School children put their feet first
This summer sees the return of The Waterways Trust Scotland’s innovative walking programme, Feet First, to Edinburgh and children from three of the city’s primary schools will be putting their best foot forward to learn more about the city’s Union Canal, Water of Leith river and Lord Ancrum’s Wood at Eskbank, whilst also improving their health.
With funding from Scottish Natural Heritage, Forestry Commission Scotland and a private donor, 150 children from Oxgangs Primary School, Juniper Green Primary School and Sciennes Primary School are spending six weeks exploring the diverse natural habitats within their own communities and working to earn their John Muir Award Discovery Level certificates. The guided waterway and woodland walks have been specially developed by The Waterways Trust Scotland to demonstrate the benefits of taking environmental education out of the classroom and into the great outdoors. The walks are a perfect vehicle for the Curriculum for Excellence and complement a variety of school work including science, ICT, language, physical education, citizenship and environmental studies. The two hour walks also benefit the health and wellbeing of the children. Alan Forrester, programme leader, explained: “Through these walks we want to connect children with wildlife-rich places that are right on their doorstep, helping them to understand their environmental importance and hopefully to encourage a willingness to respect and protect them in the future. Children and teachers get so much more from seeing wildlife first-hand rather than just talking about it in the classroom. “The walks include discussion, challenges, activities, practical conservation tasks, art and crafts - even Japanese Haiku poetry and ‘Feet First’ songs! “By providing a broad range of stimulating, fun and active learning topics in each walk, the programme can engage and inspire even the most disaffected child. Walking is a great form of exercise for everyone but the children rarely notice that they have walked two or three miles because they have been enjoying themselves.” Carolyn Clark from Scottish Natural Heritage, said: “The Feet First project is a great way of showing children that nature is fun and interesting. Your local canal or river is just as important for wildlife as the Amazon or Nile rivers. In this International Year of Bodiversity we are keen to help everyone, in any corner of Scotland, understand the links between ourselves and the natural world and the pleasures they can bring. We are delighted to be supporting the trust’s innovative idea.” Jenny Crick, Community Ranger with Forestry Commission Scotland said: "This is a really fantastic project. It's so important for children to have access to greenspace and woodland on their doorstep as it can make a huge difference in encouraging more active and healthier lifestyles. Learning for schoolchildren is also more fun as you are basically taking the classroom right out into the great outdoors." For further information on Feet First contact Alan Forrester on 07768 951 740 or email info@feetfirstedinburgh.com
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