A SCIENCE project which has inspired multiple generations of schoolkids to take an interest in nature is celebrating its 20th anniversary.

The Clyde in the Classroom project was launched in 2001, to help children learn about river ecology and wildlife in their local area.

Schools in eight council areas, including Renfrewshire and East Renfrewshire, have benefited from the initiative’s hands-on approach, which sees brown trout egg hatcheries brought into classrooms, with pupils and teachers taught how to maintain water quality and look after the fish as they hatch and grow.

After several weeks, experts from the Clyde River Foundation help the children release their fish.

Thousands of local kids have taken part in the project over the past two decades, with further school visits lined up for this year.

Dr Willie Yeomans, of the Clyde River Foundation, said: “Clyde in the Classroom is a very special environmental education project, inspiring thousands of children every year, and I am delighted to be celebrating its 20th anniversary.

“For the past 20 years, we have been building a Clyde in the Classroom community across our eight council areas, working with around 75 per cent of primary schools in the overall River Clyde catchment area.

“We are proud to have enthused over 30,000 future stewards to date, all of whom now have a good understanding of the river, what lives in and beside it and the effects of pollution and other threats.”

More than 30,000 children in Renfrewshire, East Renfrewshire, Glasgow, North Lanarkshire, South Lanarkshire, West Dunbartonshire, East Dunbartonshire and Inverclyde have taken part in the Clyde in the Classroom project since it was launched.

For more details, visit www.clydeintheclassroom.com.