Schoolchildren “go back to the future” on A9 Improvement Project
The contractor on Transport Scotland’s A9 Berriedale Braes Improvement Project has helped schoolchildren in their bid to communicate with the future.
The contractor, RJ McLeod invited schoolchildren from Dunbeath Primary School to make a time capsule before burying the capsule within the current construction site of the new road.
Each of the 28 schoolchildren along with 9 nursery children contributed towards the contents of the time capsule with something they had made or collected. Once completed the schoolchildren visited the site, prior to the festive period, to assist RJ McLeod, in burying their time capsule.
Initially the children had spent class time brainstorming what they thought may or may not be around in the future and what future generations may be interested in finding out. They came to the conclusion that technology may have moved on significantly in the future and therefore decided against the use of digital technology such as memory sticks.
Instead, a wide range of items were gathered and put in the time capsule in the hope of giving future generations a real insight into their life today. Some of these items included; hand drawn pictures, photos of themselves and the school and local Dunbeath landmarks such as Castle Strath and the harbour.
The children also wrote newspaper reports providing information on topical aspects of life such as the local wildlife and windfarms.
The children hope that the time capsule will stay buried for at least 100 years. Scott, aged 11 said:
“I was excited to go and visit the new road site. It was very high up! It was great to bury the time capsule, I hope its dug up in 100 years..”
Elsie, aged 8 added:
“It was brilliant burying the time capsule. I hope it will be found in 500 years so that people can find out about what it was like where we lived in the past.”
Ms Mee-Shipman, teacher at Dunbeath Primary School said:
“We were incredibly excited and proud to be involved in the project. It has offered so many skills and experiences. It was a privilege to be asked to fill and bury the time capsule and upon visiting the site, the children were amazed by the vastness and height of the road. They thoroughly enjoyed the whole experience and we are grateful to the contractor for facilitating this experience.”
Ryan Maclean, A9 Berriedale Braes Site Agent, RJ McLeod said:
“It was a pleasure to host the schoolchildren from Dunbeath Primary School at the Berriedale site. We are keen to encourage STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) learning and I’m sure that the visit has inspired some future Civil Engineers.”
The £9.6m Transport Scotland project will deliver much-needed improvements to the A9 at Berriedale Braes where the existing hairpin bend combined with a steep hill makes the road alignment challenging, particularly for HGVs and other long vehicles.
Upon completion the project will improve journey times and road safety by removing the need for vehicles, particularly HGV’s, to slow down or stop to negotiate the bend. Completion is expected in Spring 2020.