The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
Angus children ditching devices for the outdoors
EDUCATION: Tayside pupils learning rural skills to increase health and welfare
Tayside children are swapping games consoles for rural gamekeeping in a novel education project.
An enterprising link-up is getting Angus children into the great outdoors to learn rural skills to boost their health and welfare.
The pupils ditched their phones and tablets to learn a variety of skills, many of which could lead to job opportunities.
Members of the Angus Glens Moorland Group (AGMG) have hosted lessons for groups ranging from school pupils to apprentices from Glasgow working with Forster Roofing in Brechin.
A total of 110 children have enjoyed 25 hours of free education from gamekeepers, shepherds and fishing ghillies.
As well as promoting active lifestyles and the hill-to-plate journey of wild food, the lessons have served as an antidote to sedentary hours spent by the children on phones and tablets.
Young participants from one school surveyed said they spent, on average, 31 hours a week in front of a screen, with one child admitting to devoting eight andhours a day.
While most town-dwelling participants had the countryside on their doorstep, the majority acknowledged they rarely got out to enjoy activity in the hills or to see the resident wildlife.
After learning directly from countryside workers, the children demonstrated higher than usual levels of commitment, motivation and enjoyment, something noted by their teachers.
Last week, the work of the AGMG was shortlisted for a Developing the Young Workforce Dundee and Angus award for a work placement pilot with Brechin High School.
Their education work has been backed by partners Scottish Youth and the Countryside Education Trust (SYCET).
One of the children is now considering a land-based career, perhaps in gamekeeping.
Group member Lianne MacLennan,