Ground-breaking primary school citizen science project in Glasgow helps inspire our salmon stewards of the future ahead of COP26. Led by scientist, Willie Yeoman and his small team, the Clyde River Foundation (CRF) have developed an education programme to educate and inspire children about the success story of wild salmon in the River Clyde.
Salmon were associated with the establishment of the earliest settlements in Glasgow and three appear on the city’s Coat of Arms. During the Industrial Revolution, Glasgow was transformed from a small merchant town to a burgeoning industrial city. As a result of the pollution and physical alterations to the river Clyde salmon were eventually rendered locally extinct.
Working with The Missing Salmon Alliance and a global collective of salmon conservation organisations, The CRF, Missing Salmon Alliance and US initiative, Salmon School has developed and launched a youth-based citizen science project on the River Clyde in collaboration with the Smithsonian Museum in New York, pupils will be learning about the lifecycle of salmon and collecting eDNA samples. The project will be running until the end of September to allow the results to be compiled ahead of COP26. In November, the worlds eye will be focused on Glasgow, as it hosts the COP26 climate conference.