14 June, 2018
Bee and pollinator trail designed by and for children opens in the Scottish Borders
On Friday 15 June, a new trail will open at Whitmuir Farm in the Scottish Borders to teach children about why pollinating insects are important to our food supply. Displays along the Pollinator Trail, which were funded by Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH), were designed in part by local pupils at Newlands and West Linton Primary Schools and Beeslack Community High School.
“Many plants crucial to Scotland’s food and farming industries, such as oilseed rape, raspberries, strawberries, and beans, rely on pollination. This trail will teach visitors about different pollinating insects like bees, moths, and beetles and show how we can support them by protecting and creating their habitats,” said Neville Makan, Projects and Partnerships Officer at SNH.
The Whitmuir Community Benefit Society, which runs educational activities at Whitmuir Farm, held workshops with local primary school pupils to see what they found most interesting and exciting about pollinators. Their ideas helped develop installations along the trail created by Design and Manufacturing pupils at Beeslack Community High School, with the help of a local craftsperson.
Elly Kinross from the Whitmuir Community Benefit Society said, “The Pollinator Trail is part of our Living Learning Space which we are creating to engage and inform our visitors about the relationships between nature, sustainability and food production. It has been wonderful to have the input of all the children and young people into the project and the support of SNH.”
The trail has a multi-sensory approach with the installations including audio files recorded by the children and insect-specific flowering plants at each of the displays.
Marcel Kaljee, Principal Teacher at Newlands Primary School, said: “The P6s at Newlands Primary School had a wonderful time working with Whitmuir to develop content and record audio for the installations along the trail. Whitmuir has been a very valuable community learning partner for us. The experience has been a great opportunity for the children in our school to take their education outdoors and bring learning to life.”
Pete Ritchie of Whitmuir Farm said "We are delighted to be able to support the education work of Whitmuir Community Benefit Society. This new trail fits into our larger goal of making space for wildlife – including pollinating insects – on our farm as we continue on our path to a future of sustainable food and organic farming.”
The Whitmuir Pollinator Trail will be open to the public from Friday 15 June. SNH funded the design and production of the educational displays along the trail as part of its Pollinator Strategy which aims to ensure pollinating insects can thrive in Scotland, available on the SNH website.
ENDS
For more information, contact SNH media relations & PR officer, Vicki Mowat, on 0131 316 2659 or vicki.mowat@snh.gov.uk .
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Notes to editors
Whitmuir Community Benefit Society (WCBS) was formed in late 2012 with the purpose of helping develop Whitmuir Farm as a Living Learning Space that engages, informs and educates the public about sustainable food and farming and provides a focus for small scale innovation and research.
Whitmuir Farm is in Lamancha, on the A701 4 miles south of the Leadburn Inn and 2 miles north of West Linton.
Scottish Natural Heritage is the government's adviser on all aspects of nature and landscape across Scotland. Our role is to help people understand, value and enjoy Scotland's nature now and in the future. For more information, visit our website at www.nature.scot or follow us on Twitter at http://twitter.com/nature_scot
Pictures: Please credit SNH. Both pictures were taken at Whitmuir Farm.
NatureScot is Scotland's nature agency. We work to enhance our natural environment in Scotland and inspire everyone to care more about it. Our priority is a nature-rich future for Scotland and an effective response to the climate emergency. For more information, visit our website at www.nature.scot or follow us on Twitter at https://twitter.com/nature_scot
’S e NatureScot buidheann nàdair na h-Alba. Bidh sinn a’ neartachadh àrainneachd na h-Alba agus a’ brosnachadh dhaoine gu barrachd suim a chur ann an nàdar. Tha e mar phrìomhachas againn gum bi nàdar na h-Alba beairteach agus gun dèilig sinn gu h-èifeachdach le èiginn na gnàth-shìde. Tha an tuilleadh fiosrachaidh aig www.nature.scot no air Twitter aig https://twitter.com/nature_scot
