fantastic start to our World Tour for Sharks and we will miss the Cornish hospitality.

 

We completed six public speaking events in Devon and Cornwall during January and February, which started with our World Tour launch at Cornwall College with Newquay Marine Group. The nerves were certainly there for me on that first night but the audience were very interested to learn about sharks and we had a great evening sharing our work and enthusiasm for the marine world.

 

 

This was followed by a lecture for The Environment Agency in Bodmin and two great evening talks for Polzeath and St Agnes Marine Conservation Groups. We really noticed how keen the members of each audience were, not only to hear about our work with Great White sharks but also to learn about shark conservation in general. There were plenty of questions and people to talk with afterwards.

 

Plymouth shark

 

Next up was Plymouth University on my birthday, lucky me! We had a fun day talking with the students and I thoroughly enjoyed using a mini microphone during our lecture in their Roland Levinsky theatre. I never expected to return to the university where I studied for my undergraduate degree many years ago and I hope we have inspired the students to pursue their passions and ambitions in life. One of the people who attended our talk, Poppy Gitsham, wrote an article about her experience of Friends for Sharks and I highly recommend you read her environmental education blog The Bear Necessities.

 

Plymouth Giant Screen

 

Last, but certainly by no means least, we spoke alongside Dr Ken Collins of Southampton University at a Shark Night in Looe hosted by Looe Marine Conservation Group. This was a fascinating evening that was a perfect finale in the South West for us. We thoroughly enjoyed listening to Dr Ken Collins’ talk about Blue sharks and his time working to set up the Galapagos Marine Reserve. We also had the pleasure of learning about the work of both the UK Shark Tagging Programme and the Shark Angling Club of Great Britain. It was wonderful hearing the passion that the local anglers and skippers of Looe have for conserving their Blue shark populations for all to enjoy and I have taken away valuable lessons about their positive approach to conservation in a town that was historically known for its’ Blue shark fishing industry.

 

Roland Levinsky Theatre

 

During our time in the South West we have shared our shark conservation mission with 317 people and raised £378.

 

Thank you to all who have made this first leg of our tour such a resounding success.

 

Next up….We are going to London for our series of events in the Big Smoke, including a lecture at The Natural History Museum of London. Be sure to check your calendars and join us at our public London events if you can.

 

For now it is time to pack our lives into two bags weighing no more than 23 Kgs each and board that train to London. Farewell Cornwall and we hope you have a wonderful year ahead of you.