P7 Transition and John Muir Trust Discovery Award - 2023

At the beginning of May, Primary 7 pupils from Lionel School, Sgoil an Taobh Siar and Shawbost School completed their P7 transition programme and John Muir Trust Discovery Award. The John Muir Trust Discovery Award is an environmental award scheme. The Award and programme of activities took place over three days allowing the young people to discover, explore and conserve our natural environment. Taka a look at what they got up to:

Day one - Lower Shader

On the first day, the young people met at Lower Shader where they all got to meet each other. It was the perfect day for an educational walk to Steinacleit with Dr Chris Barrowman from Historic Scotland, exploring the prehistoric archaeological site. Everybody tried their hand at fishing on Loch Duin, later on they used their bushcraft skills to make shelter, fire, and well earned toasted marshmallows!

Day two - Barvas Machair

On the second day, the The 36 young people met at Barvas Machair where HM Coastguard set up a shelter which was the base for the day.

On the Machair, equipped with nets, specimen pots and magnifying lenses, the young people went on an interactive discovery walk and bug search. They learnt about the diversity of creatures that we have locally and what we call all do to protect them. Emma Stobart and Màiri Carrey from Bumble Bee Conservation Trust – Species on the Edge Project led these sessions and shared a wealth of knowledge with everybody.

The young people were then given the opportunity to appreciate and explore our local landscape from a different perspective – on mountain bikes. Led by Lindy from Urras Oighreachd Ghabhsainn and Donald MacDonald (Ba), participants cycled along trails of the Barvas Machair. Participants challenged themselves and got some good exercise at the same time.

Katie Macdonald from Comunn na Gàidhlig guided the groups on a number of litter picking activities on the Machair throughout the day. The groups collected a substantial amount of litter between them all. They also discussed the importance of conserving our island and had fun with their new friends while doing so.