Over winter, the Naturedays team travelled to many primary schools and nurseries around the Highlands to deliver an outreach programme on how animals survive the harsh winter months. As we entered spring, the outreach changed from this theme to one on energy flow.
The education team recently took a trip to the Isle of Skye as the first schools to receive this new programme were two primary schools on the island. Skye is the most easily accessible island in the Inner Hebrides since the completion of the Skye Bridge, a free road bridge from the mainland. The first school visited enjoyed the presence of the whole Naturedays team for one session, before we split and two of us departed for the second school.
A variety of topics were covered with each group through different activities. They learned about how energy flows through a food web, and where the energy is lost. Through an obstacle course style game they discovered how difficult it can be to be a migrating bird, and some of the challenges they face. Marine plastics were discussed, including ways they can interrupt natural energy flow and how we can reduce our own impact on this issue. Rocks painted as different bugs came into play when learning about camouflage and its role in predator-prey relationships.
Whilst on Skye, we were also able to use the two sets of binoculars which were very kindly donated to the education team by guests Jim and Wendy, who regularly attend Aigas courses. The children really enjoyed the closer views of the wildlife around them.
