Glasgow Science Centre's Our Story Our Future is an opportunity to explore the traditional art of storytelling. See how it can inspire minds, strengthen our emotional connection to local environments, and help us to shape our own visions of Scotland's Green Future.

Can there ever be such thing as too much perfection? Here to share Duncan Williamson’s curious case of Thomas The Thatcher, Alette J. Willis invites us to consider the importance of leaving room for nature. With help from GSCAtHome get crafty in a bid to boost biodiversity. 

Thomas The Thatcher shines a light on a community's responsibility to provide for the creatures, critters and creepy crawlies that enrich the local environment. 

Follow Alette J. Willis on Twitter @AletteJWillis

Thomas The Thatcher  was sourced from the book Dancing With Trees: Eco-Tales From The British Isles, authored by Allison Galbraith and Alette J. Willis, and published by History Press in 2017. It is a folk tale popularised by Traveller and storytelling great Duncan Williamson and available in its original form in The Coming Of The Unicorn, authored by Linda Williamson, and published by Floris Books in 2012).

Additional Resources

In our video about the tale of Thomas the Thatcher, we showed one way that thatching could be used to leave a space for nature. Check out our recent blog post were we’ll explore how it might help us keep our wetland spaces. Let’s take a look at what swamps and bogs have to do with thatch:

• Our World, Our Impact Blog: Making a space for nature with wetlands farming

To find out more about biodiversity, and to learn about the lives of some common local wildlife, check out the following resources:

• #GSCAtHome - Make a Birdfeeder
• Learning Lab: Biodiversity
• #GSCAtHome: Measuring Biodiversity
• #GSCAtHome: Bug Count
• Citizen Science: What is Pollination?
• Curious About: Our Planet - RSPB Hungry Birds
• Head over to our Biodiversity Week playlist, from GSCAtHome, for heeps more biodiversity content