UMBS Millport is a unique and irreplaceable marine and coastal biology facility based on the Isle of Cumbrae in the Firth of Clyde (see http://www.gla.ac.uk/centres/marinestation/). For over 100 years the Millport Marine Station has been a crucial part of a network of research stations round the UK and European coasts. In the last 30 years it has also become a leading teaching facility, with over a thousand students visiting each year to experience first hand marine and coastal science: experiences that they take on into their lives and work as researchers and opinion formers. UMBS Millport not only has a remarkable past - it also has a very positive role to play in the future as a teaching institution, as a key research facility, as a part of a network of marine monitoring sites, and as a major employer on Cumbrae. The future of the Millport Marine Station is at risk because of shortfalls in funding, and we thus ask the Scottish Government to work with others in education, industry and statutory bodies to ensure the Millport Marine Station remains open.

see http://www.facebook.com/SaveOurMarineStation for more information.

Press reports describing the situation are at:

http://www.heraldscotland.com/news/home-news/academics-fight-to-save-centre.19875694



http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-glasgow-west-20960173

Letter from Scottish teachers in the Scotsman: http://www.scotsman.com/news/letters/station-essential-1-2727622