ORCA OceanWatchers

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A huge diversity of whales, dolphins and porpoises can be sighted in UK and European waters.

During this course, you will be introduced to these incredible animals and you will learn how to identify over 25 different species of whale, dolphin and porpoise, plus learn the skills to be able to survey for these animals from land or at sea.

Upon completion, you will be given exclusive access to the bespoke ORCA OceanWatchers app, where you will be able to directly contribute to ORCA’s conservation work.

The flexible ORCA OceanWatchers survey methodology and the easy-to-use app will enable many people to get involved with ORCA’s vital monitoring work and collect data more regularly.

To take part in the ORCA OceanWatchers programme, you will need to:

• • Attend an ORCA OceanWatchers training course
  • Become a member of ORCA
  • Download and log into the ORCA OceanWatchers app
  • Get out there to survey; wherever and whenever you like!

This is a 2-week online course covering 2 topics, for which you will complete a variety of online resources and activities. The course is created and managed by ORCA but will be booked through FSC and hosted on the FSC learning platform, Moodle. Each topic is then concluded with an interactive Zoom workshop to complement the content.

All course content has been created by ORCA.

This course is aimed at adults and covers the following topics:

• • ORCA OceanWatchers Introduction and Cetacean Identification
  • Conducting a survey for whales, dolphins and porpoises using the ORCA OceanWatchers app

By the end of the course, you will be able to:

• • Explain the variety of whales, dolphins and porpoises in UK and European Waters and identify the species most commonly sighted here.
  • Use the ORCA OceanWatchers app to collect vital information on the environmental conditions and any animals sighted.
  • Contribute to ORCA’s work monitoring vulnerable whale, dolphin and porpoise populations and protecting critical marine habitats.

This is a training course from ORCA, hosted on the FSC learning platform, including online course materials, expert tuition, and a flexible learning style. After attending this course, you may like to progress your learning about marine mammals with further relevant courses from ORCA and the FSC or branch out into other areas of the animal kingdom.

This course is run by ORCA a marine conservation charity that is dedicated to studying and protecting whales, dolphins and porpoises in the UK and European waters.

Please note bookings are managed by the FSC on behalf of ORCA, and will close at 9 am on Friday 1st April to allow for all participants to be enrolled to the online platform – booking will not be taken after this time.

Each individual needs to place their own order to ensure we can sign you up to the learning platform and give you access to resources.

About ORCA

With their unique take on marine conservation, ORCA is a charity that is entirely dedicated to studying and protecting whales, dolphins and porpoises in the UK and European waters. They work to identify and protect critical whale and dolphin habitats in UK waters and beyond. The identification of important whale and dolphin habitats is carried out by ORCA’s Marine Mammal Survey Teams, who are all volunteers. This is what makes them so unique. It is their own volunteer teams on board ferries and cruise ships in European waters that conduct the monthly scientific surveys, recording the species they see, where they are and what they are doing. Using the data these teams collect, ORCA can help create safer spaces and a safer future for whales and dolphins.

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