Children enjoyed a taste of Scotland at their big picnic

More than 100 young people gathered at RZSS Edinburgh Zoo to launch the 2018 One Planet Picnic celebrations.

This is an initiative which is set to get people from all over Scotland discovering the great tastes of seasonal food and local harvests, and is run by environmental charity, Keep Scotland Beautiful.

Young members of the RZSS Conservation Action Team (CAT) hosted a One Planet Picnic to mark their last meeting before the summer.

The event allowed the participants to taste and share sustainable, local and ethically produced food – raising awareness of how sustainable food choices can have a positive impact on wildlife and the wider environment.

Jess Lilley, education officer at Edinburgh Zoo, said: ‘The RZSS Conservation Action Team is a programme for kids to learn about a range of conservation issues worldwide, and get hands on to help local wildlife. Recently, we focussed on where our food comes from, and the impact farming, food production and packaging can have on the environment, and how to help these issues.

‘This One Planet Picnic allowed the youngsters to put what they have learned into action by finding and sharing foods that are kinder to our planet.’

One Planet Picnic is an annual initiative run by Keep Scotland Beautiful. It encourages everyone to hold their own picnic in the local park, on the beach or even in the school grounds or office meeting room.

Keep Scotland Beautiful has been supporting the Zoo Conservation Action Teams, helping to build awareness of how consideration of packaging, pesticides and food choices can help to conserve habitats for wildlife around the world.

Eve Keepax, food and environment officer at Keep Scotland Beautiful, added: ‘It is fantastic to see so many young people passionate about sustainably sourced and healthy foods. One Planet Picnic encourages everyone to organise their own event, spend fun and quality time together, while learning about the fantastic range of local produce on their own doorstep.

‘We have really enjoyed supporting the Conservation Action Team at Edinburgh Zoo, building more awareness about what food choices young people and families can make to have a positive impact on wildlife and the environment, as well as their own health.’

Anyone interested in hosting their own One Planet Picnic can visit the Keep Scotland Beautiful website and register their event. There they can access a range of resources including recipes, invitations and posters.

Picnics can be registered HERE.

Keep Scotland Beautiful is the charity that campaigns, acts and educates on a range of local, national and global environmental issues to change behaviour and improve the quality of people’s lives and the places they care for.