Aliens are among us

The Scottish Invasive Species Initiative (SISI) has launched Alien Detectives – a fun and educational online resource to help the young and not so young learn more about alien - or non-native – invasive species. Originally designed as a school education pack, the huge array of activities now includes a wide range of fun games and activities that anyone can enjoy at home, in the garden or on local walks during lockdown.

Alien Detectives includes crafts, quizzes, worksheets, presentations and puzzles all themed around invasive species and the river environment. Although primarily aimed at young people, anyone with an interest in the environment or invasive species can enjoy them too. Our project team has been busy while homeworking during lockdown to produce these fantastic resources.

We hope becoming Alien Detectives will bring many hours of enjoyment to individuals and families during lockdown, especially at a time when most young people are not in a regular school environment and might be looking for a new challenge or activities to continue their learning.

Invasive non-native species might be a new topic to many but it is a really important one. Invasive species can have a major impact on our environment and native wildlife and are responsible for significant biodiversity loss in Scotland and across the world. We hope these resources will help raise awareness of the impacts of invasive species and inspire more young people to learn something about them.

No prior knowledge is needed and there’s lots to learn and have fun with so become an Alien Detective and help us tackle invasive species today.

All of the ‘Alien Detectives’ resources