The Tweed Foundation launches new Ian Gregg River Academy

The Ian Gregg River Academy is a dedicated facility that will use live specimens, interactive displays and hands-on activities to show children, young people and adults about the river and the organisms that live in it in order to increase understanding of the importance of the river system.

Touch screens will showcase the breadth of The Tweed Foundation’s important work and a two-metre water tank within the academy includes live examples of fish from the river such as small salmon, trout and grayling – as well as minnows and stone loaches.

Stop-motion animation sessions will help to teach children about the incredible journeys undertaken by species including salmon and eel, and live aquatic insects can be examined using microscopes and endoscopes.

The academy at Drygrange near Melrose has been named after Ian Gregg, former chairman of high street bakers Greggs started by his father John and a former River Tweed Commission Chief Commissioner who was instrumental in the formation of the UK’s Rivers Trusts movement.

The Tweed Foundation director Jamie Stewart said: “The River Tweed and its tributaries are a huge shared resource that is vitally important to the Scottish Borders and north Northumberland.

“Our new Ian Gregg River Academy aims to provide a centre of excellence where schools, colleges, local community groups and interested individuals can discover more about the river and the life that teems within it.”

Visits to the academy are free, but must be pre-booked by calling The Tweed Foundation on 01896 848271.