Lochaline

PRIMARY school pupils have been showing off their creative side to help conserve Scotland’s rare pearl mussels.

Sam Firth, a professional film-maker from Drimnin, and Martin Henry, a musician from Glasgow, helped children from Lochaline Primary School create a short musical film about the mussels.

Using a chorus of singing mussels, made from modelling clay, the children described the mussels’ life in the river and appealed to humans to protect them. The video marked a further effort by the pupils, who have already helped Lochaber Fisheries Trust improve the breeding success of the mussels on their local river as part of a project funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund and Scottish Natural Heritage.

Sam said: ‘I really enjoyed working with Lochaline school and Lochaber Fisheries Trust. The children were determined to make people sympathetic to the plight of the mussels and they achieved their goal.’

Lucy Ballantyne, from Lochaber Fisheries Trust, said: ‘We are thrilled by how Sam has captured the children’s imagination. It is clear they care deeply about the plight of the pearl mussels and the future of this species looks much brighter with the children protecting them.’