National tourist organisation VisitScotland has launched a new campaign using wildlife to encourage young Scottish people and their families to holiday in their own country.

Schoolchildren are the primary target of the campaign, which highlights different species of animals and birds that are native to Scotland.

Free educational packs have been produced for schoolchildren at primary four and five levels. The new resource was developed in close consultation with teachers, fitting with the existing curriculum and including information on golden eagles, puffins, red squirrels, osprey and dolphins.

The campaign follows recent VisitScotland research, which found that only 3 per cent of Scots questioned said wildlife was a highlight of their holiday in Scotland.

Lorna Bruce, VisitScotland’s product manager for wildlife, said: “Our research shows that there is a fairly low awareness of Scotland’s wildlife here in Scotland. Nature and wildlife has a great appeal for young people and we hope this new free resource for teachers will help them capture the imagination of Scotland’s young people and encourage them to get out and about with their families to discover the fun you can have spotting wildlife.” Details: www.visitscotland.com