Last Thursday (August 10) saw staff and volunteers from Tenby Museum and Art Gallery and Pembrokeshire Coast National Park hosting a rockpooling session around St. Catherine’s Island.

The project was led by Owen Jenner, National Park ranger, and Mark Lewis, curator of Tenby Museum and Art Gallery, and supported by Barbara Friedrikkson (museum volunteer) and Vicky Tomlinson (museum volunteer and National Park walk leader). Thanks must also be given to John Loring, of St. Catherine’s Island, who offered free admission onto the island for anyone who took part in the session.

Around 10 families enjoyed the event and a variety of marine specimens were found, including periwinkles, blenny, hermit crabs, shore crabs, sea lettuce and shrimp. True to rockpooling code, nothing attached was removed and after an educational session with Owen and Vicky, all of the creatures were realised back into the waters.

Mark said: “It was great to get out of the office on one of those rare sunny August days! This event was part of a wider project the museum is undertaking on shoreline ecology, which has included panels and a small display on beach pollution and I am grateful to Owen for is enthusiasm and expertise and to Vicky and Barbara who were absolutely brilliant and hugely knowledgeable. It is important for museum’s to become actively involved in wider issues such as this. And now we have the National Park’s presence in the museum, this was also the ideal opportunity to undertake a fun and educational joint venture. It was also great to work with John, of St. Catherine’s, and hopefully we will get to work together again on a different scheme.”