"Estates That Educate" offers young people the opportunity to see and understand what working in Estates and Rural Skills can be like. Many of the young people who attend have had no prior knowledge of this area, so it increases their awareness and the possibility of working in this field in the future. Estates That Educate also discusses and talks about conservation and how working with the environment and the animals within it can work in harmony for everyone, including the public who can visit these areas.
Estates That Educate within Angus has invited all primary and secondary schools within Angus to attend open days held within the Estates of Angus. This gives young people the opportunity to learn about the rural skills available to them, some of which they may not have known about before. This may spark an interest in a young person to develop their knowledge in working within rural skills, thus keeping the skills going in future generations.
Estates That Educate has raised awareness by inviting schools in the Angus area to visit as part of the school curriculum. The initiative is on Facebook and shows different events and activities it is involved in. The number of young people who have attended Estates That Educate days is over 2000 this year in the North East alone.
The Estates That Educate initiative gives young people hands-on experience of the range of activities undertaken by Scottish estates to conserve the unique biodiversity of the uplands. The initiative uses local estates with local people to support these events. They also collaborate with local transport organizations to transport young people from their school to the estate. During these events, talks are given about how the environment can be improved, what is currently being done, and how the estates can be ethical when working on the Estate. The explanation includes how the Estate is managed to remain operational while still being ethical and environmentally friendly.
Since its inception in 2016 with only 8 young people, Estates That Educate has worked diligently to improve the way they bring this experience to young people. Unfortunately, the Covid pandemic had a significant impact on their operations. However, this did not deter Estates That Educate, and they have consistently worked to enhance the way they provide knowledge to young people. This year, over 2000 Young People in the North East have attended these events on local Estates. This year, Estates That Educate has chosen its first Young Ambassador to help promote their work. This young person attended her first Estates That Educate event just over 12 months ago and was so impressed that, with the help of Estates That Educate, she has gone on to learn more about a local estate and now has some sheep of her own. She would like to become a shepherdess in the future while learning more about other aspects of estate and rural skills.
Estates That Educate has sometimes had to overcome a lack of interest from schools that do not fully understand the opportunities this can offer young people. The Covid pandemic presented challenges, at times halting events. However, Estates That Educate kept the information flowing to schools to keep them informed of what could be available when events could resume.