Working with you to help Scotland’s seabirds and seas recover
3 Introduction
4-5 Conservation
Supporting marine conservation in Scotland.
6-7 Education
Connecting people and nature.
8-9 Communities
Collaborating with local communities and scientific partners.
10-11 Experience
Creating inspiring events, activities, and exhibitions.
12 Future Plans
Insights into our upcoming projects.
14-15 Get Involved & Our Supporters
Offering ways to take part and recognising our supporters.
INTRODUCTION
We are pleased to be presenting the 7th edition of our Impact Report to you and hope you enjoy finding out more about our activities and projects for nature and people.
We did not expect to be dealing with the effect of an internal flood which severely impacted and led to the closure of our Discovery Experience at the start of the year. It was a big blow to our forward plans but, as ever, our team have shown incredible resilience and adaptability to continue to offer a wider range of experiences for people. We have now finalised the re-instatement works, updating some content and improving the flexibility and accessibility of the space. I am delighted we are now re-open and able to welcome back members and visitors.
I hope that you will get a sense of the diversity of projects and activities that our team leads on, or contributes to, across the four main pillars of our workconservation, education, community and experience. These range from our habitat management work on seabird islands and restoring seagrass meadows, to engaging with people through citizen science activities or our community and schoolbased learning sessions to help people to learn more about their local environment. There is also a growing demand from society for nature-based outdoor activities. We are involved in different partnerships that help improve people’s social connections and wellbeing through connections with nature.
We have been fortunate to secure a significant award from the National Lottery Heritage Fund which has enabled us to appoint three new members to our team who will help increase our resilience and improve the sustainability of our operations. I am sure you will hear more about the effect of this award in future editions of the Impact Report.
Despite the in-year challenges our team have achieved a lot, and we couldn’t do this without the support of our members, individuals, trusts and foundations and corporates. So, thank you for your continued support, including to our online giving campaigns – such as our Ocean Action campaign as part of the “Big Give”. It means a lot.
Susan Davies CEO
Donate to support our work to protect Scotland’s spectacular marine wildlife and habitats: Scan here
CONSERVATION
We develop, demonstrate and promote models of conservation best practice and citizen science
The Conservation team have been extremely busy dividing their time between practical habitat management, with support from our fantastic team of volunteers, and delivering citizen science activities to gather data that helps us to better understand the health of our wildlife in both a local and national context. We have also been supporting university partners with monitoring and research projects to help protect our internationally important seabirds.
Working as advocates for the marine environment, the team have provided input to the Scottish Government’s offshore renewables strategic compensation policy development, as well as advising individual developers on specific compensation measures. And, through our membership with ScotLink, we have championed the need for the ban on commercial sandeel fisheries to be sustained in the face of a challenge from the European Union. Other policy input has been prioritised around ScotLink’s Save Scottish Seas and Marine Protected Areas campaigns, as well as input into more sustainable fisheries.
Puffin Counting
Our conservation team has been out puffin burrow counting. These important surveys, carried out in partnership with the Forth Seabird Group and RSPB (Scotland), aimed to assess the health of puffin populations on Craigleith and Fidra. We were particularly keen to understand how the puffins were fairing after the devastation caused by avian flu to some seabird populations over the past few years.
However, it was good news! The puffin populations on both islands seem stable, with over 900 occupied puffin burrows recorded on Fidra and over 5,000 occupied burrows on Craigleith. We can assume that each ‘Apparently Occupied Burrow’ recorded is home to 1 pair of breeding puffins. This comes after good news from the team on the Isle of May, where recent counts estimated that there are now around 52,000 occupied puffin burrows, marking a 33% increase since the last survey in 2017. Lamb island is still to be counted, with further work being undertaken when the breeding cormorants have left the island and we can land safely without causing disturbance.
Thanks to our supporters - Ocean Action Big Give Campaign
Our conservation work is diverse in its approach. To support the depth and breadth of work undertaken, we delivered our Ocean Action digital campaign via the Big Give Green Match Fund in spring. The fundraising target was £5,000 with donations being match funded by a champion donor up to £5,000. 67 donations were received with a total amount raised reaching £10,125 (including match funding by champion donors). We are grateful for all the support we received to reach our target which helps us to continue to understand, protect and restore Scotland’s vitally important marine wildlife and coastal habitats – sharing knowledge and skills that empower more people to take action for our seas.
4
SOS Puffin Volunteer work parties with 45 engagements
5
Biosecurity (invasive predator) checks undertaken on the islands
90
North Berwick shorewatch surveys submitted
934
Engagements and 218 bags of litter at 56 staff led, partnership and self-led beach clean events in North Berwick and surrounding areas.
EDUCATION
We deliver marine education programme, science resources and events that are relevant to national education frameworks.
Inclusive and Accessible Learning
Our education and outreach team have worked hard to develop new learning opportunities for all ages to help remove barriers to participation, increase accessibility and inclusivity and extend our reach. The focus is on delivering structured formal and informal learning sessions and resources to support family-based and school learning including our very popular weekly wildlife clubs and regular holiday clubs. The team have faced a huge challenge in recent months since our Discovery Experience (including our theatre space) was flooded in February 2024. We had to develop new activities which could be run flexibly at different
1124
Engagements across 94 School Workshops
2 Student placements
17 Wildlife clubs
locations inside and outside as well as a mobile version of our popular live science shows. Despite these challenges we have supported an increased number of educational engagements, including facilitating several very big secondary school groups reaching 360 students over 3 days – 60 at a time! In addition, the team delivered bespoke outreach activities at various festivals, including our regular engagements as part of Edinburgh Science Festival and Dundee Science Festival as well as Tranent, Fisherrow Harbour Festival, Pint of Science and SAMS (Scottish Association for Marine Science).
337 Engagements across 4 Holiday Clubs
105
Engagements from talks to diverse audiences across 5 events
641 Engagements across 6 festivals
Feedback from participants:
“Fabulous and very well led! Pupils also loved being able to get hands on with their activity”
Ross High
“Thank you to you and Charlotte for a fantastic day. The kids and the adults had a fantastic experience with the Seabird Centre. We will be back next year!”
James
Gillespies
“Massive thank you to Jack who led the learning this week. Today’s session was excellently timed with some really important information quickly and effectively delivered. This is one of the most valuable trips we have ever had. Thank you so much.”
Edinburgh Academy
COMMUNITIES
We work in partnership with diverse communities and enhance the experience for visitors to North Berwick.
Nature, Health and Wellbeing
A wellbeing thread increasingly runs through our programme of work, and we have had many opportunities to combine learning with outdoor group activities that promote good mental and social health. Working with community groups such as Changes and North Berwick Youth Project we have delivered varied sessions including wildlife walks, rock pool rambles and seaweed pressing. We have worked, in partnership with North Berwick Beach wheelchairs, with care homes to bring residents to the seaside. Through our successful partnership with mental health charity Changes, East Lothian we delivered a 12-week programme of bird watching walks and 2 seagrass seed pressing events. There is a vast amount of scientific evidence to support the links between improved mental health and bird watching and listening to bird sounds, so the programme was designed with this in mind, supporting people to engage in activities to promote positive health and wellbeing.
132
Engagements across 19 Changes sessions
51
Engagements across 10 North Berwick Youth Project sessions
106
Engagements at 1 Young People’s Wellbeing Event
20
Engagements across 4 day care and care home sessions (in partnership with Beach Wheelchairs)
13
Engagements across 2 sessions engaging disadvantaged and young people
Community Action
We saw interest in beach cleans increase over winter and spring, in part due to the increased volume of visible litter on North Berwick’s beaches and beyond, due to frequent stormy weather. One beach clean, in partnership with Scottish Coastal Cleanup, saw volunteers remove over 300kg of beached microplastics and fishing gear in a single day. We have continued to work with the Scottish Coastal Cleanup and Keep Scotland Beautiful, contributing to campaigns against pollution, such as “Spring Clean Scotland” and “the Big Beach Clean”. This enables us to bring our local knowledge to these partnerships and to strengthen local connections.
The East Lothian Council’s Countryside Ranger Service has also been a great support, locally in North Berwick and also in Musselburgh, where we continue to engage new audiences with the help of the Fisherrow Harbour and Seafront Association.
Our partnership with Whale and Dolphin Conservation, through their Shorewatch Project, has been steadily growing in popularity too, with over 100 surveys conducted over the 6 months, contributing valuable data to aid in the protection of these important marine species.
680
600kg
People engaged in organised beach cleans
Over 600kg and 180+ bags full of litter removed from local beaches.
People inspired to take action and borrow kits for self-led beach cleans (584 of which were school groups)
EXPERIENCE
We offer an award winning experience, are a valued community resource and engage more people through digital technology and media.
After the internal flood in February forced the closure of our Discovery Experience, our team and contractors have worked tirelessly to restore the attraction. We are delighted that by the time this report reaches you, the Discovery Experience will have reopened, and we cannot wait to welcome visitors back.
During the closure, we increased our offer of various outdoor activities including rockpool rambles, beach cleans, and nurdle hunts. This gave people the chance to discover sea creatures and habitats, learn about ocean plastic pollution, and take part in hands-on conservation. We delivered a beachcombing art session and storytelling activities for children alongside our new live science show, Fintastic Farming, which brought interactive fun to people at another local venue. As part of the Edinburgh Science Festival, we hosted Seaside Science sessions on identifying rockpool creatures and learning key scientific skills.
Our boat trips remained extremely popular during the season, with nearly 9,000 visitors exploring local islands and connecting with our marine wildlife.
MarineFest, our annual celebration of Scotland’s seas, returned for its
fourth year and attracted nearly 500 visitors with a mix of talks, walks, and creative activities. Highlights included a sell-out talk by our ambassador, BBC Springwatch presenter Megan McCubbin, and a programme of citizen science events to mark World Ocean Day. We were also pleased to partner with other organisations to deliver experiences ranging from gin tastings to lobster talks and sensory herbal workshops.
96%
Of those surveyed at MarineFest rated the events 4* or 5*; and 80% thought that their event successfully highlighted the need to protect our marine environments
“Really opened our eyes to the diversity of creatures and seaweeds to be found in the rock pools.”
MarineFest participant
“Charlotte was brilliant with the kids (and parents!) and the games gave the kids a lovely introduction to gannets. The format worked really well, and the kids had a ball.”
MarineFest participant
“The boat tour around the three islands was beyond our expectations! We spotted puffins straight away, including a myriad of other seabirds, but the highlight in addition to pufflings were the seals, who curiously popped their heads up and down as the boat drifted past them. Bass island was wild, cannot believe such a place actually exists.”
Trip Advisor review
“I have an increased appreciation for the marine wildlife and habitats. I will be looking out for birds and sea life.”
Corporate away day participant
FUTURE PLANS
The rising challenges related to pollution, climate change, overfishing and habitat destruction are putting immense pressure on our marine ecosystems, making our work in marine conservation and education more important than ever. Alongside these environmental challenges, our charity is facing an increasingly difficult funding landscape. Rising project costs, limited public funding, and growing competition for grants are making it harder to sustain our core activities and vital projects that protect our seas and educate future generations.
Despite these challenges, we have much to look forward to for the future. Earlier this year, we received £249,685 from the National Lottery Heritage Fund to support our financial resilience and environmental sustainability over the next 18 months. This funding will enable us to install renewable energy, develop new partnerships, grow our membership, and improve inclusivity. With our fully restored Discovery Experience now reopened, we’ve planned an exciting schedule of exhibitions, covering topics from the marine environment to science and art, offering something new each
time you visit us. And with winter just around the corner, we will soon be launching our Winter Wonders programme from November to February, with guided walks, creative workshops, and hands-on crafts to celebrate nature in winter.
The Scottish Seabird Centre, established with support from the Millennium Commission in 2000, will celebrate its 25th birthday in May 2025. We are planning to mark this special occasion with a year-long programme of events and activities that reflect the core values and key mission of the charity. We will take the opportunity to reflect on the significant journey the organisation has made since it was established and the health of our seabirds, coasts and seas.
As we look to the future with you, we aim to continue to support change and action to protect and restore our coastal and marine environments, internationally important seabirds and the local islands that we have direct management responsibility for. We hope you will join us in our 25th celebrations – your generous support helps us deliver for nature and people.
How will you help us protect Scotland’s marine environment?
● Donate: one-off and monthly donations enable us to carry out essential conservation work, from protecting endangered species to cleaning up our coastlines
● Become a member: your membership helps us protect marine species and habitats while giving you access to our centre, exhibits, and a range of discounts and offers
● Leave a gift in your will: remember us in your will to protect our seas and seabirds for generations to come
● Volunteer: join our team and take part in hands-on conservation efforts, educational programmes and community events
● Follow us on social media: help raise awareness about marine conservation and inspire others to take action by sharing our work online
● Get involved as a business: can your employer partner with us to support marine conservation, engage employees and showcase their commitment to sustainability?
If each person reading this takes even just one of these actions, together we can create a significant impact on Scotland’s seas and marine wildlife.
“A very well organised day with highly professional presenters and staff. Thank you for being so engaging and delivering such a fun and fulfilling day!”
Corporate away day participant
SUPPORTERS
Thank you to all those who have made our work possible
We are grateful to all the loyal supporters, companies, trusts and foundations who make our work possible. Our particular thanks go to this year’s supporters (2024 -25) including:
• AEB Charitable Trust
• Aviva Crowdfunder
• Awards for All
• Baillie Gifford
• Benevity
• Big Give - Green Match Fund donors
• Cirrus Logic International UK
• Cray Trust
• Cruden Foundation
• East Lothian Educational Trust
• Enterprise Holdings Foundation
• Foyle Foundation
• Frognal Charitable Trust
• Garfield Weston Foundation
• Graham and Henrietta Somervell’s Wildlife Trust
• Hamish and Doris Crichton Charitable Trust
• HDH Wills Charitable Trust
• Horace and Helen Gillman Trusts
• Hugh Fraser Foundation
• In memorium and legacy donors
• The J and JR Wilson Trust
• Lady Eda Jardine Charitable Trust
• Mackintosh Foundation
• MEB Charitable Trust
• Mindsets and Missions Learning Programme, UK Research and Innovation
• Mrs J B Woods Charitable Trust
• The National Lottery Community Fund - Platinum Jubilee Grant
• The National Lottery Heritage Fund
• North Berwick Trust Limited
• New to Nature
• The Rotary Club of Romsey Test
• Sandra Charitable Trust
• Scottish Enterprise
• Scottish Marine Environmental Enhancement Fund
• Scottish Seabird Centre Friends for Life and Founder Members
• Scottish Seabird Centre Friends, Members and Volunteers
• The Slater Foundation
• Stafford Trust
• Swire Charitable Trust
• Sylvia Aitken Charitable Trust
• Tay Charitable Trust
• TD Paton Charitable Trust
• Tesco Stronger Starts
• Thistledown Trust
• Treasure Charitable Trust
• William Grant Foundation
• William Haddon Charitable Trust
Many more generous individuals have supported us financially, as well as through their time, expertise, and gifts in kind. While it is not possible to include everyone here, we are extremely grateful. For a full list of our supporters, see our website https://www.seabird.org/thanks
