Print page
Pupils in Glasgow and Pakistan get creative about conservation
Last modified: 01 December 2010
Glasgow children have received a project on vultures
Children in Pakistan and Scotland have been viewing the natural world through each others’ eyes with a linked school project about endangered birds of prey.
The project, called Raptors at Risk, invited pupils from Battlefield Primary in Glasgow and Epic School in Lahore, to find out about the re-introduction of white-tailed eagles and red kites in Scotland, and the captive breeding of white-backed vultures in Pakistan.
The children then created a collection of poems, drawings, stories and facts about the birds and exchanged them through the post allowing each school a unique insight into conservation projects separated by thousands of miles.
The Raptors at Risk project was funded by the Talk Talk Innovation in The Community Awards, and links up the work of RSPB Scotland and the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) Pakistan.
Sandy Grant, RSPB Scotland field teacher, said: “This project has been very exciting and rewarding for the children; communicating with each other using many methods and waiting to see what the other school has sent them. It gives a whole new, inspired and personal slant on learning about nature. Many of the children are now passionate champions of conservation!”
Scotland’s white-tailed (or sea) eagles became extinct in the early 20th century due to persecution, but a successful re-introduction project has brought them back. The first new eagle chick hatched out in the wild on Mull 25 years ago this summer, and there are now around 50 breeding pairs across the country.
Pakistan’s Oriental white-backed vultures have suffered a drastic decline of their own in recent years, with numbers dropping by around 97% since the 1990s. The cause is a pain-killing drug called diclofenac, which is given to cattle. When the vultures feed on cattle carcasses, the drug causes them to have kidney failure and die within days.
A captive breeding project has now been initiated to conserve the vultures and eventually release birds back into the wild. Veterinary diclofenac has now been banned in Pakistan, and a safe alternative, meloxicam has been launched, but making this ban fully effective and the environment safe for vultures will still take more time.
Sadduf Saleem from WWF Pakistan, said: “The vulture captive breeding project is close to the hearts of WWF-Pakistan’s conservation efforts to save a species that was rapidly dwindling. Achieving the ban on the production and distribution of diclofenac in 2006 was one of our project successes; however completely eradicating the use of this drug is necessary in order to see our project having long term sustainability. Projects such as Raptors at Risk that target young enthusiastic minds, really gives us the opportunity to spread awareness about this bird in a fun way!”
What can I do?
The decline of three Asian vulture species has been quicker than that of the dodo - now is our chance to save them from extinction
Make a donation now