The Lost Words Appeal

By theorkneynews on December 3, 2017 • ( 4 Comments )

By Bernie Bell

A chance to connect every Primary school child in Scotland, with a natural world that they may be losing sight of.

When Jane Beaton received her copy of ‘The Lost Words’ , by Jackie Morris and Robert Macfarlane, she had an idea.

She then, as she describes it herself, “Made a bold statement on Twitter” that her aim is to ensure that every Primary school in Scotland has a copy of this wonderful book. Here are some of Jane’s own words………….

“The illustrations and words cannot fail to engage and inspire everyone who reads it to connect with the natural world and its sights and sounds. It is the book I would have grabbed every day at reading time as a child. With your support I aim to make that possible for every child in Scotland.

“I passionately believe that creating a connection to nature at a young age is really beneficial to our mental and physical health – not to mention the importance of that connection for the future of the planet! Saving the planet is a whole other campaign, for now I’m just going to focus on this first step, and I thank you for any support you can give.”

I read about this on Jackie’s blog ( http://www.jackiemorris.co.uk/blog), and thought it was a wonderful idea. I then sent a ‘begging letter’ to anyone I thought might like to take part in ‘handing over’ a copy of this magical book, not only to one child, but to a whole school full of children.

I then thought I’d write this short piece for ‘The Orkney News’, and see if Fiona would be good enough to publish it. Of course, a copy for every Primary school child in Scotland, includes a copy for every Primary school child in Orkney!