Today I had the privilege of volunteering a few hours to attend Greenbrae School (where a friend of mine Judy Duncan is a teacher) in Aberdeen, Scotland, to talk to a class about my work in Australia on Wedge-tailed Eagles. As always, I'm keen to grab any opportunity to hopefully deliver an inspiring message to a group of young people about the importance of our fabulous environment, and spread the word about how a career in science can be super fun and very rewarding! I began the talk sharing my story of growing up in the Perth Hills and developing a love for the bush and its wildlife at a young age, then showed the children some pictures of what an 'eagle scientist' does, and linked things back to their homeland by sharing what I was doing in Scotland (assisting with research on the Golden Eagle), and how one day they might be able to do the same.
The highlight of the morning was being given such a warm welcome by a bunch of very surprised kids, who had seen Where Do Eagles Dare? only a few weeks prior, and who couldn't believe "the Austraaaaalian frum the teeeelly" was suddenly in their classroom!! After the talk and a wee bit of show and tell (I brought in some Golden Eagle feathers), I helped the class with an upcoming project they have been set on making short wildlife documentaries. We then crowded together for a photo and said 'EAGLES!!' with all the breath in our lungs!
Thank you so very much to Judy for inviting me in to meet and talk to her class, and for the lovely staff at Greenbrae for making me so welcome! I hope to visit again one day when I return to Aberdeen. For now, though, it's back to the hills for some more fieldwork :)
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