Scottish Seabird Centre

The Scottish Seabird Centre is a popular award-winning visitor attraction in North Berwick, East Lothian, Scotland. Opened by HRH The Prince of Wales in 2000 and funded by the Millennium Commission, the showpiece of the centre is the network of cameras which beam back live pictures from the bird colonies on islands such as the Bass Rock and Fidra. The local abundance of gannets, puffins and more has been described by Sir David Attenborough as one of the "Twelve Wildlife Wonders of the World"..

History

The site now occupied by the Seabird Centre once overlooked the North Berwick Outdoor Swimming Pool, a feature of the North Berwick Harbour area from the 19th century until its eventual closure in 1996. The old pool has been filled in and is now a boat and dinghy park for members of the East Lothian Yacht Club. The buildings housing the offices of the Seabird Centre were previously a sun room.

During the public consultation phase many locals objected to the construction of the Seabird Centre on the grounds that the harbour area would not be able to cope with the large number of visitors, and that the large-scale construction required could damage the historic area. These fears proved to be unfounded although parking in the surrounding area has, perhaps inevitably, become even more of a problem. The seasonal park-and-ride scheme and Seabird Centre's special discounted rail ticket from Edinburgh, offers some relief in the summer months. The Seabird Centre, a VisitScotland five star visitor attraction, has become extremely popular, winning many awards for environmental and sustainable tourism including the Green Tourism Gold Award and the Queen's Award for Enterprise in Sustainable Development. It also provides a local hub for the community with a fortnightly Cinema Club and year round festivals and events, such as the Fringe by the Sea and Slow Food Fairs.

Facilities

The main attraction at the centre is the network of cameras which allow visitors a close-up look at the gannets, puffins, shags, cormorants and other bird species which inhabit the area. The cameras can be remotely controlled by visitors to the centre, allowing them to focus on the birds nesting, diving or feeding their young. The Seabird Centre also features a discovery centre with cinema, environment zone and migration flyway, telescopes, kids' play area, gift shop and licensed cafe with an outdoor sun deck overlooking the sea. Workshops for children are held on weekends and during school holidays and there is a year round programme of events and festivals. The Seabird Centre also offers a programme of walk and runs guided boat trips to the islands daily from March to October, with exclusive landing rights to the spectacular Bass Rock, home to the largest single island gannet colony in the world. The "Sula II" also operates trips around the Bass Rock in summer.

Millennium Fund

The Scottish Seabird Centre was one of the flagship projects backed by the Millennium Commission which distributed cash from the UK National Lottery to cultural and heritage-related projects. A 64p stamp commemorating the opening of the Seabird Centre was released in 2000 as part of the "Above & Beyond" collection in the Millennium Series. Although the stamp features a colony of gannets, the featured picture was taken in South Africa, not (as many assume) on the Bass Rock.

Green Building

As well as introducing visitors to some spectacular scenery and wildlife, the construction of the building is also in tune with nature. Materials used to construct the centre were, whenever possible, environmentally sustainable and locally sourced. The centre was designed by Edinburgh architects Simpson & Brown to make use of natural light and ventilation, and to offer panoramic views both to sea and inland towards North Berwick Law. Very little plastic was used in construction, with wood, stone and metal being preferred.

External links

* [http://www.seabird.org Scottish Seabird Centre] Official site
* [http://www.greentourism.org.uk/Default.aspx.LocID-008013001007007.htm Green Tourism] - Review of the construction process
* [http://www.simpsonandbrown.co.uk/projects/ssc2.html Architects comments] on the design of the centre
* [http://news.scotsman.com/scotland.cfm?id=1470082004 Future extension] of the Centre @ The Scotsman
* [http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/blueplanet/scotland.shtml bbc.co.uk: "Nature in Scotland"] page