Island wildlife from past to present, from fossils to live moths and the most microscopic, was supersized into brilliant focus last weekend by Discovery Bay as part of National Biology Week.
The Bay-based science and nature team from Arc, Artecology, The Common Space and The National Poo Museum brought pop-up laboratories and a range of life science activities to Dinosaur Isle’s top floor. Dinosaur Isle’s experts were on hand too as part of their Earth Sciences Week celebrations.
Visitors were greeted with live aquariums and pond-dipping like no other; set in front of vast views across Sandown’s lake, Lost Duver ponds and the Bay, powerful microscopes and widescreens revealed a busy and developing world of life in the water itself with rotivating rotifers, freshwater prawns and water scorpions all making an appearance. Magnifying glasses transformed natural (albeit occasionally gruesome) heritage displays and an introduction to soil science via the bug-hoover showed how allowing even the smallest amount of leaf litter in your garden can support a range of invertebrate life.
Streams of visitors made the trip to explore Discovery Bay and earn their Bayologist badges. Sandown resident Lewis Lake commented:
“Discovery Bay is great. People ask why we moved here. Part of it was for our children. Beaches, woodland, fields and nature. It’s events like this created to educate and generate interest in our area and nature overall that confirm we made the right choice”.
Ian Boyd, Director at Artecology, Arc and The Common Space explains:
“National Biology Week is all about showcasing the amazing world of the biosciences and it was great to see so many people at Dinosaur Isle enjoying a hands-on encounter with the natural world this weekend! Discovery Bay teams up with the Royal Society of Biology every year to celebrate the Island’s extraordinary biodiversity and help people learn more about what’s out there and where to find it, from ammonites to zooplankton!”
The Biology Week celebration was the last event in a whole year of Discovery Bay activity, including Science Week, Dawn Chorus, Beach Bugs & Bones and the Science, Art and Ecology side of Hullabaloo. The team will be back in 2019 with a whole new Discovery Bay calendar to help celebrate the Island’s application to Biosphere status.
