Tree-planting leaves lasting legacy on Islay
CHILDREN at Bowmore Primary School on Islay have been busy planting trees in their grounds as part of a national campaign from Royal Zoological Society of Scotland (RZSS) and Clydesdale Bank.
Pupils were visited by the Wild About Scotland bus last week and given 15 trees.
It is hoped more than 420 trees will be planted across the country over the next 12 months.
A recent addition to the Wild About Scotland campaign, this initiative aims to help leave a lasting green legacy with schools across Scotland, with the additional bonus of offsetting carbon emissions against the mobile education centre currently touring the country.
An estimated 60 trees are required to grow in order to offset the Wild About Scotland bus’s carbon footprint. To plant 420 means the campaign would offset emissions from the bus seven times over.
Wild About Scotland educates the next generation of conservationists about the importance of protecting wildlife.
The bus visited the various schools throughout the week to teach pupils about Scottish native species, their habitats and environments and what they can do to protect them.
Sessions are delivered by a dedicated education team from the RZSS on board a customised double- decker, which has been transformed from a Stagecoach bus into a fully functional mobile classroom, with capacity for up to 26 children.
At the end of the lessons, pupils were given trees native to Scotland to plant in the school’s grounds.
The trees have been donated by the Woodland Trust.
To find out which schools and other venues the bus is visiting or to book a visit to a primary school for the next term, visit: http:// www. cbonline.co.uk/ wildaboutscotland.