The power of illustration for teaching aquaculture and increasing ocean literacy

Gullmarsgymnasiet is a high school located in Lysekil, on the west coast of Sweden. The school offers a Marine Biology program that is open to students from across the country, with a focus on methods in Marine Biology and experimental design. The school also maintains contact with the University of Gothenburg, where our students attend lectures, and our teachers gain inspiration for aquaculture projects.
During the spring of 2023, the school will be building a small-scale aquaculture room, where microalgae, zooplancton, and larvae will be grown. The aim of this project is to teach students about different marine organisms and their growing conditions. Additionally, we plan to set up a raft outside the school, to teach students about seasonal changes and life cycles of the most common species in the area. To get started with this project, Virtue discs will be deployed to observe which organisms naturally settle with higher frequency. Those organisms will be chosen as the first candidates for culture.
The primary objective of this project is to help students understand the ecology of the area, the relationships among different organisms within the food web, and their physical environment. The secondary objective is to teach students scientific drawing as a method for learning and research, as well as for knowledge communication in different social environments. With the help of an art teacher, students will learn to make scientific drawings of the species found in the Virtue discs. These drawings could be both used in scientific contexts and to increase sea literacy of a wider public through an exhibition organized during the town's Culture Week. In this exhibition, students will showcase their knowledge about fauna and algae that can only be seen and studied under a microscope, making it accessible to visitors through their scientific and artistic drawings.