The Alba Explorers

The Alba Explorers is a family-run business deeply rooted in the community near Aberdeen and driven by a passion for outdoor education and environmental stewardship. In Autumn 2024 they applied to Sea Changers with a proposal for Young Coastal Guardians: Angus & Dundee Beach Conservation Project. Their aim was to take young people from schools in the area to their local beaches, and foster environmental stewardship in the children to sustain ongoing beach care.

The Sea Changers grant paid travel expenses, risk assessments, equipment and printing costs for activities to allow these sessions to take place. During the sessions, children learned about a range of different marine species, including crabs, limpets, winkles, coastal invertebrates and molluscs, enhancing their understanding of biodiversity and marine ecosystem dynamics. The knowledge of these animals encourages a responsibility to protect them, and ensure that our beach spaces are a safe habitat.

With 14 trips completed, 80 students from a variety of backgrounds were given access to coastal areas near them that some never knew existed, and 75 bags of litter were collected as a result of these trips. One particular school requested to take back some of the interesting litter found and held a whole-school assembly about the conservation work their peers had carried out.

By running these sessions, The Alba Explorers are engaging the next generation in environmental stewardship, fostering a sense of responsibility to look after the spaces we share with such a range of interesting animals.