The Crichton Carbon Centre ran a very successful ‘Biosphere Explorers’ project in 2019 and 2020, bringing information and inspiration about the Galloway and Southern Ayrshire UNESCO Biosphere into the schools of the Galloway Glens area. Now the Galloway Glens Landscape Partnership Scheme has confirmed continuation funding, meaning that the project can be expanded into 2021.
We live in a landscape so beautiful and unique that it was awarded the designation of being a UNESCO Biosphere in 2012. Since then, the importance of protecting our environment has become ever clearer, and Biosphere Explorers weaves together these two strands to create beautiful resources for Primary and Secondary students to learn about what the Galloway and Southern Ayrshire UNESCO Biosphere is and how we can all protect it.
With COP 26 approaching, and the importance of raising awareness and education about the climate emergency increasing daily, Biosphere Explorers will continue its work in Galloway Glens Primary Schools through 2021, but also focus on ‘Teaching the Teachers’ about how to talk to their students about these issues. They are also planning a series of family events in the summer holidays, to bring their work to an even wider audience.
Galloway Glens and the Crichton Carbon Centre are excited to be working closely with the Dumfries and Galloway Education & Learning Directorate’s ‘Learning for Sustainability’ Partnership Group. Learning for Sustainability (LfS) is a core part of the Curriculum of Excellence, and both Biosphere Explorers and other Galloway Glens projects such as the ‘Go Wild’ day camps and the John Muir Award programme have contributed work to its LfS Resource Bank, which will be available to all teachers across Dumfries and Galloway for a year after its launch on the 4th of June.
The Family events programme will be launched on the Galloway Glens and Crichton Carbon Centre social media and news articles, so keep an eye out for those!
As the second phase of the project gets underway, Shalla Gray, the Project Officer for Biosphere Explorers at the Crichton Carbon Centre, said:
“It has been hugely enjoyable to work with schools in the area to introduce them to the concepts of sustainability, climate change and biodiversity. We at the Crichton Carbon Centre are delighted to be able to continue this work by empowering teachers to deliver the message to learners ongoing. Thank you so much to Galloway Glens for having the vision to support this next phase of the project.”
Helen Keron, Galloway Glens Education & Community Engagement Officer, added:
“Embedding Learning for Sustainability in the school curriculum is rising rapidly up the agenda for our young people, and it is great that Biosphere Explorers is able to support this for our Galloway Glens schools. The Crichton Carbon Centre has such an amazing track record in delivering high quality science-based environmental education, it was an easy decision to seek to continue the project into a third year – especially with COP26 coming up and the increasing conversation around protecting our environment.”
