10,000 school children are wild about Scotland

28/01/2016 in RZSS

Mobile wildlife bus engages with 10,000^th young person

This week saw the 10,000^th primary school child in Scotland take part in interactive wildlife conservation lessons aimed at educating the next generation on Scotland’s endangered species and how to protect them.

On Thursday 28 January pupils at Innerwick Primary School in were visited by the specially-designed ‘Wild about Scotland’ bus on one of its many pit stops across East Lothian. During the visit, primary p3 - p7 pupils took part in a variety of interactive and fun sessions focused on native Scottish species, their habitats and environments. Sessions were delivered on-board by a dedicated education team from the Royal Zoological Society for Scotland (RZSS).

The lessons have been made possible by a partnership between Clydesdale Bank and the RZSS to support the charity in its conservation goals across Scotland. The customised double-decker bus has been transformed from a Stagecoach passenger bus into a fully-functional and interactive mobile classroom, with capacity to accommodate up to 26 children at the same time.

Now in its second year, Wild about Scotland has delivered lessons, developed by RZSS, to more than 200 schools in Scotland, travelling more than 13,000 miles in the process. As well as visiting schools, the ‘Wild about Scotland’ programme has also been made available to the public via a number of drop-ins at major venues such the Scottish Parliament, SSE Hydro, The Scottish Deer Centre, RZSS Edinburgh Zoo and RZSS Highland Wildlife Park.

‘Wild about Scotland’ aims to engage a younger generation with Scotland’s wildlife – not just in forests or wild areas of Scotland, but also in their own back gardens. In particular, sessions cover the following topics:

• ‘Minibeasts’ – Looking at the huge diversity of insects on earth and the variety which can be found in the local area.
• ‘Beavers and Wildcats’ – Exploring the basic ecology of beavers and wildcats, the re-introduction of beavers into Scotland and what is being done to help save the Scottish wildcat.
• ‘Endangered Animals’ - Focusing on the main threats to wildlife in Scotland and what personal action can be taken to help.

Chris West, CEO of the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland, said: “Conservation through education is one of the founding principles behind the Society and remains one of our key goals to this day.

“Our mobile education bus has had a huge impact across the length and breadth of Scotland and I am very pleased that the bus has engaged with more than 10,000 children; inspiring and teaching them about the importance of conservation. This outreach project makes up a significant part of RZSS’s work and thanks to Clydesdale Bank we hope to continue with this, and other similar projects, for the foreseeable future.”

Helen Page, Propositions and Marketing Director at Clydesdale Bank, said:

“RZSS makes a vital contribution to the conservation of Scotland’s wildlife, both through direct preservation and its commitment to educating the public on endangered species, habitats and ecosystems.

“Since its first trip last year more than 10,000 children have now experienced the Wild about Scotland bus at their primary schools. We’re proud to be supporting the campaign, particularly as the bus gives communities that may not otherwise have the opportunity, the chance to engage with expertise from RZSS on Scottish conservation.”

The corporate partnership with Clydesdale Bank is the biggest in RZSS’s history and includes significant support. As well as funding the overhaul of the bus, the partnership is helping support the delivery of the programme by RZSS’s outreach education team as it travels across Scotland to as many schools as possible.