Great Big Bioblitz
This June, the Garden welcomed over 220 Primary School pupils to learn about science and wildlife as part of our Great Big Bioblitz events!
Nine classes, from schools across Fife, visited for an activity-packed day during our Bioblitz Schools Day. They were joined by experts from the University of St Andrews and the James Hutton Institute who delivered interactive sessions on Bugs, Birds, Botany and Bacteria.
Pupils had the opportunity to explore the Garden and discover through pond dipping activities and identifications what’s living in our pond with sessions run by our very own St Andrews Botanic Garden Education team.
It was wonderful to have so many young people in the Garden, enjoying the sun and seeing the wildlife currently flourishing throughout the site. We were thrilled with our feedback from pupils too – St Margaret’s RC Primary School said it was “the best school day ever!”
The same week, we were also joined by families for our Great Big Bioblitz Day, where visitors met bugs and skeletons, investigated seal poo and got creative with hedgehog crafts! They also had the chance to find out more about corals, bacteria and how animals think.
Our visitors had a fantastic experience, taking lots of time to chat to researchers and get involved in their activities. For many of the scientists who attended, this was their first opportunity to be involved in an outreach event following the disruption of the past two years, and the enthusiasm from visiting families was greatly appreciated.
Thank you to all the families and schools who came along – we hope you had a great time and learnt something new! Thank you too to all the scientists from the University of St Andrews and the James Hutton Institute who ran activities for us, and Calum from the Public Engagement team who played a huge part in organising both events.
Finally, a special thank you to St Margaret's RC Primary School for sharing these fabulous photos of their pupils taking part in the Pond and Bacteria activities with us!
