What I love about researching and writing case studies for clients is the variety of places I get to visit.
I have been working on a series of case studies for Devondale Electrical; these have taken me to The Castle Hotel in Taunton, WESC in Exeter, an RSPB site near Exmouth and most recently to Living Coasts in Torquay.
If you live in Devon and have children, like me, there’s a chance that you have visited many of the great family-friendly attractions. But, although I took the children to Paignton Zoo on many occasions, we never made it to Living Coasts. So I jumped at the chance to meet the penguins. My friendly photographer was Tony Cobley, who I use for my South Devon and Plymouth photography needs. Tony brought along Amelia, a work experience student from Plymouth College of Art.
Living Coasts experience
We were shown around the attraction by Pete Morgan, fellow board member of charity, Devon Environmental Business Initiative (DEBI) and Environmental Officer for Paignton Zoo and Living Coasts. While we were taking a photo of him, Pete mentioned that he’d never been photographed with the penguins before, despite his many years in the role.
Kids in a sweetshop? That we were! Three grown adults excited to see penguins, otters, auks and seals. It’s a really relaxed attraction, and the penguins are able to pop out of their enclosures for a wander, should they feel so inclined. There’s a lot more to Living Coasts than I’d imagined; first and foremost it is there for education, and we saw many children learning all about the wildlife, agog at seahorses, octopuses, flatfish and more.
LED lighting
Of course, we were there for a reason, and between gawps at the inhabitants of Living Coasts, we did manage to find out about the new lighting, which Devondale has supplied from its Paignton and Torquay branches. Living Coasts is switching over to LED lighting to save energy costs and improve the visitor experience. Spot mine and Amelia’s turn as ‘extras’!
Living Coasts is in a great location looking out over the sea. When we finished working, we stopped for lunch on the terrace looking across Torbay. Not a bad morning’s work.