Saturday 16th May 2026
The British Divers Marine Life Rescue (BDMLR) is running a hands-on Marine Mammal Medic (MMM) training course in Scapa, Orkney on Saturday 16 May. This practical wet course is designed to teach participants how to safely respond to stranded marine mammals, including seals, dolphins and whales.
The training includes essential theory completed online in advance, followed by a full day of practical learning at the shoreline. Participants will practise rescue techniques, casualty assessment and refloating procedures using specialist equipment and life-size models.
Upon completion of the course, attendees will become part of BDMLR’s network of trained volunteer Marine Mammal Medics, ready to assist when marine wildlife is in distress.
No previous experience is required, making the course suitable for anyone with an interest in marine conservation and helping wildlife.
Westside Cinema – Songs of Earth
🕒 19:15 (19:45 start)
📌 Stromness Town Hall (open map)
💰 £5/£3 student or YoungScot card, cash only
🔢 All ages (under 16s must be accompanied)
The mountainous landscapes of Norway provide the monumental backdrop for this cinematic nature experience. A magnificent, existential journey with the filmmaker’s parents as its human yardstick, and with the primordial forces of the earth looming in the bedrock.
In Norway’s official selection for the Academy Awards, Director Margreth Olin has created a stunning, cinematic work about life, death, nature and about simply being present in the world. With her native Norway’s dizzyingly beautiful mountain landscapes as its monumental backdrop, Olin embarks on an existential journey with her own ageing parents as the human yardstick out in the vast expanses. Here, their family has always lived side by side with nature. Even when the earth’s primordial forces have shown their most merciless side. Her parents’ love and lifelong loyalty bear quiet witness to how surroundings and inner space resonate with each other. But not even the most rock-solid mountain is unchanging – and certainly not in times like ours. The level of detail in Olin’s lyrical and visionary poem to her homeland is almost beyond anything seen on the big screen. And that is most definitely where ‘Songs of Earth’ should be experienced.
Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HTzJws8GbUQ
BYO refreshments and cold snacks.
