Pupils '˜go fishing' in the classroom

Called Clyde in the Classroom, the venture will see children from Kilsyth’s Balmalloch Primary and Cumbernauld’s Eastfield Primary rearing brown trout before releasing them into local rivers.

The project aims to inspire children to engage with nature and protect their local environment.

Clyde River Foundation catchment manager Willie Yeomans said: “Throughout the project children are introduced to the River Clyde and learn about its history, geography and biodiversity.

“We work with participating primary schools to promote better stewardship of our river system and its inhabitants.

“Each class is assigned a Clyde River Foundation scientist as a trout mentor who visits weekly to help monitor the development of the trout and answer any questions.

“The pupils themselves are responsible for the day to day running of the hatchery and must ensure that the conditions mimic that of a real Scottish river so that they can release their fry into their local river at the end of the three-month project.”

Clyde in the Classroom 2017 is crowd-funded by the participating schools plus a range of supporters including The Crown Estate Scotland Portfolio (main sponsor), the John Mather Charitable Trust, the WA Cargill Fund and the Cruden Foundation.