Pupils at Sciennes Primary School in Marchmont were thrilled to win a Scotland-wide playwriting competition with UK wildlife charity Froglife last week. Combining theatre with frogs, pupils across Scotland were given the chance to use their creativity to produce a play about amphibians and reptiles, as part of Froglife’s Scottish Dragon Finder Project.
Funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund, the Scottish Dragon Finder Project aims to challenge negative perceptions of all creatures scaly and slimy by showing children how to interact with these animals if they happen across them in the wild, or even in their garden.
Froglife Trainee Emily Waddell explained, “These creatures get a bad rep. They’re often portrayed negatively in children’s TV and literature and Froglife wants to change that. We’ve found that if children know very little about these species, they can end up becoming afraid of them. We want to educate kids and spark an interest within them for amphibians and reptiles.”
Pupils of class 4C in Sciennes Primary School impressed the charity with their play titled, Frog Run. This topical script tells the story of Fred the Frog and his struggle to find a home after his habitat is destroyed by humans.
The children’s conservation message impressed Froglife and has proven that these pupils are aware of the dangers facing amphibians and reptiles today. The classes’ creativity will be awarded as this play will be taught in future educational workshops throughout Scotland, being performed by youth groups for the next three years. The pupils were also awarded a class tablet, complete with the Dragon Finder App, designed to help identify amphibians and reptiles and record sightings.
Froglife’s Scottish Dragon Finder Project, will reach young people across Scotland, helping the next generation get outside and experience nature, using their electronic devices to spark an interest in Scottish amphibians and reptiles.
More information on Froglife can be found at: http://www.froglife.org/dragonfinder/scotland/
