The Scottish Seabird Centre is a marine conservation and education charity, that is supported by a 5 star visitor attraction in

North Berwick North Berwick (; gd, Bearaig a Tuath) is a seaside town A seaside resort is a town, village, or hotel that serves as a vacation resort and is located on a coast. Sometimes the concept includes an aspect of official accreditation based on th ...

East Lothian East Lothian (; sco, East Lowden; gd, Lodainn an Ear) is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland, as well as a historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area. The county was called Haddingtonshire until 1921. In 1975, the histo ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

. Opened by HRH

Duke of Rothesay Duke of Rothesay ( ; gd, Diùc Baile Bhòid; sco, Duik o Rothesay) is a dynastic title of the heir apparent to the British throne, currently William, Prince of Wales. William's wife Catherine, Princess of Wales, is the current Duchess of R ...

in 2000 and funded by the Millennium Commission. The showpiece of the centre is the interactive live cameras out to the wildlife on the Firth of Forth islands, including Bass Rock, Isle of May, Fidra and Craigleith. The Bass Rock is the world's largest colony of Northern gannets with an estimated 150,000 birds present.

History

Materials used to construct the centre were, whenever possible, environmentally sustainable and locally sourced. The centre was designed by Edinburgh architects Simpson & Brown to make use of natural light and ventilation, and to offer panoramic views both to sea and inland towards North Berwick Law. Very little plastic was used in construction, with wood, stone and metal being preferred. The site now occupied by the Scottish Seabird Centre once overlooked the North Berwick Outdoor Swimming Pool, a feature of the

North Berwick Harbour The Harbour at North Berwick in East Lothian, Scotland, was originally a ferry port for pilgrims travelling to St Andrews in Fife. Today the water is home to leisure craft, a famous tourist launch and the remains of the fishing fleet that once dom ...

area from the nineteenth century until its eventual closure in 1996. The old pool has been filled in and is now a boat and dinghy park for members of the East Lothian Yacht Club, is the location of the Firth of Forth Lobster Hatchery, the Beach Wheelchair enterprise and has several colourful beach huts that sell local products. The buildings housing the learning hub, boat office and administration office of the Scottish Seabird Centre were previously a sun lounge room. The Scottish Seabird Centre - geograph

The Scottish Seabird Centre was one of the flagship projects backed by the Millennium Commission which distributed cash from the UK National Lottery to cultural and heritage-related projects. A 64p stamp commemorating the opening of the Seabird Centre was released in 2000 as part of the "Above & Beyond" collection in the

Millennium Series ''Millennium'' is a series of best-selling and award-winning Swedish literature, Swedish crime novels, created by journalist Stieg Larsson. The two primary characters in the saga are Lisbeth Salander, an asocial computer hacker with a eidetic me ...

. Although the stamp features a colony of gannets, the featured picture was taken in South Africa, not (as many assume) on the Bass Rock. In August 2021, the charity appointed Louise Macdonald, national director for the

Institute of Directors The Institute of Directors (IoD) is a British professional organisation for company directors, senior business leaders and entrepreneurs. It is the UK's longest running organisation for professional leaders, having been founded in 1903 and incor ...

and CEO of

Young Scot Young Scot is a national information and citizenship organisation supported by the Scottish Government for young people aged 11–25 in Scotland. The declared aim of the organisation is to make young people informed, incentivised and active ci ...

as its first ambassador.

Facilities

The main attraction at the Scottish Seabird Centre is the recently refurbished (2019) Discovery Experience that contains interactive wildlife cameras which allow visitors to observe northern gannets, Atlantic puffins, shags, cormorants and other seabirds on the islands in the Firth of Forth. Additional wildlife includes seals and occasional sightings of dolphins and whales. The Discovery Experience also has a number of informative storyboards, mechanical and digital exhibits which bring Scotland's seabirds and underwater world to visitors. The exhibits cover: • Seabirds (covering migration, seabird colonies, breeding and feeding) • Threats (covering fishing, invasive species, climate change and pollution) • Marine (kelp forests, coral reef, seals, cetaceans, intertidal zone) • Discover (recent sightings, interactive live cameras, seasonal wildlife) There's a kids zone, gift shop and licensed cafe with an outdoor sun deck overlooking the Firth of Forth to the Bass Rock, and on a clear day to the Isle of May. Throughout the year the charity offers educational workshops and has live science shows for families during school holidays, and there is a year-round programme of events and festivals. The Centre also organises a programme of walks, including a free guided early bird beach walk every month. The Scottish Seabird Centre's wildlife adventure boat trips are operated in partnership with local operator Seafari Adventures (Forth) from

Harbour, to the islands from Easter to October. The Centre also has exclusive landing rights for the

Bass Rock The Bass Rock, or simply the Bass (), ( gd, Creag nam Bathais or gd, Am Bas) is an island in the outer part of the Firth of Forth in the east of Scotland. Approximately offshore, and north-east of North Berwick, it is a steep-sided volcan ...

, owned by Sir Hew Hamilton-Dalrymple, and home to the world's largest colony of Northern gannets. Landing Trips to the Bass Rock are a very special, sense busting, wildlife experience as the numbers of northern gannets have soared to 150,000 over the years. Landing trips to the Isle of May are available departing from North Berwick, as well as hour-long trips around the Bass Rock on board the 55-seat catamaran and 12-seat RIBs.

Awards

The Scottish Seabird Centre, a VisitScotland five star visitor experience, has become extremely popular, winning many awards for environmental and

sustainable tourism Sustainable tourism is a concept that covers the complete tourism experience, including concern for economic, social and environmental issues as well as attention to improving tourists' experiences and addressing the needs of host communities. Su ...

including the Green Tourism Gold Award and the Queen's Award for Enterprise in Sustainable Development in 2004, 2009 and 2013.

Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. She was queen ...

and

Prince Philip Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh (born Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark, later Philip Mountbatten; 10 June 1921 – 9 April 2021) was the husband of Queen Elizabeth II. As such, he served as the consort of the British monarch from E ...

visited the town in July 2009 to present the Scottish Seabird Centre with the award. The Bass Rock was also named BBC Countryfile Magazine's Nature Reserve of the Year 2014/15.

References

External links

Scottish Seabird Centre
Official site
Scottish Seabird Centre Strategic Plan for 2020 - 2025
- Review of the construction process

on the design of the centre {{authority control Buildings and structures in East Lothian Nature centres in Scotland Wildlife rehabilitation and conservation centers Tourist attractions in East Lothian Protected areas of East Lothian Ornithological organizations North Berwick

History

Facilities

Awards

See also

References

External links