Projects
We are proud of our projects. These are currently active.
Check them out!

Ill Health and Disability Themes
Tay Seekers - Heritage Experience
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Support young people
Youngsters with illness or disability sail through the river's heritage
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Convert curiosity
Exploring and examining the river's past
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The Tay, our heritage
Supported by experienced experts. Come and learn something new from this heritage treasure trove
Tay Seekers

This Tay Seekers project, funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund, will support young people whose curiosity about the heritage of the River Tay has been primed by respite river trips (Time for Life! Project), run for children stressed and affected by severe ill-health. THE project will convert children’s curiosity, into learning about the extent and detail of the heritage along the River Tay, extending the initial detail they glean from their river trips.
THE project will target 60 children, in groups of up to 30 children each year for two years. Each year group will study the heritage of a different geography linked to the river. Each year group will further divide into three teams, 10 focusing on maritime, 10 on built and 10 on environmental heritage within that year’s geographical boundary. The teams will be supported by experts in the three themes of maritime, built and environmental heritage, by our staff and volunteers and by those who manage specific heritage assets and data.
While each team will concentrate on their own theme the teams will come together quarterly to share what they have learned.
Email jess.johnston@taymara.org
Time for Life!
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Providing experiences
Introduction to the Tay for young people with illness or disability
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Learning and fun
Learn more through Tay Seekers and Tay'gether
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Channel information
The Tay is home to a major port, a wealth of assets and is an amazing natural history resource
Time for Life!

This project provides positive and stimulating experiences for children mainly between the ages of 5 and 18 who are affected by a medical condition such as cancer. Initially funded by Children in Need and The Robertson Trust, it provides interest and activities to relish and share, including the thrill of riding on a range of vessels from a fast rigid inflatable to a 40 ton launch. Not only do the children have the opportunity to watch a variety of wildlife such as dolphins and seals, they are also given an appreciation of the many secrets held by the United Kingdom’s largest river (in terms of outflow). Heritage, history, environment and industry are all covered by our expert guides. The children are introduced to various milestones in the river’s history, visiting for example the precise site of the Tay Bridge Disaster, and they view the workings of Dundee’s modern port facilities from the seaward side. These experiences will be further augmented by the Tayseekers Taymara Heritage Education Project (history and natural heritage) and the Tay’gether Improving Lives Project (the contemporary Tay and surroundings).
Time for Life! commenced riverborne activities in the Spring of 2017 and trips have already been enjoyed by a considerable number of children.
Please note that the new contact is admin@taymara.org
Tay'gether - Improving Lives
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Learning experiences
Young people with chronic illness or disability experience the river
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Educating children
Unlock the secrets of Scotland's largest river and its present day surroundings
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The Tay today
The Tay is home to a major port and many small harbours. Find out how they help to shape our lives today
Tay'gether...Improving Lives

This project, funded by the National Lottery Community Fund, provides an introduction to contemporary Dundee, North East Fife and Perth and Kinross for children whose imagination and interest has been stimulated by river trips provided by the Time for Life! project. Direct referrals to the project are also welcome and will involve at least one river trip.
They will, for example, visit the port from the seaward side, viewing at close quarters the massive 17,000 tonne jackup rigs and ships carrying various cargoes from the Baltic and further afield. They can view the magnificent architecture of the V & A Dundee from metres away on the water, and see – literally from underneath – how the Tay’s two major bridges were constructed.
They will then be taken to the sites on land and given informative tours which will show them aspects of the features the public never sees or hears about.
Improving Lives gives young people a whole new perspective on their local area as it is today and how the river has helped to shape it.
Email lynn.cunningham@taymara.org







Social Justice and Heritage Themes

Volunteer Instructors
This targets prisoners from SPS Castle Huntly (Scotland's only open prison which is seven miles from our base). We provide training to take them through three internationally recognised maritime qualifications plus a basic diesel engine maintenance course, then provide volunteering roles for successful participants. For the duration of their sentence they assist Taymara's training team as volunteers, supporting us in managing the development of their peers, both in practical work with us and academic support to their peers in the prison. We then select a group whose credentials we seek to upgrade in order that they may become qualified instructors. On release all participants will become part of our Sea Change - Ex Offenders programme where we aim to help them find suitable volunteering opportunities.

North Carr Lightship
Taymara’s NC100 Project is focused on
restoring the National Historic Ship “North Carr”, the last lightship
ever based in Scotland. Supported by a growing group of
multi-disciplined volunteers, the Project will focus on restoring the
vessel to her former glory whilst integrating new facilities for the
Taymara Projects Teams and local groups within the vessel. Working in
conjunction with a number of Groups across Scotland, the Team hopes to
secure a berth alongside HMS Unicorn in the dry dock to the east of Victoria Harbour in Dundee.
View Our Image Gallery – Dolphin Heaven is a Place on Earth
Photography by Ken Bushe and David Kett. Copyright © Taymara 2021
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