Scottish Natural Heritage
Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) works to encourage the innate curiosity young people have about the natural world, whether through watching the smallest bugs in a damp corner of their school yard, or helping in the garden and seeing their garden grow. We believe that such early experiences will help young people value their outdoor surroundings, growing with them as their horizons develop from their childhood neighbourhood to the wilder world of Scotland’s natural heritage. Our team of education professionals work with other agencies and organisations to provide training, resources and advice to enable the effective delivery of education about the natural heritage. Details of some of our services are given below. To find out more, visit the Scottish Natural Heritage website.
Grant Schemes
Scottish Natural Heritage encourage better use and enjoyment of Scotland’s school grounds, by direct funding through our School Grounds Grants Scheme, indirectly through block grants to local school grounds partnerships who award grants on behalf of SNH and other funders. We also grant aid Grounds For Learning, Scotland’s school grounds charity who provide practical information and advice and promote better use of school grounds.
Natural Heritage Information
We have recently developed a new web resource to allow easy access to information about the natural heritage. You can use SNHi to find out more about the natural heritage, near you and across Scotland. Later this year, we will publish a resource for schools based on SNHi.
Our natural heritage fact sheets are suitable for use by 9-14 year olds and are also an excellent source of information for teachers and students of any age. They include descriptions of important Scottish native species as well as information about their life cycles, behaviour, habitat and threats. Compiled from SNH sources, the fact sheets also have useful advice about ‘finding out more’ and ‘getting involved’. Each fact sheet includes a glossary and may be reproduced for individual or class use. The factsheets are currently being revised, and new versions will be available later this year.
TeachingSpace is the new outdoor learning website for teachers where you will find:
- A searchable database of outdoor sites in your local area and beyond
- Downloadable activities and curriculum links
- And lots more information on outdoor learning!
Resources for schools
The Advances Series provides up-to-date material for learning about the natural heritage in support of the secondary school curriculum in Scotland, including geological history, soils, landcover change, and climate change.
The Wee Green Fingers Pack was produced by Scottish Natural Heritage as part of the Garden for Life project to promote biodiversity education for young children. The pack aims to provide a variety of fun activities for children to do in the outdoors which will enthuse them to discover the amazing biodiversity in their garden and encourage more wildlife-friendly gardening practices. The pack includes activities, poems, postcards and stickers of animals and plants, information on themes such as Growing, Composting, Homes and Hidey Holes and seeds to plant.
Scottish Outdoor Access Code Activity Guides
Our two free Activity Guides are packed full of exciting ideas for use with 8 – 12 year olds and 12 – 14 year olds. They explore rights and responsibilities in the outdoors through a range of approaches, including role-play and debate, creative activities and active games. They also include colourful interactive teaching aids, such as a poster; photo cards; the Scottish Outdoor Access Code, TV Adverts and a ‘Crack the Code’ dial. Further information on the Scottish Outdoor Access Code website.
Website
For further informtion, please visit the Scottish Natural Heritage website.
Contact: Rachel Hellings
Scottish Natural Heritage
Battleby
Redgorton
Perth
PH1 3EW
Email: rachel.hellings@snh.gov.uk
Tel: 01738 444177