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As our Learning Experiences continue we realise that following in the footsteps of John Muir and by 'breaking clear away once in a while, climbing a mountain or spending a week in the woods'! Today we were breaking ice as we 'smashed our way through the frozen morning waters an on into nature and learning! Having some along the way was just another part of our learning journey!! We discussed habitats and looked on as the local wildlife passed us by. Senior Countryside Ranger Allison Greig and Countryside Rangers Linzi and Fiona helped us identify a variety of bird life, explained what is currently happening with the Avian bird flu and the impact that it may have on the birds that we see all around us. Learning is made easy when you are enjoying your experience and with a sprinkle of festive fun supplied by Seagull's absolutely first class staff we we set sail for another learning adventure......“Another glorious day, the air as delicious to the lungs as nectar to the tongue.”

Our Active Learning and Exploring experiences took us to the Forth and Clyde Canal with the help of the AMAZING Staff from Seagull Trust Cruises in Kirkintilloch. Our aim is to understand Habitats in a variety of contexts with as you have seen our adventures taking us from the beautiful Pollok Park and Formidable Highland Cattle to the most delicate wild flowers and incredible pollinators that help dress the hillsides and woodland! Today would see leave dry land and investigate one of the most historical aspects of our countries landscape - Scotland's Canals!!

This week the pupils were given five owl boxes to repair and repaint. After seeing the Barn Owl at Blackhall in previous weeks, the pupils were keen to help the owls by repairing their tired looking man-made homes. Whilst some of the Endeavour pupils began by cleaning and preparing the boxes to be painted, others used the hand drills to start the repairing process. Most of the boxes needed significant repair work to make them more watertight and weather resistant. The pupils soon developed a conveyor belt system where the cleaned boxes were then moved on to be drilled and repaired before moving along to be painted and dried. By the end of the sessions all pupils had taken part in the process and the boxes were transformed, ready to be out up around the site at Blackhall. As well as the boxes, there were already constructed wooden frames that pupils could use to weave. They created completed their own ‘sea-scape’ scene.

The pupils of Endeavour were really excited about doing orienteering and Blackhall Rocks provided the ideal location for them to complete an orienteering course. The course ran from one side of the coastal fields to the other via the beach. All locations were places that have been visited by the pupils in previous weeks so the site could be visited more easily. The pupils were given a map of the site with the locations of the labelled markers and a set of ten questions for them to answer in relation to John Muir. Each marker had a letter on it which relates to a question on their sheet. The answers were a clue to answer the question and demonstrate what the pupils had remembered about John Muir from previous weeks. Most of the markers were found by the pupils as they moved about the site in small groups. They enjoyed the task and showed good navigation skills when using the map, a skill most of them had not previously done.

Following on from the disgust of finding so much dog litter at Blackhall Rocks NR, the pupils of Endeavour Academy wanted to raise awareness of this problem by creating a public awareness campaign for the users of Blackhall, so they created a series of posters. Before they started, I showed them a range of already existing campaigns showcasing a clever use of words and images to get their point across. After using these as inspiration, the pupils came up with some interesting campaigns of their own. All the posters were eye catching and used words and pictures to get their message across to the public. Once altogether, an overall strong anti-dog litter campaign was created and ready to be shared with dog walkers at Blackhall.

A more relaxed pace was required today at the end of a long week of mock exams for the pupils of Endeavour. With that in mind, the pupils did some litter picking around Blackhall using litter pickers, gloves and disposable bags. The area around the clifftops and coastal fields was identified as the most urgent to focus on as manmade litter was visible in previous weeks. We followed a trail across the coastal fields, down the clifftop path and onto the beach to the cave system. Pupils soon got in the spirit of the activity and were very competitive when finding litter. Most of the litter found was plastic based with most of it being found on the beach. Pupils found it both staggering and fascinating how much sea glass was found on a relatively small section of beach. They could see first hand how it was formed from smashed bottle before being weathered down over time by the sea. By the end of the session, we had successfully removed almost an entire black refuse bag full of litter from Blackhall Rocks NR. The majority were shards of shattered plastic but a fair amount of wire, metal and pieces of dead animals were also found.

This week, the pupils from Endeavour did some meadow management at Blackhall. They had a pre-cut a section of a field to rake over. This provided an opportunity to explain how doing this would help the site next summer when the evasive grasses would be cut back for wildflowers to carpet the fields and meadow once again, providing a home for nature to thrive. We also looked at the role the resident Belted Galloway cows play in keeping the site grass free. We approached the cows in their field to see, up-close, the job that they were doing for the site. We unexpectedly found a cow producing the end product of it’s labour in the form of manure which acts as a natural fertilizer for the site. The pupils showed an ever-increasing confidence when completing practical tasks and raked over a good section of the grass with ease and a positive attitude. A problem however was the amount of dog poo found in the grass whilst raking. The pupils were so annoyed by this that they asked if they could do a session to raise public awareness about the issue. After the enjoyment of seeing the Barn Owl in the last session, pupils were given some of its pellets to dissect. They found this fascinating and took a real pleasure in dissecting them and identifying the various bones and remains of several consumed rodents. In fact, it proved so interesting that the pupils collected and remains and took back to the academy to look at under microscopes during their next science lesson.

Today, the pupils took part in gorse clearing and with Halloween approaching, pumpkin carving. After a tool talk with the site ranger, a section of burnt gorse was removed by the pupils using two handed loppers. Without fail, all pupils got stuck into the task at hand and did an excellent job of removing the gorse so that fresh plants can regenerate the ground and grow next year. By the end of the session, a huge area had been cleared and whilst packing away, a Barn Owl appeared in its nest box providing a good opportunity to study more of the fauna of Blackhall Rocks NR. The pupils left understanding the importance of the gorse clearing so they could feel more of a sense of self-satisfaction as they took part in first hand practical conservation. Some good persistence was shown throughout the pumpkin carving as well as some good teamworking skills. Some pupils preferred to drawn out their initial designs before passing it onto others who were more confident in using the carving tools and carried out the designs on the pumpkins. (All pumpkin remains were removed at the end of the session as we explained how it can harm wildlife.)