We delivered a short talk introducing ourselves and the project before encouraging the students to discover more about Powan, local fish and wildlife, Loch Lomond and our local National Park using a myriad of different resources. The launch also gave students the opportunity to investigate the workings of their very own Lomond hatchery before the Powan eggs were delivered.
Each week, our biologist would visit the schools to introduce new environmental topics. The shapes, colours and sizes of fish, the habitats of Loch Lomond, the importance of food webs and the dangers of invasive non-native species are a few of the topics covered and discussed during our classroom lessons.
As part of lesson one, students were asked to design and name their own fish using the information they had learned about fish anatomy.
Throughout the Lomond in the Classroom project, Renton Primary School and Hermitage Primary School were lucky to have the support of Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park Volunteer Rangers. Chris, Gerry, Eian and John were on hand to answer any questions about the national park and support our staff during the classroom activities. Huge thanks to them for their help and sharing their knowledge of the National Park with the Schools!
EGG DELIVERY – Before delivering the Powan eggs, we gave each class time to investigate their hatchery equipment, find it a suitable spot and to practise regulating the water temperature using ice bottles. The Powan eggs needed good water conditions if they were to survive in the classroom hatchery and in their natural home – Loch Lomond and Loch Eck.
Each class was given approximately 200 eggs to look after and care for until they hatched. The students soon discovered that despite the eggs being very small in size (only 3mm!) they could see features of the tiny fish as it developed inside the egg.
Ice bottles helped to keep the water cool for the Powan eggs and the water filter helped keep the water clean.
PROJECT SHOWCASE – This is where we asked groups of students to research a topic (related to the project) and decide on a creative way to share what they have learned with the rest of their School.
This was a great opportunity for students to develop their team working, problem solving, research and presentation skills, and just as importantly enthuse their fellow students about our incredible local environment! In the past, students have created informative posters and very creative projects for the showcase!
Off of their own initiative, Knoxland Primary 7s developed fun, interactive and hands-on information stations for other Primary classes to enjoy. There was everything from 3D maps and models to quizzes and videos. It was an impressive showcase and everyone involved should be incredibly proud of their efforts.
We were particularly impressed with the hand made puppets, the knitted Otter, the 3D model of an Osprey eating a Powan and the video Newscast all of which helped teach their fellow students something about our local wildlife and habitats.
