Upcoming Events

Our series of talks, training and events running through 2025 have been endorsed by the UN as an official activity contributing to the UN Ocean Decade!

April

Complete our BLUE CONNECT online survey!

Across BLUE CONNECT, we are asking the local communities and public their thoughts on local marine protection. This survey is open for all of March! Please fill in the one most relevant to you (you are welcome to do both):

Shetland: https://forms.office.com/e/ee9yBzJC35
Scotland-wide: https://forms.office.com/e/xbkmFe4TxV

🐬Train to spot and record marine mammals, be a WDC Shorewatch volunteer 🐬

There will be two training sessions held in Shetland in April (if you can't attend, online trainings are also available);

📅 Tuesday 15th April, 11am-2pm 📍UHI Campus, Main Auditorium, Scalloway. Followed by a Shorewatch at Burra Toogs.

📅 Wednesday 16th April, 18:30-20:30 📍Isleburgh Centre, Lerwick.

Sign up for training sessions at this link. If you are based somewhere else in Shetland and would like a session nearer to you, let us know by emailing shorewatch@whales.org

🐳 WDC Shorewatch social (and taster) sessions🐳

Katie Dyke, Shorewatch coordinator, will be visiting Shetland, so during her visit we are planning some get togethers, to do some Shorewatches, share cake and catch up at various sites around Shetland! All welcome (whether you are a WDC Shorewatch volunteer or not). Times/days subject to change (but will be updated here nearer the time);

📅 Tuesday 15th April, 14:30-16:00 📍 Burra Toogs (bring your lunch!)

📅 Tuesday 15th April, 18:30-19:30📍the Knab (Lerwick)

📅 Wednedsday 16th April, 11:00-13:00 📍Mousa Sound

📅 Wednedsday 16th April, 15:00-17:00📍 the Knab (Lerwick)

📅 Thursday 17th April, 11:30-13:30📍 Burravoe (Yell)

📅 Thursday 17th April, 15:00-17:00📍 Belmont (Unst)

📅 Friday 18th April, 11:30-12:30📍 Quendale

📅 Friday 18th April, 14:00-16:00📍 Sumburgh Head (sites A, B and C) (including cakes, cuppa and a quiz in the Sumburgh Head cafe 13:00-14:00)

📅 Saturday 19th April, 10:00-12:00📍 Sandness

📅 Sunday 20th April, 15:00-17:00📍 Burra Toogs

📅 Monday 21st April, 11:00-13:00📍South Nesting Bay

🌊Shetland's Seas: An Evening of Marine Talks🌊

📍 Auditorium, Shetland Musuem & Archives

📅Friday 18th April 🕡Doors open 18:30 🎤 Talks: 6:45 - 8:30 PM

💙 FREE entry – no sign-up needed!

Come along for a relaxed Friday evening diving into Shetland’s marine life. Hear about all things marine mammals and learn how you could get involved with the various projects and initiatives around Shetland! 🐳💬

Our speakers include:

🐬 Katie Dyke (Whale and Dolphin Conservation)

🐋 Mariel ten Doeschate & Rachel Lennon (Scottish Marine Animal Stranding Scheme)

🐦 Helen Moncrieff (RSPB Shetland)

🌿 Karen Hall (NatureScot & Shetland Marine Mammal Group)

🦭 Pete Bevington (Hillswick Wildlife Sanctuary)

🔬 Emily Hague (BLUE CONNECT project / UHI Shetland)

Facebook Event Link: https://fb.me/e/evvKgrBsS

🐋 Meet WDC's inflatable Humpback whale, Hope! 🐋

📍Burra Public Hall 📅Sunday 20th April, 10am-13:45pm. All wecome. Tickets not essential, but you can book your visit here.

💙As well as getting to set inside Hope, there will be various other marine activities, and organisations keen to talk to you about ways you can help with marine conservation around Shetland, including SMASS, Beach Track and UHI Shetland.

🐬SMASS BeachTrack and BEEP training, for trained SMASS volunteers (or those interested in signing up)

📍Hillswick Wildlife Sanctuary

📅Saturday 19th April, 11:00-14:00

All wecome, no prior registration needed!

💙 SMASS BeachTrack training and Redd Ups!

Meet at the Quendale Shorewatch site at 11:30 on Friday 18th April to hear more about how to do a BeachTrack!

May

🐋 European Cetacean Society Conference 'Navigating waters of change'

📍Ponta Delgada, Azores, Portugal

📅 13th May, Half day workshops

BLUE CONNECT will be co-hosting two workshops on 13th May;

Morning: Blue Innovations: Communities and Tech for Cetacean Monitoring on a Budget
Afternoon: Approaches to the assessment and mitigation of vessel strike risks from small/medium marine traffic, including vessels not required to transmit AIS

🐬Orca Watch 📅 24th May- 1st June 2025 Orca Watch is a nine-day event co-ordinated by Sea Watch Foundation, with the hub based in John O’Groats, but there are watches and events taking place all around northern Scotland (Caithness and North Sutherland), and the northern isles (Orkney and Shetland). Watch this space for Shetland based events and watches!

June

🐋 WDC Shorewatch Big Watch Weekend📅 6 - 8th June Twice a year, WDC Shorewatch run 'Big Watch Weekends' where they encourage all their volunteers to do as much Shorewatching as possible across all Shorewatch sites. During the weekend, there'll be social watches and a few fun competitions.

July

National Whale and Dolphin Week 📅 26th July to 3rd August 2025 National Whale and Dolphin Week is a week-long citizen science event, co-ordinated by Sea Watch Foundation, dedicated to observing and protecting whales, dolphins, and porpoises in UK waters. Watch this space for Shetland based events and watches!

August

September

WDC Shorewatch Big Watch Weekend, 📅 5 - 7th September. Twice a year, WDC Shorewatch run 'Big Watch Weekends' where they encourage all their volunteers to do as much Shorewatching as possible across all Shorewatch sites. During the weekend, there'll be social watches and a few fun competitions.

Other

SMASS sampling volunteer training (in Shetland) 📍Location (in Shetland) and dates TBC

Past Events

WDC & SMASS Marine Forum 2025 📅 1st March 2025📍 National Museums Scotland, Edinburgh

BLUE CONNECT hosted a stall during the afternoon interactive sessions at the Marine Forum. We encouraged attendees to complete our online surveys, providing thoughts on protective measures and areas, related to marine mammals in Scotland.

Hebridean Whale and Dolphin Trust: Winter Webinar series 📅 Wednesday 19th March 2025, 7pm: "Cetacean Conservation: Communities Count!" with Emily Hague

Scotland is unique, in that a huge part of our understanding of marine mammals has been gleaned via data collected by the community participating in data collection, rather than via established governmental or academic research programmes. Emily will share some examples, and present a project working to help empower and enhance community efforts further. We will then have some interactive discussion and brainstorming on new techniques, technologies and ideas on how together we can continue to advance our understanding of the blubbery beings around our coasts!

Banner Image Credit Nick McCaffrey / Southspear Media & Surveys Ltd

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