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Zoo News
Zoo bus goes wild in Dundee
17 February 2010 - The Royal Zoological Society of Scotland (RZSS) is set to return to Dundee today (Wednesday 17 February) with its largest ever education outreach programme, the ‘Wild Bus’.
In December, plans for the bus to visit St. Vincent’s RC Primary School in Dundee had to be abandoned due to parking issues. But as Stephen Woollard, Education & Interpretation Manager for RZSS said, staff were keen to ensure that pupils didn’t miss out on the experience.
“The Royal Zoological Society of Scotland is a national organisation and through our outreach programmes we can educate, inspire and inform children about the wealth of exotic animals on the planet. We do this through fun activities which also can have a serious message about the need to conserve this incredible diversity for future generations both at a local and global level. We are delighted to be back in Dundee again and look forward to sharing some of the wonders of the animal kingdom with pupils.”
The Wild Bus will visit St Vincent’s Primary this Wednesday (17 February) and on Thursday (18 February) Rowantree Primary School pupils will also visit the bus, which will be parked at their school.
Since the 1970s, RZSS has established a well respected curriculum-linked education programme at both Edinburgh Zoo and the Highland Wildlife Park and in 2007 the Society launched its first outreach programme. The Wild Bus was created as an initiative celebrating RZSS’s centenary in 2009 and aims to help introduce school children to science, with a particular focus on rainforests, sessions across Scotland.
Pupils visiting the bus will have the opportunity to meet a variety of exotic species on board including giant African land snails and Madagascan hissing cockroaches.
Wild Bus has been touring since August 2009 and will make its last visit at the end of June. The overall cost of the project is around £135,000 which is a significant investment for a charity. Fortunately RZSS received funding from a variety of sources including £35,000 from the Scottish Government and £15,000 from The Gannochy Trust. Arnold Clark also donated a support vehicle to the value of £15,000.
Editor’s Notes
- RZSS purchased the 1976 Leyland double-decker in spring this year. It has since undergone a dramatic makeover, both externally and internally. The majority of the work was carried out by employees within RZSS.
- RZSS have also received funding from Baillie Gifford.
- The exterior of the bus was unveiled on 15 March 2009, which is the day RZSS celebrated its 100th birthday.
- In March 1909 Thomas Gillespie, a lawyer based in Edinburgh, set up and became honorary secretary of the Zoological Society for Scotland.
- Its objective at the time was ‘to advance the study of zoology and foster and develop among people an interest in and knowledge of animal life’.
- The Royal Zoological Society of Scotland is a registered charity, charity no SC004064.
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