PUPILS at Kelty Primary School were able to experience a series of interactive Scottish wildlife lessons thanks to a specially designed double-decker education bus currently touring Scotland.

The ‘Wild about Scotland’ bus visited Kelty, Collydean and Strathallan Primary schools as part of a wider campaign being brought to all of Scotland’s 32 local councils over the next 12 months.

Kelty was the second school in the area to have been visited by the bus, with Cardenden Primary having had the chance to experience the bus last year.

The programme has been developed by the Royal Zoological Society for Scotland (RZSS) and has been made possible through a partnership between Clydesdale Bank and RZSS to support the charity in its conservation goals across Scotland.

P4 to P7 pupils from the schools got to get their hands dirty in a variety of interactive and fun lessons which focused on Scottish native species, their habitats and environments. Lessons were delivered by a dedicated discovery and learning team from RZSS.

Chris West, CEO of the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland, said, “Conservation through education is one of the founding principles behind the Society and remains one of our key goals to this day.

“We believe connecting young people in Fife to the natural world is vital and the ‘Wild about Scotland’ outreach programme will further add to the curriculum based learning delivered each year by the Society. Importantly, now more than ever, preserving and learning about the huge variety of wildlife living in Scotland, and how children may help make a difference in the conservation of that wildlife, is of huge worth.” Helen Page, Customer Experience and Marketing Director at Clydesdale Bank said, “RZSS makes a vital contribution to the conservation of Scotland’s wildlife, both through direct preservation and its commitment to educating the public on endangered species, habitats and ecosystems. We’re proud to be joining forces with them to help deliver this educational programme to primary schools in Fife.

“Wild about Scotland’ aims to engage a younger generation with Scotland’s wildlife – not just in forests or wild areas of Scotland, but also in their own back gardens. In particular, the lessons covered the following topics: Minibeasts’ – Looking at the huge diversity of insects on earth and the variety which can be found in the local area; ‘Highland Tiger’ – Raising awareness of the Scottish wildcat plight and what pupils can do to help preserve the species. ‘Beavers’– Looking at whether the beaver should be reintroduced back in to Scotland and the effect reintroducing a species can have on an ecosystem”.