Teachers notes 1
The Fishing Heritage of Withernsea Beneath the waves a different world Teacher s background information About this project Fishing has been a feature of life on the Holderness Coast for thousands of years. Today, the successful, sustainable fishing industry in Withernsea is one the East Coast s best-kept secrets. This project was designed to share the town s fishing heritage with young people at the local primary and high schools. They were invited to research the fishing heritage of their town and create short films using ipads to share their findings with the local community. All of the students enjoyed learning how to use the ipad apps to make their films and they also enjoyed researching the history their town. A key outcome of the project was the clear evidence that along the way young people developed soft skills such as independent learning, teamwork, presentation and communication skills. These teachers notes provide background information, history on the fishing heritage of Withernsea and lesson plans for teachers wishing to use tablets to create films about the fishing heritage of Withernsea or to use as templates to research stories in their own local communities. Contents Background information, the fishing history of Withernsea About this resource Running the project Project evaluation Sources and resources 2
Background information, the fishing history of Withernsea Fishing has been a feature of life on the Holderness Coast for thousands of years. It is now a multi-million pound industry with Withernsea crab and lobster being enjoyed largely in France, Spain and Portugal. Sadly it is rarely enjoyed in Britain or even along the coast where it is caught. It is one of the area s best-kept secrets. Withernsea s fishing fleet is small, with about eight boats working from the new fishing compound. The lack of harbour has meant that the sea and the weather have always dictated when the fishing boats can get out to sea. Withernsea was a small settlement until the 1850s when the arrival of the railways made a huge impact on the town. In 1801 the township s population of just 76 largely earned a living from agriculture or trade. The railway connected Withernsea to Hull as it was part of an ambitious plan by Anthony Bannister to turn Withernsea into a thriving tourist town. Bannister also had plans to make Withernsea an excellent fishing port. His vision was of fishermen landing their catches on a newly-built pier and then using the railway to transport the fish quickly to Hull. It turned out that fast sailing and, later, steam trawlers could easily get into Hull and Grimsby and so there was no need to create a stop off point at Withernsea. Withernsea grew in size from the 1850s but as a result of tourism, not fishing. Victorians travelled to Withernsea to take the sea air. Fishing at Withernsea has always been small scale. Unlike harbour ports, fishermen at Withernsea have always launched their small boats from the beach. They are at the mercy of the weather. If the winds are too strong and the waves too high, it is impossible for crews to get out to sea to fish. 3
Withernsea s fishing industry developed around a few families, often working at subsistence level. A well-known fishing family, the Drewerys, would sell their catch from a stall on the seafront. In winter or bad weather the fishermen would look for other work. Bob Drewery also helped to dig the foundations for the town s lighthouse in the 1890s. In summer fishing families would supplement their income by taking tourists on sea trips. The length of the pleasure trips depended on the size of the queue. Fishermen traditionally talk about the three fevers of fishing. The fevers were seasons for different catches: the first fever being shellfish, the second salmon and the third cod. Now fishermen from Withernsea fish only for shellfish but the Yorkshire Coast crab and lobster industry is one of the UK s best-kept secrets. In 2015 there were 73 registered fishing boats along the Holderness Coast providing a livelihood for 200 families. The Withernsea lobster fishery alone is worth around 1 million per year. There is huge demand for their produce across France, Spain and Portugal but there is still work to do to promote this product in the UK. Crab and lobster thrive all along the Holderness Coast in habitats that are very different, from the chalk cliffs and rocky shores of Flamborough to Withernsea s mixed ground of cobbles, pebbles and sandy mud. Young lobsters like soft ground so they can burrow, but older lobsters like rocky ground where they can hide. Withernsea fishermen still use relatively small boats. Crews work hard to ensure their catch is of the highest quality caught in an environmentally sustainable way. They use Parlour Pots with soft bottoms to minimize damage and escape hatches to allow young or undersized animals to escape. They check each individual crab and lobster they catch. If any animal is young, undersized or pregnant, it will be returned to the sea. To find out more visit http://www.ywt.org.uk/fisheries. The fishing community and conservationists at Yorkshire Wildlife Trust are working together to protect the marine environment. Their slogan is a healthy marine environment, and a healthy fishery. 4
About this resource The initial project, on which these resources are based, ran over the autumn term in the format of four workshops for each of the primary and high schools. The workshops were three hours in length at the primary school and two at the secondary school. Lesson Plans for each of the workshops are available with this resource. The young people taking part were: A class of Year 5 students at primary school A Year 9 group, all were interested in Creative and Media as a GCSE option. The aim of the workshops was to encourage young people to explore the fishing heritage of their town in sufficient depth to make a short film. The intended learning outcomes were that young people would develop: IT, literacy, communication and research skills as they were guided through the process of making an ipad movie that focused on the fishing heritage of Withernsea. The young people learned how to: Design, plan and make films using ipads and ipad apps How to research their town s history How to work together in small teams to plan, research, script, design, film and produce a short video. Overview of the workshops The first workshop was used to introduce the project, hand out ipads and encourage young people to explore both their knowledge of the fishing heritage of the town and their skills in using ipads. When asked to rate their skills at this point from one to five, with five being the highest level of skill, most rated their ability at two. The young people worked in groups of three or four and nominated one student to be an ipad expert. The other students then made a note of everything they knew about fishing in Withernsea on a large piece of paper. They then shared their work on Padlet, an ipad app. They then went on to use the video function on the ipads, focusing on: How to find images and bring them in as background How to use green screen. 5
In the first session, the primary school children prepared interview questions and interviewed a fisherman. Due to time limitations this was not possible with the secondary school students, although the session with both cohorts largely followed the same format. The secondary school students had a wider breadth of knowledge of the town s history and were interested in a variety of topics including for example, the impact of the offshore wind turbines that are very visible from Withernsea. Workshop 2 started with a recap of what the young people had achieved in the previous session. They were then encouraged to think about the questions they would need to ask in order to create a fivescene video. The session leader introduced animation and sharing apps they could use. Young people developed their skills through practical use of: Showbie, Padlets, Green Screen (DoInk), Puppet pals and Stop Motion. Workshop 3 started with a Yorkshire Wildlife Trust video that explored measures being put in place to ensure a sustainable fishing industry. The leader skillfully guided the feedback and asked for feedback from each group. The young people identified: There are three people on a fishing boat/vessel The boats that fish from Withernsea are small Sometimes they catch lots of lobster, sometimes nothing at all If the fishermen can t catch lobster or crab then they don t earn any money It is very physical, hard work. You have to get up early to catch more You are your own boss. If you don t work you don t get paid The lobsters and crabs are sent to Bridlington to sell The fishermen protect the fishery by putting undersize or pregnant lobsters back. They Vmark their tails so that other fishermen recognize they should not be caught. 6
Next the young people focused on the planning and organization of scripts, planning tasks and negotiations around roles. Each group approached this work differently and the majority of the learning was around: Teamwork Negotiating roles Organisation of teams Practical filming skills how to hold ipad to ensure steady shots, how to design and hold script if required as autocue Problem solving Creativity Sharing of films. In the final workshop, the session leader introduced young people to imovie functions to edit their films. This last session was used for editing, last minute tweaks and presentation. At the end of the four workshops, young people rated their skills consistently at four or five out five which showed progress and an increase in skills and confidence. Some of the younger children rated their skills development in the millions. The end results were different with the two cohorts. The young people from Year 9 had higher production values. The primary school children were perhaps more ambitious and creative but needed more practice with the execution of their ideas. Several wanted to include time travel and one group recreated a BBC news studio to present their ideas as a current affairs programme. The young people in both cohorts worked in small groups, all approached the task differently making use of their new skills in research and creative film making. The Lesson Plans provided with this resource offer teachers a structured approach to using film making as a technique to explore local heritage. 7
Project evaluation The two cohorts of young people were very different but both reported an increase in skills and confidence. The young people from the primary school lived in Withernsea and often had family members with some connection to fishing in the town. The young people from the high school came largely from villages around Withernsea and so did not have the direct connection to the industry. They were however very interested in broader aspects of Withernsea s fishing heritage and the future of the industry. The older students explored more diverse topics, such as the impact of the wind turbines on the fishery or social history such as the headscarf revolution. They also varied their approach with two groups creating ibooks instead of films. When evaluating the project, the researcher asked both cohorts of students to list: Three things that they enjoyed Three skills they had developed Anything they had learned about fishing in Withernsea Anything the session leaders could do to improve the sessions. The primary school children particularly enjoyed learning: How to use the IPad apps How to make films Performing in front of the camera. With the secondary school students most (75%) said they enjoyed learning to use the apps and working with the ipad but they also listed a range of other benefits Working in groups Working independently Being responsible for researching and presenting their ideas Working with people from outside of the school Learning about the fishing heritage. This cohort of students also talked about the project helping their confidence levels. 85% of the primary school children felt they had developed film-making skills and learned how to use apps so they were confident they could 8
make a film from start to finish (including production skills). 50% felt they had learned a lot about the fishing heritage of their town. The secondary school students listed a wider range of skills they felt they had developed. The most popular response was editing skills, but next in importance they listed teamwork and project management skills. One young person explained that they were always taught as a group so they rarely got the opportunity to talk to each other, work in teams and help each other. She particularly enjoyed this aspect of the project. Learning around the fishing heritage of Withernsea When asked what they had learned about the fishing industry in Withernsea 75% of primary school children said they now knew that the fishermen don t catch white fish, they catch crab and lobster. They also understood that the fishing boats were small with only around three crew members. One or two of the primary school children expressed an interest in trying Withernsea crab and lobster. When asked what the team could have done better when delivering the project, the young people provided practical and constructive advice such as: Having class experts (children) who could help other children Bringing more green screens so more groups could film at the same time. One young person suggested spending more time on scripts and making sure the planning and content was correct. But they did say that the team had done a good job. The young people from the secondary school largely wanted to spend more time on the project so they could explore their ideas further. They also would have preferred the sessions to have been closer together. The secondary school students suggested they rarely work in this collaborative way and that it was difficult for them to understand the approach in the first session but when they found their feet they enjoyed working in this way and wanted to spend more time on the project. A couple of students talked about how the project had helped with their confidence. 9
The feedback from the students was positive: It was fun; we enjoyed it. It was fun to learn new stuff I enjoyed all of it I downloaded Puppet pals and made my own film about the Wizard of Oz It was a lot more interesting than I thought it was going to be. This has helped with our confidence. Summary All young people have increased their skills from a two to three at the start of the project to 4 or 5 at the end of the project. They have created very different films on the fishing heritage of Withernsea using a variety of skills, techniques and apps. The learning with young people has been threefold: Researching the heritage of their town Becoming confident to use ipad technology to create short films Developing skills including teamwork, communication, project management and negotiation. They have learned about how they interact within a group and how to research topics that interest them Sources and resources East Coast: http://www.eastyorkshirecoast.com/15-content/explore-the-shore/108- the-fishing-heritage-of-withernsea.html Holderness Fishing Industry Group: http://www.hfig.org.uk Yorkshire Wildlife Trust: http://www.ywt.org.uk/fisheries Teachers wishing to arrange a visit to the Fishing Compound should contact Withernsea Town Council. 10