Earth Trust education delivery programme
Our new Education Manager, Stuart Ritchie, joined us in August, bringing a wealth of experience from his previous role at Castlebank Horticultural and Environmental Centre in Lanark, Scotland.
September saw an exciting new term begin at Earth School, with the return of our ever-popular Forest Acorns (nature-based learning and discovery activities for 3-5 years olds), and we welcomed back the schools that visit us on a weekly basis, including Wallingford School, Bishopswood Special School and Endeavour Academy.
Young people from these schools have been visiting us for several years as they work through our Countryside Skills qualification. Having time out in the great outdoors is an essential part of their school week, with great impact for each student’s wellbeing.
Throughout the academic year, we engage with several thousand children through Earth School visits. Moving forward, Stuart and the team will be responsible for developing and delivering an ambitious new education programme, carefully designed to deliver on National Curriculum objectives with a focus on STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics), the Arts and Human History.
We will champion cross-disciplinary learning at every opportunity, believing it to greatly enhance student understanding, and will make maximal use of our outstanding site which includes SSSI woodland, wildflower meadows, extensive farmland, wetlands and nationally significant heritage assets.
This perfect suite of outdoor classrooms is now complemented by our award-winning Earth Lab.
This new programme will address the three crises of climate, ecosystems and wellbeing, whilst also promoting our outstanding historical assets and heritage. We anticipate an exciting and challenging year ahead!