Draft storyAt the school

Where did the bottle begin

Zara wonders where a shore bottle began, and finds where to stop it.

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

Who’s in it

ZaraWonders where a bottle on the shore might have come from.Meet Zara

ArthurShows her one possible route from the street to the burn.Meet Arthur

Wee WullieExplains how to watch wildlife calmly from a distance.Meet Wee Wullie

Meet everyone in Gullbrae

The story

At a school table, Zara and Arthur look at a small picture of a shore with a clear plastic bottle far along the tideline.

At school, Zara looked closely at a picture of the shore. Far along the sand, there was a plastic bottle.

Zara looks up at Arthur with her fingertip on the shore picture, and Arthur listens beside her.

Zara put her finger on the bottle and looked up at Arthur. Where might its journey have begun?

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

On a railed bridge over the burn, Arthur shows Zara a small picture of a street and a burn and points downstream.

Arthur took Zara to the bridge over the burn. He showed her a picture of how a bottle might travel from a street to the water.

For grown-ups: This is one possible route, not a map: litter on a street may be carried with rainwater towards a burn and possibly the coast. Not every street drain leads to the sea, and the picture does not show where a real bottle started.

On a railed coastal path, tall Wee Wullie bends to talk to Zara and points to a closed case at his feet, far from a tiny seabird resting on the rocks.

At the shore, Wee Wullie and Zara stayed well back from a resting seabird. He explained that people like him are trained to check on wildlife.

Wee Wullie: “Wee is the nickname. Giving wildlife plenty of space is the important bit.”

For grown-ups: Watching wildlife is for a grown-up to lead. A bird resting does not always need help. If a grown-up is worried, they can read the Scottish SPCA’s general wildlife advice; children should never touch or try to rescue wildlife.

Back at the school table, Zara places a picture of a closed collection container in front of the street and shore pictures while Arthur watches.

Back at school, Zara had an idea. She put a picture of a closed container first, before the street and the shore, to stop the bottle escaping.

For grown-ups: Zara’s prevention point comes first, before anything can escape: keep things in suitable storage or collection, use bins properly and check your local guidance. Picking litter out of water is not the same thing and is not something children should do.

In the classroom, Zara closes the lid of a small box of picture cards, with Arthur beside her and tall Wee Wullie listening.

Zara closed the lid on the box of picture cards so none could blow away. Keeping things secure was the first step.

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

Litter in a street can sometimes be carried by rain and runoff into a burn and on towards the coast, but not every drain leads straight to the sea, and a picture cannot tell us where a real bottle started. The best step is prevention: keep things secure, use bins properly and follow your council’s own rules. If a grown-up is worried about a wild bird, they can check the Scottish SPCA’s wildlife advice. Gullbrae is made up. Your council’s own rules are the ones to follow.

ZaraMeet Zara: she loves finding out how things work Check your own bin dayEnter your postcode All 81 storiesThe full story guide