Case Study
The expansion and delivery of the Foyle and Carlingford Ambassador Programme
The Foyle and Carlingford Ambassador Programme is an immersive, experiential and educational programme developed by Loughs Agency. The programme aims to help connect young people to their local tributaries and rivers, creating groups of responsible individuals focused on protecting and improving their local environments.
Gray’s were tasked with raising awareness and increasing promotion of the Ambassador Programme, engaging mass numbers of local schools and pupils within the Foyle and Carlingford catchment areas.
The overall aim was to inspire over 2,000 young people and engage local pupils with Ambassador-related activities, and Gray’s created a five-part campaign which consisted of the following:
As a key part of the programme, Gray’s enlisted local water activity providers to deliver a series of taster sessions, engaging over 60 pupils in aquatic exercises including kayaking or raft building.
In an innovative twist, Gray’s enlisted the support of a local street art group to collaboratively deliver eight workshops with school children, who created a myriad of illustrations that formed various scenes of an educational animation.
Gray’s supported Loughs Agency in transporting the Marine Machine to a number of schools across the two catchment areas. The Marine Machine is a custom-built portable facility complete with 360° immersive and educational components, including a discovery tank, biodiversity area and a life-size basking shark game.
Activity booklets were created and distributed to over 20 schools across the two catchment areas to engage 11-year-olds in a series of puzzles, challenges and much more. The booklets centred around key aspects that reflect the Ambassador Programme’s core themes, including climate change, plastic pollution, protection of marine life, invasive species, and biodiversity.
To create a lasting impact from the Ambassador Programme, the first ever Water Warriors event took place in November 2022. Running over two days in two separate venues, local schools were provided with the opportunity to attend live interactive shows, and become involved in immersive educational experiences. Hosted by celebrity scientist and TV presenter, Mark The Science Guy, over 800 pupils learned about their local environments, climate change and biodiversity in the most unique way! Pupils were also able to network with their peers and become involved in team building exercises. Check out this recap of the Water Warriors events.
