Entrant's address and contact details

School name:	Ae Primary School
School/college address:	Ae Village Ae Village Dumfries and Galloway DG1 1RG Scotland
School phone number:	01387 860229
Number of pupils in school(s) - male:	9
Number of pupils in school(s) - female:	6
Number of staff in school(s):	3

Our team leader and our team

Name	Position (e.g. Headteacher, parent, etc.)	Organisation
Mr D. MacIsaac	Headteacher	Ae Primary School
Mr R. Fuller	Community Ranger	Ae Forestry Commission
Mr R. Wales	Conservation Officer	Ae Forestry Commision
Mr D. Stewart	Parent/Animal Handler/Trainer	Creature Features
Mrs T. Howat	Parent	Ae Primary School Council
Mr S. Myatt	Parent/Electrical Engineer	Ae Primary Parent Council

The key skills, strengths and roles of each team member are: (200 words)

Mr D MacIsaac
Headteacher. Committed to making this project successful as it is directly connected to the School Improvement Plan. As the education and curriculum specialist he will be responsible for planning and monitoring.

Mr R Fuller
Community Ranger. Three years as Red Squirrel Conservation Officer, Dumfries and Galloway. Will support the school in locating suitable woodland, undertaking habitat surveys, links with the Forest of Ae Red Squirrel Management Plan.

Mr R Wales
Conservation Officer. Expertise in surveying and monitoring techniques. Very enthusiastic about visiting regularly to teach the children/team key skills required in collecting data.

Mr D Stewart
Animal handler/trainer. Experienced animal behaviorist whose company provides animals for the film industry. Former biology teacher with a commitment to working with children to develop an appreciation for animals and the environment.

Mr S Myatt
Electronics Engineer. Works in communications industry, parent at the school and member of the Ae Community Council. Excellent knowledge of construction processes and working within a successful team.

Mrs T Howat
Parent. Member of the Ae Parent Council who brings a lot of enthusiasm and has the time and energy to devote to this project. Has experience in land surveying and working within the school and community.

Our proposal

Topic area of proposal: Processes and Living Things - Ecology/environment

Briefly, the aim of our proposal is: (50 words)

This proposal is intended to create a Red Squirrel Surveillance Zone and provide an early warning system for grey squirrels encroaching in the area. The pupils will carry out scientific research using a wide range of cross- curricular activities. The project will link with the local community and Ae Forestry Commission. The information gathered will be of importance to the pupils, the community, the Forestry Commission, and the Forest of Ae Red Squirrel Management Plan. Accurate scientific information will be collected on an endangered species in our area. It will expand the use of our "outdoor classroom" developed over the past two years.

Pupil type to benefit: All

Age range to benefit from proposal: 3-11

Learning outcomes from our proposal: (50 words)

• Investigate their environment by observing, exploring, and recording.
• Make sense of evidence collected and presented in a scientific manner.
• Recognise the impact science makes on their lives, on the environment and on culture.
• Establish the foundation for more advanced learning and future careers in science and technologies.

Our reasons for developing this particular proposal: (100 words)

Ae Primary School has worked in conjunction with the Ae Forestry Commission for the past three years in developing a "forest classroom". We wanted to expand the project to benefit and include the community. The Red Squirrel Project was the result of group discussions held with all concerned parties. Ae Primary School has one teacher and 15 pupils in a classroom that ranges from Primary 1 through Primary 7. We feel we have developed a project that all the pupils will be fully involved with and links with the School Improvement Plan.

Detailed description of our proposal: (300 words)

The Forest of Ae is priority woodland for red squirrel conservation, special for its large size and high proportion of coniferous trees. It is hoped that the forest will act as a refuge for the vulnerable local red squirrel populations, as non-native grey squirrels continue to spread into the area and compete for food.

The school project will contribute to the research required to monitor this situation, by analysing woodland suitability, assessing carrying capacities for red squirrels, and establishing a monitoring programme in the forest’s "buffer zone" as an early warning system for grey squirrels.

The school and village are an integral part of the forest, and the local community has a strong affinity with this flagship woodland animal. It was felt that the community, through the school, could help towards protecting its future, and after consultation with the Red Squirrels in South Scotland Project and Forestry Commission Scotland, decided that the best way forward was to contribute to the recently produced Forest of Ae Red Squirrel Management Plan.

We will identify areas of woodland and survey the tree species and their age, and use this information to deduce how many red squirrels should be living in the area (the carrying capacity). Using various survey methods to calculate the actual number of red squirrels in the area, we will compare the results and assess reasons for any differences. Alongside this, a series of feeders will be set up in the "buffer zone" with sticky blocks attached. Any hairs left behind by squirrels will be checked to see if they are from red or grey squirrels. This information will then be used to identify future research needs and stimulate interest in red squirrel conservation.

Putting our proposal into practice

Outline of how our team would implement our proposal over a period of not more than 24 weeks: (300 words, bulleted lists accepted)

Team meetings fortnightly (all members)

Weeks 1-6
Community meeting on project and participation

-Classroom:

• Order materials and equipment
• Begin video diary of the project
• Pupils begin individual portfolios on the project
• Pupils to meet with conservation officer to learn about red/grey squirrels
• R Wales/D MacIsaac

-Workshop:

• Make feeding boxes/sticky feeders for supplementary feeding and hair collection
• D Stewart/T Howat/S Myatt

-Project area:

• Survey area physically and on maps
• Identify tree species, age, seed bearers and cone bearers
• Pupils to be present/assist in tagging
• R Fuller /T Howat/D MacIsaac

-Classroom:

• Work out sustainable population and numbers expected in area
• Plot dispersal of population
• Maintain records
• R Fuller/R Wales/D MacIsaac

• Weeks 7-12

  • Community Meeting to give updates on project

  -Project Area:

  • Cone survey - pupils to work out actual population using cone survey methods (nationally recognised method)
  • Pupils learn to identify squirrel-eaten cones, take various measurements, collect, ID, record, calculate

  R Wales/D MacIsaac/Team

  • Set up supplementary feeding boxes/ sticky hair boxes

  Team

  • Set up wildlife surveillance equipment and links
  • Link set up for remote viewing in school for identification, counts and general observation.
  • S Myatt/R Fuller/Team

  -Classroom:

  • Hair identification lesson

  R Wales/D MacIsaac

  • Microscope lessons with Promethean Board

  D Stewart/D MacIsaac/Team

  • Pupils maintain records

  D MacIsaac/R Fuller
  
  Weeks 12-24
  Community Meeting to give updates on project

  -Project Area:

  • Teams of pupils (3-5 per team) to work in rotation with parent team member to fill feeders, collect hair samples and keep records
  • Hair samples bagged and logged

  R Fuller/R Wales/D MacIsaac
  -Classroom:

  • Hair samples analysed using microscope and Promethean Board
  • Records kept up to date
  • Project Summary written and submitted to Agencies
  
  R Wales/D Stewart/D MacIsaac

  Monitoring and evaluation

  The monitoring procedures we will use during the project are: (200 words, bulleted lists accepted)

  • Checklists for each stage will be compiled and completed.
  • Team meeting will be held fortnightly.
  • Weekly meetings with pupils to check/plan project tasks progress/success and update individual learning plans.
  • Team Leader/team will manage the budget.
  • Community meetings will be held to update on progress/success.
  • Informal classroom meetings to discuss progress/success will take place as necessary.
  • Progress on the project will be displayed on classroom bulletin board.
  • Documentation in School Improvement Plan will take place at each stage.
  • Contents of individual portfolios will be checked regularly.

  The evaluation procedures we will use at the end of the 25 weeks to check the effectiveness of our project are: (200 words, bulleted lists accepted)

  • The initial estimate of carrying capacity will be checked against survey results.
  • The monitoring programme will have been run consistently to produce accurate results. Our project team includes representatives from interested agencies who will be monitoring the programme and making suggestions for adjustments as needed.
  • Pupils’ Individual Learning Plans will be monitored regularly.
  • Pupils’ portfolios will be evaluated.
  • A project Ssummary will be written and submitted to interested agencies for feedback.
  • A community survey will be conducted at the end of the 24 weeks and the results will be compiled, evaluated and published.

  Budget

  Itemised costs of putting your proposal into practice within a maximum budget of £5,000 or equivalent in Euros:

  Budget Item	Cost (GBP)
  Transportation - Mini Bus Hire	200
  Digital Microscope and Software	1500
  Materials for Constructing Feeding Stations	400
  Log Books for Pupils	50
  Survey Maps	50
  Tapes for Video Camera	200
  Work Gloves	100
  Collecting Bags	20
  Feeding Supplies	250
  Surveillance Equipment	1500
  Digital Camera	500
  Portfolio Supplies	230
  TOTAL	5000