Schools celebrated for creating nature spaces

Three schools across Scotland have won a prize for creating a nature space and giving it a Gaelic or Scots name. 

Our Place for Nature challenge encouraged schools to take part and celebrate the connection between Scots, Gaelic and our natural heritage. 

The three winning schools are: 

• Melvich Primary School, Highland 

• Sgoil a’ Bhac, Comhairle nan Eilean Siar 

• Mount Carmel Primary School P5, East Ayrshire 

Melvich Primary School’s entry was Fàilte gu baile mòr nam beastag (Welcome to the city of insects) – the school wanted to add a bug hotel to their place for nature and the name was the most popular during a class vote. 

Sgoil a’ Bhac’s entry was Cnoc le craobhan ard a tha a' dion biastagan (A hill with tall trees that protects insects). Their entry had lots of wildlife, a small hill and tall trees. As a Gaelic learner class they used their Gaelic vocabulary for ‘hill’, ‘trees’ and ‘insects’. 

Mount Carmel Primary School’s P5 entry was Nead na h-Ioghnadh Fiadhaich (The Wild Wonder Nest). The class used Gaelic as they wanted to learn more words about nature to keep the language preserved and link to our heritage. 

Each winner received a £200 gardening voucher, sponsored by Urban Fox, and a £100 Muddy Faces voucher (sponsored by Muddy Faces) to go towards improving their outdoor spaces. 

The challenge was part of a celebration we hosted, which also included lessons in English and Gaelic, looking at the history of Scots and Gaelic and a quiz on the week’s activities. A total of 67 schools took part across the week. 

Presentations were delivered by National Trust for Scotland’s Chris Waddell and storyteller Allison Galbraith, who shared an interpretation of a modern folk tale. 

Andrea Gabriel, our Education Manager, said: “Our Natural Scotland Week of Live Lessons and challenges were a brilliant success, with schools from all over the country taking part. 

“I’d like to say a huge thank you to our guests who delivered such interesting presentations, our wonderful sponsors Urban Fox and Muddy Faces, and to all the schools who took part. 

“These challenges are a great way to show the connection with our Gaelic heritage and nature, and it was brilliant to see schools fully embrace the challenge. Congratulations to our three wonderful winners.” 

We have a range of resources for supporting heritage and biodiversity learning, including previous Live Lessons and materials in both English and Gaelic, further strengthening ties to the language and nature connection. 

Live Lessons are part of our Climate Action Schools framework, which supports schools towards achieving Target 20230 and is supported by funding from the Scottish Government. We have been able to expand our work to develop and deliver our innovative new learning offer in the Gaelic language thanks to funding from the Scottish Government Gaelic and Scots Division. 

Click here to find all Live Lessons from the previous academic year and beyond.