Septimus back home

Long standing friends of Cornwall Seal Group Research Trust (CSGRT) ‘Seymour Gospel Hall’ in St Austell, welcomed Septimus to their centre for an action-packed programme organised by the wonderful Ken Rudge and his team. For two days Septimus was the star of the show for four classes of key stage 2 pupils from Sandyhill Academy as well as the Seymour Youth and Young at Heart groups. Septimus felt quite at home as St Austell Bay was where Septimus had enjoyed his sealy days!

1 Meeting Septimus and Rob2 Watching Septimus film

Sandyhill pupils being introduced to Septimus and…                           …watching his film

Septimus looks so smart and proud to be accompanied by CSGRT’s full pop up mobile marine centre exhibition. Rob Wells, Septimus’ friend in life, introduced Septimus to these fascinated audiences sharing his life story as pieced together by the efforts of CSGRT’s awesome volunteers. Director Sue showcased a short film of Septimus’ reconstruction, described as ‘bonkers’ by CSGRT’s patron Gillian Burke (Springwatch presenter).

3 Reading Septimus story for timeline4 Septimus timeline

Reading Septimus’ story booklet and…                                                  …recreating his timeline

Our Amazement and Discovery Ranger Marion and Creativity and Activity Ranger Emily joined in with Seymour Hall’s Jen, Marie and Pete to support participants through a range of engaging activities including a:

  • Septimus’ jigsaw with anatomical bone and marine adaptation labels
  • Septimus’ pre story to create a timeline of key life events matching his shocking injuries
  • Marine issues discussion, prioritising and negotiating the impacts faced by our globally rare grey seals
  • Creating overlapping rings of habitats used by our amazing wildlife and their key anatomical features

5 Septimus skeleton7 Septimus bones and adaptations

Jigsawing his bones together and…                                                        …adding bone and adaptation labels

8 Marine issue priorities9 Living creature habitats

Discussing and prioritising marine issues and…                                     …identifying species habitats and common creature features

After the school sessions, Septimsu felt privileged to meet the Seymour Gospel Hall Youth  and Young at Heart groups

10 Youth group6 Septimus skeleton all ages

Youth Group and…                                                                                   …Young at Heart Group

Extremely positive feedback from participants and staff made the efforts of the CSGRT and Seymour Hall team all worthwhile and whilst exhausted, Septimus had enjoyed meeting so many enthusiastic and interested people. Huge thanks to everyone taking part with special thanks to the Seymour Gospel Hall team Jen, Ken, Marie and Pete who were wonderfully welcoming hosts. We were grateful to the staff at Sandyhill Academy, who saw the value and potential of our exhibition and walked all their key stage 2 pupils over to visit us. Thanks too to Rob and Di for accommodating Sue and Marion for an overnight stay in their home.

If you have a school, community or special interest group who might like to host a Septimus pop up mobile marine exhibition for a few days, please do get in touch by emailing [email protected]

 

Thank you to the Peoples’ Postcode Lottery Postcode Local Trust and the National Lottery Heritage Fund for enabling us to buy real life sized blow up models of an adult male and adult female grey seal, to instill awe and wonder in people about their impressive scale. This event provided their first outing!

10 Inflatable seal