Crossroads school take first place in Schools Biodiversity Competition
Crossroads Primary School has won a biodiversity competition organised by The Highland Council Countryside Rangers in the Planning and Development Service. They beat off challenges from Bower, Mount Pleasant (Thurso), South Primary School (Wick); Thrumster and Watten.
Crossroads produced a play called ‘The Silkies of Ham Harbour’. The school was incorporated into the play with music and live sound effects. They also produced a 3 D model depicting local wildlife with factual information for each species. As prize winners, the school was treated to a Wildlife Cruise with the John O’Groats ferry around Duncansby Stacks where the children got to view the wonderful scenery alongside the seabird colonies and seals.
Each school received a biodiversity box containing ID charts, books and practical equipment for investigating wildlife. The Countryside Rangers set the scene by introducing the topic of biodiversity to each school and suggested ways in which information gathered could be presented. The entries came in various shapes and sizes and ranged from PowerPoint presentations to 3-D models. Many of the schools conducted wildlife surveys and came up with imaginative means to present their work including colourful scrap books and pictures.
The competition is part of a 3 year project run through the Caithness Biodiversity Group and aims to raise awareness and appreciation of biodiversity among primary aged schools children. The competition is one of the 24 projects being undertaken in Highland with assistance from the Highland Biodiversity Partnership. It is funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund, the Highland Council, Scottish Natural Heritage, Highlands and Islands Enterprise and RSPB Scotland.
Marina Swanson, The Highland Council’s Caithness East Ranger, said: “We were delighted that the schools put so much effort into producing fantastic projects for the competition and we hope the children enjoyed learning about their local wildlife. Thank you to all the school who took part and put the effort in to produce such high quality work.
Crossroads school got a beautiful day for their wildlife cruise and were so well behaved on board the ferry that members of the public commented on their excellent conduct. We were fortunate to see seals aswell as the vast numbers of seabirds, including the all time favourite puffin.”
The compeition will run again next year and schools will have an opportunity to explore their local biodiversity further. The local Biodiversity Group is working on a range of other exciting projects. If you wish to find out more, please contact Marina Swanson on 01955 607758 or e-mail marina.swanson@highland.gov.uk