WATCH: Spey Bay dolphin centre exhibition offers exciting new glimpse of marine wildlife
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A BRAND new interactive display in the Scottish Dolphin Centre at Spey Bay has opened a new window on the life of marine wildlife.
Award-winning wildlife photographer Charlie Phillips officially opened the exciting new space at the centre, which is run by Whale and Dolphin Conservation (WDC). People of all ages can discover more about the fascinating world of whales and dolphins, the threats they face and WDC’s work to protect them.
Visitors can take a glimpse into the ocean through the new porthole, featuring wonderful footage of a whole variety of whale and dolphin species. The new exhibition's audio experience also gives visitors the opportunity to discover what some of these amazing creatures sound like and upgraded live cameras can be controlled from the exhibition, allowing visitors to zoom in on the wild seals, birds and other wildlife that make Spey Bay their home.
Speaking at the opening ceremony, centre manager Alison Rose said: "This winter we have transformed the centre and created this warm, engaging space and what we want is for our visitors is to come in here, have great fun, learn a bit about whales and dolphins and the work of the WDC.
"We get about 65,000 annual visitors and we really want to play a part in putting Moray on the map. This, we hope, will help engage with new people and visitors who been for many years as well.
"The exhibition was funded by The Jingle Jam...they are an amazing group of game developers and streamers, and they put on an event every year where they stream themselves playing video games, raising millions for charity. They have given a proportion of that to WDC and some of that has supported this exhibition, so we're really grateful to The Jingle Jam for their funds.
"The previous exhibition had been pretty much the same for the last 15 years; we're a charity, funding can be difficult to get hold of but we really felt it was time to give the centre a whole rejuvenation and this opportunity with The Jingle Jam came up which meant we could do the whole thing in one go."
Ms Rose noted that the last 12 months saw the centre welcoming back more international visitors after the easing of Covid restrictions alongside ones from the UK. Last year saw the dolphin centre receive a Tripadvisor Travellers’ Choice Award, placing it in the top 10 per cent of all listings on Tripadvisor globally.
Before formally declaring the exhibition open, Mr Phillips fondly recalled his long connection with the centre, including when his friend, Tony Archer, took over the lease of the building in the 1990s and began the first steps on the road to its transformation.
He continued: "We had a great time converting the place into a wildlife centre and it moved on to the WDC.
"Over the years it's always been great to come and...see how the ideas we had actually get put into proper, practical use, especially when it's people who're not used to the area and they come in and find out a lot of information.
"It's not just that, it's also the children and young people as well and inspiring young minds.
"It's been a bit like Dr Who, [the centre] just keeps regenerating itself every now and again and it's wonderful to see it getting things refreshed, it just gives it a new lease of life."
WATCH: Charlie Phillips and Alison Rose declare the new exhibition open.
Reflecting on the huge changes undergone by the centre over the last 30 years or so, he added: "It's sharing knowledge and enthusiasm with people which to me is a wonderful thing.
"Locally, it's been quite interesting listening to people who live round the area and they love coming in and having a coffee and a bit of cake but also just to come in and feel the vibe of the place. When you're here in the summer and there's possibly dolphins out there, maybe there's an osprey flying around and we've got all our wonderful volunteers helping the public to see and learn things, then you have the staff in shop and the café there's just this wonderful vibe.
"Long may this continue."
One of the guests at the event was local MSP Richard Lochhead.
He commented: "The new exhibition space is really impressive.
"Spey Bay is a very special place and it's really good to have a visitor centre where you can come down and learn about the natural environment, marine wildlife and the conservation efforts."
The Scottish Dolphin Centre is open to visitors Thursday to Monday, 10.30am to 4pm.
