Schools celebrate successful heritage pilot

A pilot of a new Heritage topic for Eco-Schools Scotland has come to a successful conclusion leading to the creation of new resources to support educators, children and young people learn more about the heritage of their communities and the people who live there. 

As part of Our Heritage, Our Future we developed the Heritage topic to help school communities to explore, record and protect their heritage through hands-on activities, skills development and youth learning programmes. 

Cumbernauld Village Family Learning Centre, St Patrick’s Primary (Coatbridge), Falkirk High School and Ashton Secondary School (Glasgow) all participated in the pilot, exploring the history of their local areas and how they can contribute to keeping that heritage alive.

Pupils and young people investigated the heritage of their communities and used research techniques, conducted interviews and applied their heritage skills to build the story of the places they live.

Our team met with schools in autumn 2023 and introduced the subject, establishing the link between heritage and the environment, climate change and Eco-Schools Scotland.

The schools then had the opportunity to undertake their own research and plan their activities. One school hosted a Burns Supper and an event for school staff with drinks and treats inspired by their local area while another school created a recipe book collated from recipes sent in by pupils and guardians and have started a wildflower garden with native plants.

Katie O’Donnell, our Communities Manager said: “The four schools who participated in our pilot have not only learned about their own heritage and how climate change is impacting that heritage, they have also helped us develop the topic to ensure it is suitable and engaging for other young people across the country.

“Climate change poses a serious threat to our heritage so it is crucial that young people learn about their own history and that of their families and communities.”

Liam Mason, Eco-Committee lead at Falkirk High School, who took part in the pilot said: “It has been a pleasure to work with Keep Scotland Beautiful to introduce our heritage work through the new Eco-Schools topic. As a group, we have loved interacting with our local area and discovering more of the history of Falkirk. This has enabled us to gain a greater appreciation for our local area and, in turn, we’re more determined than ever to help preserve and celebrate our heritage.

“The team at Keep Scotland Beautiful have been instrumental in guiding us through this process and we can’t wait to see where this initial project will take us.”

The new topic will be available to Eco-Schools this coming term. To learn more about what’s included in the topic, watch our mini Live Lesson here 

Our Heritage, Our Future has been made possible with support from Historic Environment Scotland and The National Lottery Heritage Fund, with thanks to National Lottery Players.