Pupils from Kirkmichael Primary School in South Ayrshire have been among the first youngsters in Scotland to benefit from a series of innovative new nature-inspired STEM workshops at Dumfries House.

The group of P4 - P7 pupils from the school visited The Morphy Richards Engineering Centre on the estate to learn about sustainability issues, including air pollution, green energy and clean water.

“It was my first time visiting Dumfries House and I was very impressed by the educational workshops offered by The Prince’s Foundation. The pupils loved learning about the water cycle and particularly enjoyed collecting water samples from the tap, river and playpark and learning how to filter them using charcoal, cotton wool, sand and gravel,” said Hope Cousins, class teacher at Kirkmichael Primary School.

A series of workshops, funded by the ScottishPower Foundation, have been developed as part of The Prince’s Foundation’s new Outdoor Elements programme. Inspired by the natural elements, the programme aims to inspire the next generation of creatives and innovators by connecting them with the natural environment through hands-on learning experiences that cannot be easily replicated in the classroom. The programme aims to raise awareness of the challenges our plant faced and how pupils can be at the forefront of solving them.

“In recent years, we have welcomed thousands of school pupils onto education programmes across Dumfries House estate. We are delighted that the ScottishPower Foundation has once again provided us with funding to help us meet our objective of making STEM exciting and relevant to young people,” said Karen Alexander, STEM Education Coordinator for The Prince’s Foundation at Dumfries House.

The Prince’s Foundation is one of 25 charities supported by the ScottishPower Foundation this year. In March, it announced a £1.25 million funding programme to support charitable organisations that support the next generation and make positive differences in local communities across the country.