Seafood in Schools at Baldragon Academy.

To gain more research and aid my design I decided to contact ‘Seafood Scotland’. As my project is to design a fish and chip shop of the future that will aim to educate its customers I wanted to see how other organisations educate people. I first heard about Seafood Scotland’s ‘Seafood in Schools’ on the radio, it’s a programme that is run in different schools all over Scotland to teach children about fish.

I e-mailed Seafood Scotland for some help and not only did they send me a giant package full of information on the subject but they also invited me along to one of their ‘Seafood in Schools’ events at a local high school.

Today I went along to Baldragon Academy to the Seafood in Schools event. It was a great experience and all the staff were very welcoming. In the morning I helped out on the fresh fish counter where Ian Murray from the Anstruther Fisheries Museum talked to the kids about the types of fish available in Scotland; starting with the familiar haddock and cod, to monkfish, lobster, scallops and many more. As he was telling them about the fish it was displayed in front of them and they were encouraged to touch and ask questions. At first many of the pupils were a little unsure especially when the langoustine began to creep around the counter but by the end of the session they were very excited and were more comfortable touching and being around fresh fish.

In the afternoon I went over to the ‘Come Dine with Me’ section to watch the kids learn about the health benefits of oily fish and try some. Again many were reluctant at first but after describing the tastes to them and relating it to foods they were used to all the kids tried the fish. A few were pleasantly surprised and I’m sure more likely to eat it again. After asking pupils why they didn’t eat fish the main responses were that it was smelly and the look put them off. Today really was a great day as it allowed children to see, touch and taste new types of fish and will definitely be something they will remember and no doubt influence their decisions about fish in the future.

Today has given me some food for thought. How can I incorporate education into my design? It has also convinced me that a fresh fish counter should be part of the new style fish and chip shop, to not only create excitement with the customers but also get them interested and let them see what they’re eating.

Thanks to Seafood Scotland, Maria, Cat, Ian and the others at Baldragon who I met today, I had a great time!