Going Wild about Scotland through January

18/02/2016 in RZSS

We’ve had a brilliant start to the year with a very busy January!

We’ve been all over the Central Belt on the bus this month taking in the sights of Glasgow, South Lanarkshire, Fife, Falkirk and East Lothian. We had decided to stay close to home to avoid any difficulties due to the weather but as we all know Storm Gertrude arrived late in the month and gave us all a difficult time of it.

Now that the project is in full flow we have been looking at ways to expand so that more people are able to enjoy and learn about Scotland’s biodiversity. With the RZSS volunteer programme proving to be very successful at Edinburgh Zoo we have started to recruit our own Wild about Scotland volunteer team. This will give us scope to open up the bus at more attractions for the public to visit and allow for further development of our schools programme.

Along with the addition of volunteers we have been developing Wild about Scotland online resources which we hope will provide teachers with ideas, resources and confidence to teach local biodiversity topics with their class, and inspire future generations of scientists and conservationists. Keep a look out on our website as the resources are coming soon.

Finally, this month we reached a huge milestone in the project. Since August 2014, when we launched, we have taught 10,000 pupils on board the bus. It was the lucky pupils of Innerwick Primary School near Dunbar that helped us celebrate with an Endangered Animals session. We are incredibly proud of this achievement and it shows how popular the bus and our sessions have become. If you would like to get your school involved then please visit our website www.rzss.org.uk/wildaboutscotland to register your interest.

See you next month,
Jamie and Lindsay

(Wild about Scotland Education Officers)

#Brodie knows best

Have you been watching BBC Winterwatch? Brodie’s been closely following the Winterwatch team’s visit to RZSS Highland Wildlife Park and learning all about our work helping to save the Scottish Wildcat. RZSS is a key partner in Scottish Wildcat Action, a national project to secure a future for Britain’s last remaining cat species. RZSS are working closely with land managers and communities across Scotland to find suitable wildcats for a captive breeding for release programme. The wildcats will be housed in large, natural enclosures in an off-show area at RZSS Highland Wildlife Park, in order to encourage natural behaviours to increase breeding success and prepare them for release. As the Wild about Scotland team travels across the country we are spreading the word about this elusive animal, teaching pupils about wildcat behaviour, how they are identified, and the conservation work been carried out. To report a sighting or find out more visit scottishwildcataction.org

Top tweets and teacher comments

“The children really enjoyed this. Thank you very much. The input from Lindsay and Jamie was excellent.” St Charles Primary School

“Thanks for a great session which encouraged the children to think for themselves and share their opinions with others. Education officers extended their understanding, encouraged discussion and involved all children” St Louis Primary School

“Massive excitement about going on the bus. Tied in with our current topic about farming and land use. It was great the group leaders were so enthusiastic and well organised” Pencaitland Primary School

The best part of the session was… “the hands on aspect. The pupils are often more engaged when they can interact with resources” Grange Primary School

Primary 6 are having a visit from the 'Wild About Scotland Bus' Learning all about Scottish Wildcats and Beavers. pic.twitter.com/BYVuNliPxx

— St Catherine's Pr (@stcatherinespri) January 7, 2016

Learning about endangered animals with @WildaboutScot #bowlearning pic.twitter.com/9f2vhtCHBL

— P6/5S Bowhouse PS (@Bowhouse65s) January 21, 2016

Looking to gain #environmental #education experience?Check https://t.co/ltswnusVQo for volunteering on our bus @RZSS pic.twitter.com/XcYHtM0eMP

— Wild about Scotland (@WildaboutScot) January 22, 2016

Super excited to get #SeaChampion training with @andraste11 and @cathgem2000 from @mcsuk today @RZSS_Education pic.twitter.com/GyYVMMPvF4

— Wild about Scotland (@WildaboutScot) January 25, 2016

The @RZSS @WildaboutScot bus supported by @clydesdalebank welcomed its 10,000th pupil last week!! pic.twitter.com/s8HpaFK8il

— RZSS (@rzss) January 31, 2016

Next Month- February

Next month we’re continuing our tour around Scotland, spreading the word about Scotland’s amazing wildlife to schools in Edinburgh and the Lothians, North Lanarkshire, East Dumbarton, Fife and Clackmannanshire.