Educational Visits
Perth and Kinross Council Ranger Service offer a range of opportunities for you to learn a little about the countryside and environment of the County.
Outdoor Learning and Environmental Education for Schools and Groups
A critical part of the Curriculum for Excellence is ensuring that young people have opportunities to undertake learning in the outdoors. Learning outdoors is a stimulating education experience and helpd to develop Citizenship as well as deliver the formal curriculum. This can be in any subject and on any topic, and is a valuable educational tool for any age group.
The Ranger Service can offer support to schools wishing to undertake Outdoor Learning in many ways;
- Providing advice on sites that might be suitable to visit
- Providing advice on support materials that might be available to help you take your class or group outdoors
- Leading environmental education sessions on a variety of topics - please call to discuss your requirements
- Visiting your class to talk to pupils
(The Ranger Service recieves a great many requests for leading activities, and we try to meet as many as we can, but cannot visit all groups. Please complete a booking form (PDF, 35kb) if you would like to book a Ranger to help with your class or group.)
EcoSchools and Forest Education Initiative
If your school is participating in the EcoSchools programme, or undertaking Forest Education Initiative work, the Ranger Service may be able to help. Both programmes help deliver aspects of a Curriculum for Excellence and build Citizenship.
Rangers actively work with the EcoSchools management group and also with schools to help them deliver biodiversity improvements to school grounds. A Ranger may be able to discuss your requirements and offer some advice, contacts and ideas for work you would like done in school grounds, or they may be able to come and talk to pupils about biodiversity and school grounds, or they may be able to help implement some of your ideas.
The Forest Education Initiative (FEI) programme is designed to encourage schools to take groups into the woods and forest to learn about the wildlife of forest, the value of woods and how woods are managed, eventually becoming household products. Rangers may be able to help deliver an Outdoor Learning session that meets the requirements of the Forest Education Initiative.
Forest Schools is a step on from FEI where schools make a commitment to use the outdoors or local woodland on a regular basis to deliver education. Rangers are able to offer advice and support, but the Ranger Service is not able to deliver Forest Schools themselves.
Community Groups, Talks and Visits
The Ranger Service leads a number of guided walks in a programme of activities each year. The walks the Ranger Service are leading can be found in our guide to whats on in the Great Outdoors of Perth and Kinross (PDF, 700KB).
Groups that would like a Ranger to lead or accomopany their walk, to act as a guide and to interpret aspects of the natural and cultural heritage are able to book a Ranger to help out.
We cannot guarantee to meet all requests, but will strive to assist where we can. Please use the booking form (PDF, 35kb) to express an interest in booking a Ranger.
Independent and Self Lead visits
The Countryside Ranger Service would encourage any group, school or community, to make full use of the rich and varied countryside of Perth and Kinross. The Ranger Service can offer advice and support on areas to visit and the nature of paths and tracks. We can also suggest routes that might be suitable and areas that you might like to visit. The Ranger Service have materials that schools may be able to make use of and may be able to recommend another person that could assist a group if the Rangers cannot.
Booking a Ranger
A Rangers time is available to any group free of charge, although not all requests can be met due to other commitments. Please submit a booking form along with details of the activity you would like no less than 6 weeks prior to the visit. If you would like to discuss your visit before booking, please feel free to contact the Ranger Service in advance.
Please complete the booking form below and either email as an attachment to countryside@pkc.gov.uk or send to the address shown.
+ Booking Form for a Ranger (PDF, 35kb)
