The Nautilus Project

The Nautilus Project is one of the most distinctive learning-based entries on the site, built around Gibraltar’s marine environment rather than a classroom subject or a standard club format. The project says its aim is to raise awareness of marine environmental issues through school learning, private groups, and hands-on experiences in and around local waters.

The school programme is especially strong. Nautilus offers classroom sessions, field trips, and survey sessions for academic years 2 to 13, with topics including marine invertebrates, marine vertebrates, turtles of the Mediterranean, plastic pollution, climate change, and sharks versus dolphins. The Coast Crawler field trip is one of the clearest examples of what they do: children explore the coastline and learn interactively about local marine life and habitats.

There are also more adventurous routes in, including snorkelling trips and the project’s Catch Learn Release approach led by marine biologist Lewis Stagnetto. The appeal is the hands-on side of it all. This is a good fit for children who are curious about nature, animals, and the sea, and who learn best when they can actually get outside and experience something rather than just hear about it.