All primary schools in Highland Perthshire will soon be receiving ten hand-made bird boxes courtesy of GreenTweed Eco following a successful launch in Kinloch Rannoch last week.
Pupils from Kinloch Rannoch Primary School were the first to get their hands on the sustainably built bird boxes delivered by GreenTweed Eco founder Tom Rawson as part of the £7,500 Highland Perthshire Primary Schools Birdbox Project.
The project which was announced at the end of last year by the Perth and Kinross Countryside Trust, with Catherine Leatherland, PKCT Discovery, Learning and Engagement Officer saying: “it is so exciting to see the children receiving these beautiful birdboxes and resources! They now have the chance to directly take part in conservation, and to learn about and see their local wildlife. It has been wonderful to be a part of this and to provide learning opportunities that could last for years to come.”
When receiving their bird boxes, pupils at Kinloch Rannoch Primary were able to learn the ins and outs of caring for the local bird population and gained an opportunity to house wildlife right in their school and village.
The safe nesting locations will not only provide shelter for birds to raise their chicks but it will give the students at the schools a unique opportunity to learn about the importance of wildlife conservation and ecological balance.
GreenTweed Eco have already installed similar boxes in the Borders, East Lothian and the Highland Council area, with the Primary Schools Birdbox Project allowing children across Scotland to enhance and learn about biodiversity by providing safe nests for small birds and butterflies, bumblebees and other insects all year round.
Tom Rawson, Founder of GreenTweed Eco, spoke about the project saying: “I was delighted to have the opportunity to work with the Perth & Kinross Countryside Trust on this irrefutably positive and exciting Project. With increasing pressures on the environment, it is of the utmost importance, now more than ever, to put Nature into the eyeline of a generation of young people. Birdboxes in primary playgrounds across the region are one small part of working toward increasing early engagement with the wild World around us We hope to play a small part in engaging and inspiring the future guardians of the environment.”
Alongside the boxes, teachers and pupils will receive an online educational resource pack, developed by Perth and Kinross Countryside Trust who are delivering the Highland Perthshire Primary School Birdbox Project with GreenTweed Eco, to help classrooms connect and learn about local wildlife.
The resource packs will be found on PKCT’s website, and will provide primary schools with teaching material, activities, games and group exercises, as well as session plans and teaching notes for staff, to pair with the continued rollout of the project to every Highland Perthshire primary school.
You can find more about the education events and projects from the Perth and Kinross Countryside Trust at https://www.pkct.org/Pages/Category/education
With more information about GreenTweed Eco available at https://www.greentweedeco.org/
This project has been possible thanks to the funding by the Basil Death Trust, Jimmie Cairncross Charitable Trust and PKCT. It is one of many projects in the Trust’s wider initiative to expand nature learning and connections in Perth and Kinross and helps to promote nature conservation and countryside access to future generations.
