Perth and Kinross Countryside Trust (PKCT) celebrated with Our Lady’s RC Primary earlier this month as they received their prize for winning the regional category in Keep Scotland Beautiful’s Litter League competition! The P7 and P6/7 classes are the 2023 winners for the whole of the Tay, Central and Fife region.

Pupils from Our Lady's RC Primary in Perth receive their award from Keep Scotland Beautiful © Our Lady's RC Primary School

Our Lady’s RC Primary in Perth have been working with PKCT’s Discovery, Learning and Engagement Officer over the course of the last year, taking part in the A Tree for Every Child in Perthshire project and a series of outdoor learning sessions. The primary aim of these sessions was to help pupils in P7 and P6/7 achieve the Explorer level of the John Muir Award.

A litter pick was organised by PKCT to help the children complete the “conserve” aspect of the award. In March, the classes and their teachers spent nearly two hours with PKCT cleaning the field and area behind the pitches at Seven Acres Park. A real community effort, Letham Football Club provided access to the site and facilities and Perth and Kinross Council supplied the litter pick equipment and arranged to pick up the waste.

Everyone put a huge amount of effort in, and the pupils were determined to leave the site as clean as possible. Overall, they collected 32 bags of rubbish! PKCT entered the school into Keep Scotland Beautiful’s Litter League Competition, as an extension to the learning and to help inspire others to do the same.

Pupils celebrate after collecting 32 bags of rubbish! © PKCT

Everyone was thrilled to hear the news that they were regional winners and on Wednesday 03 May the children, their teachers, and representatives from PKCT and Letham FC met at the school to take part in a presentation of the award and certificate by Keep Scotland Beautiful’s Chief Executive, Barry Fisher. The school also receives a £100 voucher for Decathlon.

The children from P6/P7 and P7 at Our Lady's RC Primary School said:

We were delighted to help clean up our local football park and it looks so much better! We feel so proud about our achievement. 

Catherine Leatherland, PKCT Discovery Learning and Engagement Officer said:

It has a been a joy to work with the classes from Our Lady's Primary and to see their passion for helping nature and their local environment in action! The pupils worked really hard on their litter pick and it is wonderful to see this recognised. This is a great achievement and will hopefully inspire others to do the same in their local area.

For more information about PKCT’s education work, check out the Education page: Education | Perth and Kinross Countryside Trust (pkct.org)