Today we welcomed two visitors to our classroom. The first of our guest speakers was Colin Hume, Commercial and Administration Manager from the Port of Ayr, owned by ABP (Associated British Ports). He started off by telling us about the history of the port, dating back to 1197 when King William the Lion granted permission for fishing boats and trading ships to use the River Ayr. We also learned that construction of ships began on the River Ayr in the year 1236. These were built from wood from the forests in Ayr and Alloway. Nowadays the Port of Ayr receives cargoes of fertiliser, animal feed, grain, soda ash, limestone, dolomite, white salt and brown salt. Each year the port of Troon receives timber in excess of 120k tonnes and has an excellent fish market.

 

Our second visitor was, Olly Epson, a Marine Engineer who talked to us about oceans. We learned about some of the key differences between Oceans, discovering that the Pacific Ocean is the largest while the Atlantic and Indian oceans are the next largest. Olly talked to us about tides, informing us that gravitational forces from both sun and moon continually pull the earth. We found out that although the moon is much smaller than the sun, the moon’s gravity is the dominant force behind the Earth’s tide. He also told us about ocean life and showed us the depth at which different creatures live.

More information to come from the pupils on what they learned and how they have been following up on these visits.