Education Programme on the European Eel

Welcome to Galloway Fisheries Trust’s education page on the European Eel.

The European eel is a marvellous and mysterious animal present in the waters of the UK including right here in Galloway. But there is a problem: like many animals in the world the eel has been faced with many threats. This has caused the number of eels left in our waters to go down so much that they are at risk of disappearing all together.

The videos and activities on this page will give you the opportunity to learn about these amazing creatures, the incredible journey they make, and also some of the challenges they face.  We also hope that you will be able to help us come up with some ways we can all help save the eels, because they r-eel-ly need our help!

Please utilise the GFT European Eels-Teachers Notes document in the downloads section. This resource can be of great assistance to teachers in determining when to incorporate it into the school curriculum.

Let’s start with a quick introduction to our friend Ellie the Eel. Ellie is going on an amazing journey, it won’t all be easy and there will be some challenges along the way, but she will have a fantastic adventure! Watch the video below to see how she gets on:

Ellie the eel

Now you’ve seen the story of Ellie and her friends lets have a bit more of a look into some of the things Ellie did and the places she went. Please watch the video below. During this video you will need a few things:

The worksheet (in downloads section top right of this page) - either print it off or have it open on another tab and have some plain paper and a pen or pencil.

Optional:

Colouring pencils
Scissors and glue (please ask an adult to help you when using scissors).

Please print out or have the worksheet visible – you will be directed to complete activities on the worksheet while watching the presentation video.

Eel presentation video

We hope you have enjoyed learning about the amazing European eel and have some ideas of what you can do to help them.

Put your knowledge to the test and see if you can make the journey of the eel by playing the game in the downloads section ‘Eels and ladders’ and don't forget your dice!!! 

This game was produced by the Forth Rivers Trust as part of their Forgotten Fish project. For more information, please see their website:

https://forthriverstrust.org/project/the-forgotten-fish-project/

We would love to hear about who is learning about the European eel through our session and would be very grateful if you could complete one of our short surveys below and email it to: jamie@gallowayfisheriestrust.org

Your feedback will help us produce future education sessions. 

If you are a student or member of the public please fill in the document named Student Survey.

If you are a school or teacher please fill in the document named School-teacher survey.

These resources were created by Abbie Nye as part of her 2021 internship with the Galloway Fisheries Trust. Her internship was funded by the Galloway Glens and The Holywood Trust. We do hope you find them useful!

Downloads