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Draft storyAt school

The question everyone had

Zara asks what really happens inside the bio plant tanks.

A draft: the words and pictures are waiting for an educator’s review.

Who’s in it

Meet everyone in Gullbrae

The story

Isla lays a small mounted picture of the two green domed bio plant tanks on a classroom table while Zara studies it and Eddie listens nearby.

Isla put a picture of the bio plant on the classroom table. Zara looked closely at the two big green domes, and Eddie listened.

Zara raises one hand politely beside Isla, who turns to listen, with the tank picture on the table and Eddie close by.

Zara put up her hand and asked what really happens inside the tanks. It was the question everyone had been wondering about.

Zara: “Can you show me how that works?”

Isla opens the teal classroom door to welcome Amina, who carries a dark green portfolio, while Zara stands beside Isla and Eddie sits at the table.

Isla said it was a great question, and the best person to answer it was here. She opened the door to welcome Amina from the bio plant.

Eddie: “Aye, let’s ask the person who actually runs the place.”

Amina opens her portfolio to a picture of a closed tank with separate energy cabinet and field pictures, and attaches a small cream tab under each while Zara and Isla watch.

Amina showed them the sealed tank, where food scraps break down without air. She put a separate label under each of its two outputs.

For grown-ups: In the sealed tank, microorganisms break down food scraps without oxygen. There are two separate outputs: biogas, which goes to suitable energy equipment; and digestate, which is checked before it is used as a suitable fertiliser.

Eddie turns to Zara with an open-handed, thankful gesture while she smiles beside Isla, and Amina closes her portfolio in the background.

Eddie thanked Zara. Because she had asked, everyone had learned something new.

Zara and Isla put the tank picture on a low shelf next to a plain storybook and Amina’s open portfolio, while Amina and Eddie watch from the table.

Zara and Isla put the bio plant picture on the shelf, beside a storybook and Amina’s portfolio. Now the facts sat right next to the story.

Draft, 20 October 2026. The words and pictures are not yet reviewed by an educator. The story follows the outline in our story guide.

The real-life bit

Inside a bio plant’s sealed tank, microorganisms break down food waste without oxygen. It gives two separate outputs: biogas, and digestate that is checked before use as a fertiliser. Saving good food comes first, and how food scraps are collected depends on your council’s own rules. Gullbrae is made up. Your council’s own rules are the ones to follow.

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