A group of 10 pupils from Greenhill School have recently taken part in an environmental film-making workshop.

Sponsored by Environment Wales and run in association with Sea Watch Foundation (the national Whale and Dolphin Conservation charity based in New Quay), film-maker Kirsten Hintner has spent a week with the Year 9 students teaching them about their local marine environment, and then working with them to produce a documentary film about their chosen subject, Marine Pollution.

During the workshop, the pupils have gained lots of new skills, for example researching a subject, planning and conducting interviews, storyboarding, composing shots, taking photographs, constructing a story and using the video and sound equipment, which has enabled them to produce their final investigative documentary.

They have taken on roles such as producer, director, sound engineer, camera person and journalist and three of the students have even written and preformed their own song for the film.

The group visited Sea Watch Foundation to learn more about the important work they do conserving and monitoring cetaceans in British and Irish waters.

They conducted interviews with some of the Sea Watch volunteers and then enjoyed a boat trip in Cardigan Bay where they saw some of the resident pod of bottlenose dolphins.

They then spent a day litter-picking and rock-pooling with the Darwin Centre of Haverfordwest, where they learnt more about how pollution affects animals within a food chain and how dangerous plastic bags and litter can be to cetaceans and turtles.

The students would really like to invite the public along to a screening of their film later on in the year, which will take place in a local theatre (venue to be announced). They hope that this will raise awareness about the harmful effects of marine pollution, how it affects marine wildlife, humans and also how we can work towards keeping our oceans and marine environment clean.

The film will be screened alongside a second film which will be produced by 10 students from three of Pembrokshire's primary schools, also based on a marine environment subject.

The students involved in this first workshop were -Katie Evans, Calli Keane, Ella Brace, Jasmin Telmo, Ben Turner, Chloe Rees, Luke Richards, Huw Rowlands, Tom MacCreath and Gareth Williams.

Article written by Ella Brace and Jasmin Telmo (project journalists)