act for change: BFT & SBC

Borders Forest Trust and SBC paired up to arrange a visit to Dawyck Botanic Gardens as part of Borders Act for Change. They had a delightful trip and the participants all got lots from the day. Read on to hear more!

“Our group of English Language Learners are mostly refugee and asylum seekers, new to Scotland due to war and disruption in their home countries. Our youngest learners are in high school and our oldest are in their 80s. We planned a trip to Dawyck Botanic Gardens with funds from Borders Act for Change. The learners who came to Dawyck are from Ukraine, Somalia, Iran and Hong Kong and are new to learning English.

· We went to Dawyck with Becky and Cat from Borders Forest Trust. We had the opportunity to visit the exhibition of black and white nature photography called ‘Gathering Light’. We matched descriptive words to the images on display. We used this as inspiration to focus on details in nature when exploring the arboretum.

· For our group, being together outdoors is a way to feel connected to Scotland and its nature. Through the seasons, we have been learning nature words and comparing the native plants and trees to those from our own countries in different parts of the world and feeling the companionship of others who are experiencing displacement.

· Our next steps include a celebration of learning when we will share photographs and artwork inspired by our time in nature with other ESOL learners back in Galashiels. Our classroom is at the entrance to Gala Policies so we can continue to engage with the woodland and trees as the spring arrives.

· From one of our learners: “Thank you for such a wonderful day out in the botanical garden for all of us. Great practice for learning new words”.

· From one of the Adult Learning tutors: “It was very special to be out together. Great activities for all”.”