Russian children trace footsteps of Ross geologist
Members of the Muir of Ord Communications Group and The Highland Council will welcome the Russian visitors to the area and hear about their studies into the Ross-born Geologist.
In 1841 Sir Murchison named one of the periods in the geological system "Permian Red Sandstone" in honour of the city "Perm" which is the home-town of the visiting group.
For the past two years, the visitors’ school (named after Pushkin which specializes in Maths and Physics) has been studying the biography and scientific activity of Murchison. On the 21st of October this year they unveiled a monument outside their school to Sir Murchison.
The group along with their English/Extra Curricular Teacher Olga Yakovleva will present the community of Muir of Ord with a memorial board of Serpentine commemorating the life of Sir Roderick Murchison.
Muir of Ord Communications Group will welcome the group along with local Highland Councillor David Chisholm, Councillor Isobel McCallum and Area Chair Councillor Carolyn Wilson. Pupils from Dingwall Academy and local Youth Groups will also meet the Russian visitors with the intention of setting up pen-pal exchanges.
Muir of Ord Communications Group publishes a local news magazine "Muir Matters" and website www.muirmatters.co.uk which features information about Sir Roderick Impey Murchsion. The group was set up by local people as a result of the September 2004 "Make the Muir Matter" conference. It was widely felt that the community should be more vocal about their concerns and that they should have a central point from which they could obtain information, or discuss local issues and share good news.
The Communications Group is keen to promote Muir of Ord and to improve access to learning facilities, with the aim of creating a community learning centre. Muir Matters supports all groups and clubs in the community, either by featuring them in the newsletter or website, or by simply helping them publicise their own events.
For further information please contact: Martha Chisholm, Muir of Ord Communications Group tel: 01463 871681.
Notes to Editors:
The city of Perm is the size of Glasgow, and the surrounding Oblast is bigger than Scotland. One famous Perm inhabitant was ballet impresario Diaghilev, and novelist Boris Pasternak wrote his most famous novel Dr Zhivago while living in Perm, which features in the novel as Uriatin. The name Wild Geese was chosen because many of the geese born in Russia in summer come to winter in Scotland, because of the Wild Geese Jacobite Scots soldiers who found new careers in Russia after the 1745 Rising, and because the Scots say goose and the Russians say gus.
Permian Red Sandstone was used for the extension to the Museum of Scotland. Murchison visited the Urals in 1841, where he identified and named the rocks of the Permian Age, 140 to 185 million years ago. Forgotten at home, Murchison is so famous in Perm they have erected a monument to him. Four rivers and eight mountains around the world are named after him; David Livingstone dedicated his first book to Murchison.
The school details are:
Nataliya Kurdina (Head Teacher)
Municipal Institution of General Education
Secondary Comprehensive School No. 9
Komsomolsky Ave. 45
Perm 614039 Russia