Dundee festival goers enjoy 'Learning in Nature'

Pupils show off their ‘Learning in Nature’ at Dundee’s Flower and Food Festival

Our Scotland Education Manager Rebecca Logsdon saw some impressive John Muir Award artwork created by young people at the Dundee Flower and Food Festival last month.

Pupils from six schools across Dundee are participating in the Scottish Natural Heritage funded (Dundee Learning in Nature project). The project lasts until December 2020 and offers opportunities for pupils to display their work and highlight their learning in various settings.

Thanks to Dundee City Council’s Countryside Ranger Service, the first major display of pupil learning was seen by thousands of people attending Dundee’s Flower and Food Festival in early September. The display formed the centrepiece of the Children’s Marquee at the Festival, with designs on six large boards forming a hexagon with designs on all sides.

Arts and Communities Association (ACA) used creative approaches to engage the children and young people, with several key ideas and themes emerging to reflect the pupils’ learning:

• John Muir’s life and his message,
• images from The Lost Words book - which highlights how children are losing their connection with nature as common phrases disappear from our vocabulary,
• animals and their habitats,
• outdoor games and play,
• quotes from pupils about why they enjoy nature,
• poems expressing pupils’ feelings about John Muir and the need to protect and conserve our world.

ACA worked with the pupils to help them plan the six boards and tell a story that would be understandable to a Festival visitor with no prior knowledge of the project. The pupils enjoyed the design process; seeing their learning summarised and their ideas shared and valued by others.

A local newspaper featured the design sessions at Glebelands Primary - with the publisher, DC Thomson, committing to providing more coverage as the Dundee Learning in Nature project develops.Huge thanks to everyone who helped making the project possible including: RockSolid Dundee; Arts and Communities Association; Dundee City Council; Learning in Local Greenspace Project and a number of other agencies offering occasional support for delivery.

Photographs show Rebecca Logsdon with Penny Martin, Scottish Natural Heritage and Neil Crutchley, Arts and Communities Association at the Dundee Flower and Food Festival with Glebelands Primary School (top) and Craigowl Primary School (above).

Find out more about the (Dundee Learning in Nature Project)