The great outdoors becomes art project
Flanders Moss provides inspiration for pupils
Sixty-five pupils from Callander’s McLaren High School and primary schools in Thornhill and Port of Menteith are taking part in a botanical art project.
Called ‘Under the Microscope,’ it focuses on Flanders Moss nature reserve in the Carse of Forth.
Students are looking in detail at the rich habitat the moss provides and, through their drawings and paintings, discovering a unique view of the area.
David Pickett, manager of Flanders Moss for Scottish Natural Heritage, explained: “This project is where art meets science and pupils meet bog and there isn’t a better place for it to happen than at Flanders Moss.
“It is probably the biggest and best bog in the UK and is right on the doorstep of these children. This is a great way for them to find out more about the bog and record their findings in art.”
Flanders Moss is home to a number of specialist bog plants such as sphagnum moss, bog cotton, star moss, cranberry, sundews and reindeer moss.
The students first study plants on-site and then back in the classroom, examining in detail plant cells, structures, colours and forms.
These images provide the inspiration for their artwork, using different materials and techniques such as water colour pencils, oil pastels, wax resist and silhouettes.
The final artwork will be shown on Flanders Moss and at nearby West Mossside Farm as part of the Forth Valley Art Beat week from June 9 to 17.
The scheme is supported by the Heritage Lottery Fund.
Flanders Moss developed 8000 years ago on clay soils. Bog mosses kept the ground saturated with water.
Dead plant material or peat has built up over the millennia.
Peat domes rise 23 feet above the land, which is why it is called a raised bog.
The eastern part is the largest raised bog in Europe to remain in a near-natural state.
Drainage of the moss had been encouraged in the 18th century but large parts survived at West Flanders Moss and East Flanders Moss.