Pupils from Kinross High School were at RSPB Scotland Loch Leven yesterday to take part in a very special event. Kirsty Nutt, Regional Communications Manager, explains more.
As you may have heard already, our Loch Leven nature reserve celebrates its 50th anniversary this October. Unusually the main reason for buying the reserve in 1967 was its potential as a centre for outdoor education – the RSPB’s first – and although we have dramatically improved the reserve for nature over the last 50 years, connecting children with nature remains at the core of what we do.
Yesterday as part of the 50th anniversary celebrations, pupils from Kinross High School came to the reserve to take part in a challenge. Their challenge was to complete an astounding 50 nature-themed activities in just one day.
The teenagers were set the 50 Challenge by Learning Officer, Craig Leitch. He said: “An important part of the 50th anniversary celebrations is highlighting all the work we do with young people and schools, after all Loch Leven was the RSPB’s first ever outdoor education centre when we opened in 1967 and we still welcome thousands of schoolchildren each year along with all the families that visit us. We wanted to take this opportunity to celebrate 50 years of bringing children and families closer to nature and what better way than by completing all of our favourite activities and more in one day.”
The 50 activities were hugely varied, from ones that give nature a home like making a minibeast mansion or a pollinator hanging ball, to natural art like twig towers (the last photo), to spotting wildlife like the reserve’s infamous red squirrels, to learning survival skills like fire lighting, to more contemplative or imaginative activities such as tree climbing and making magic wands. All this, plus a mid-morning break for some well-deserved cake, seemed like a perfect way to celebrate the reserve’s outdoor learning legacy.
When I arrived, the making homes for nature activities were in full swing and I saw hog homes, solitary bee homes, bumblebee homes and beetle buckets being constructed.
Under the expert guidance of Freya our Outdoor Learning intern, Alex, Amber and Louise each dug a hole in the ground for their buckets which had holes drilled in. They then put dead wood, leaves and a bit of soil in the buckets. Read more about the inspiration for this idea here. The group then added a sign so that visitors to the reserve's wildlife garden would know what they had done.
The pupils from Kinross High School documented their 50 challenge experiences and the photos will form part of a 50th anniversary exhibition being held at the nature reserve in October. Their records of the day will appear alongside stories and memories from the last 50 years of RSPB Scotland Loch Leven that the reserve will start gathering later this month.
As well as the anniversary exhibition in October, there will be a VIP event for invited guests who have contributed to the reserve over the last 50 years and a celebration event on 29 October where visitors of all ages can get involved with nature-themed activities.
In the lead-up to the anniversary there will be other celebrations too, including a limited edition golden pink-footed goose pin badge which is available now from the reserve’s shop and a special exhibition throughout June of paintings and sketches by the Kinross and District Art Club who are also celebrating their 50th anniversary this year.
Over the last 50 years, RSPB Scotland Loch Leven has experienced many changes. When RSPB Scotland first bought the land in 1967, the area, known then as Vane Farm, was a working farm, with arable fields running towards the loch edge and grazing up on the hill.
Since then, the original farm steading has been developed to provide facilities for more than 55,000 visitors a year including a shop and an award-winning cafe with spectacular views over Loch Leven. A host of family activities throughout the year expands the reserve’s original purpose as a centre for outdoor education and the current school’s programmes continue to make the most of both the woodland and wetland habitats.
Every year, around 2,500 children from schools across the central belt visit RSPB Scotland Loch Leven as part of the schools on reserve offer which aims to put nature back in to every child’s life. The curriculum-linked programmes allow children to get hands-on experiences of the natural world, whilst learning about adaptations, food chains and habitats.