The Great Outdoors - indoors.

As someone who loves nothing better than an alfresco forage, I love it when my kids school encourages outdoor learning and one of the greatest projects my son took part in at school was when the Clyde River Foundation Initiative partnered with the Glasgow Science Centre and developed Clyde In The Classroom.

It is a way of encouraging children to develop a sense of pride in their local environment by following the life cycle of the brown/sea trout.
It is a fantastic experience which starts with a field trip, followed by fish eggs being brought into the classroom.

These eggs are kept in a special portable hatchery and the children are taught by professionals how to keep the little blighters alive by keeping the tank at the correct temperature and the oxygen pump working.

This, along with feeding and studying the trouts natural environment teaches the children in a very real, hands on way and they love it,  right up to watching them being released back into the Clyde.

Another project I'm following with interest is Fishing For Schools, which again emboldens children to learn in different ways and promotes self confidence.
They offer lessons in fly fishing with real qualifications to enhance young lives and inspire diverse thinking and are now in more than 1000 schools in the UK.

While we are on the subject I hope no one minds if I mention Rainbows and Puddles  a fantastic nursery which truly embodies the outdoor ethos and is run by some genuinely inspiring people.

Bye for now!