SkyeLarks Navigate Scorrybreac

The SkyeLarks’ February event took place last week at Scorrybreac, Portree.  Club members followed a trail to investigate how animals navigate, using compasses, GPSs and measuring tapes as well as their noses, eyes, brains and hands to complete challenges along the way.

The young nature detectives met a badger, an owl, a mole, a worm, a bat and even a jellyfish on their travels before facing the final challenge which was to use GPSs to find the hidden treasure

SkyeLarks is a wildlife club for children aged 6-12 years old, based in Skye and Lochalsh. The group has been running for 8 years and is part of the wider community of RSPB Wildlife Explorers groups.

The Highland Council’s Countryside Ranger, Jenny Grant is one of the leaders of the group which meets once a month to explore everything from beasties to birds and fish to fungi.  She said:  “We learn about our environment and help to conserve it. We get creative and scientific and we have lots of fun all at the same time.”

This month SkyeLarks are planting trees in the NHS Highland grounds at Mackinnon Memorial Hospital, near the new Broadford Health Centre as part of the Queen’s Jubilee celebrations. If you are aged 6 to 12 and would like to take part in this historical event, carry out some conservation work and have fun, please come along and meet at the current medical centre car park at 10am on Saturday the 24th of March. 

SkyeLarks is looking for new helpers so if you are thinking ‘this all sounds great fun but I’m an adult’, you could become an assistant leader for the group.

For more information about SkyeLarks please get in touch with The Highland Council Countryside Rangers; Jenny Grant and John Phillips.
Email: jenny.grant@highland.gov.uk or john.phillips@highland.gov.uk, phone: 01471 820527/526.

SkyeLarks also have a brand new website which will go live this Friday (9 March) where you can find out what they have been up to and with information about upcoming events http://www.rspb.org.uk/groups/skyelarksWEX/