Marine is a Theme for Galway Bay Transition Year Students Working with Senior Citizens

19th August 2021

A Young Hearts session on Grattan Beach, Galway Bay Credit: Adriana Cardinot

Sea and sky, as in the marine and astronomy, were twin themes of this year’s “Young Hearts”, a field programme involving transition year students working with senior citizens in Galway.

Tutors Dr Noirin Burke of Galway Atlantaquaria, artist Vicky Smith and astronomy experts Prof Andy Shearer and Adriana Cardinot of NUI Galway drew up a curriculum involving marine biology, astronomy and art.

Prof Shearer explained that the “Sky and Earth” module was supported by a Royal Astronomical Society award, marking its bicentenary.

The overall aim of the intergenerational programme is to build relationships and solidarity, according to co-ordinator Loretta Needham of Croí na Gaillimhe.

In spite of Covid 19, “Young Hearts” continued on Zoom over the past year, with pupils from Our Lady’s College, Galway and older members of the community.

Needham explained that isolation has been an issue for senior citizens long before Covid-19, and the programme aims to “create a foundation for lifelong social responsibility and understanding among young people”.

Young Hearts The overall aim of the intergenerational programme is to build relationships and solidarity

The last class for the 2020/2021 year was not on Zoom, but was at the socially distanced setting of low Spring tide on Galway’s Grattan beach.

Hear more about it on this week’s Wavelengths

Afloat.ie · Young Hearts of Galway Bay

Published in Wavelength Podcast, Galway Harbour, Marine Science

Published in Wavelength Podcast

Tagged under

About The Author

Lorna Siggins

Email The Author

Lorna Siggins is a print and radio reporter, and a former Irish Times western correspondent. She is the author of Search and Rescue: True stories of Irish Air-Sea Rescues and the Loss of R116 (2022); Everest Callling (1994) on the first Irish Everest expedition; Mayday! Mayday! (2004); and Once Upon a Time in the West: the Corrib gas controversy (2010). She is also co-producer with Sarah Blake of the Doc on One "Miracle in Galway Bay" which recently won a Celtic Media Award

We've got a favour to ask

More people are reading Afloat.ie than ever thanks to the power of the internet but we're in stormy seas because advertising revenues across the media are falling fast. Unlike many news sites, we haven’t put up a paywall because we want to keep our marine journalism open.

Afloat.ie is Ireland's only full–time marine journalism team and it takes time, money and hard work to produce our content.

So you can see why we need to ask for your help.

If everyone chipped in, we can enhance our coverage and our future would be more secure. You can help us through a small donation. Thank you.