To mark the International Year of the Salmon in 2019, we enlisted the help of pupils from Robert Ferguson Primary School, Carlisle to create illustrations for The Adventurous Salmon, a brand-new children’s picture book.
The book follows the epic 3,000 km journey undertaken by an intrepid wild Atlantic salmon; from Cumbria’s tiny becks, down Eden’s rivers and out to sea … and then back again to the beck where it was born. Along the way, it introduces young readers to native wildlife found in the Eden, Copeland and West Cumbria areas.
The Adventurous Salmon also meets endangered species such as white-clawed crayfish and freshwater pearl mussels on his travels. Yet, wild Atlantic salmon themselves are also under threat, with numbers dropping fast. The story raises awareness of a number of challenges salmon face in their fight for survival in our rivers.
Thanks to support from The National Lottery Heritage Fund, we were able to embark on a project with two year 5 classes from Robert Ferguson Primary School in Carlisle. The project combined learning about the river with creative workshops to develop a book that would be given out free to schools that we work with.