Cumbria’s Whinlatter Forest Park, near Keswick, is to become part of a new outdoor education and learning network being set up by the Forestry Commission across North West England.
For the first time, the Whinlatter team are joining education rangers at Delamere Forest in Cheshire and Grizedale Forest in South Cumbria to turn Forestry Commission woodland around the region into a massive open-air classroom the size of more than 3,100 football pitches (5,000 hectares).
The initiative is being developed to take children and adults out of the conventional classroom setting and into the natural world to help teach them more about the environment and its significance to everyday life.
Climate change, sustainability and ecology are three of the key topics that will be covered by the new programme, which is targeted at all ages from pre-school to university students, adults and families. Programmes cover curriculum-based topics such as science and geography as well as wider personal, social and health issues relating to the environment.
A range of family events are also being planned around the region to help people connect with nature in a fun and imaginative way.
Nathan Fox is a Forest Ranger for the Forestry Commission and heads up the Education team at Whinlatter, who will be helping to drive the project forward in North and West Cumbria. Nathan has nearly 10 years experience and has worked on the Forestry Commission’s National Education and Learning Strategy for England. He says:
“This is a really exciting time for me, the education team and the Forestry Commission in the North West. We want to get more people in touch with current environmental issues, such as climate change, and we think there’s no better place to learn than in your local forest park or community woodland.
“First hand experience of the natural world is the key to generating lifelong positive attitudes towards the environment. Woodlands can offer an accessible, safe, varied and stimulating setting for learning, play and adventure for all ages and abilities.”
The Forestry Commission education team will also be going out into local communities around the North West to help people in urban areas and those with limited access to woodland rediscover natural green spaces on their doorstep.
The new initiative will be launched in spring 2009 and then rolled out to urban community woodlands around North West England as part of the Northwest Regional Development Agency (NWDA) and Forestry Commission partnership programme, ‘Newlands’.
The announcement follows the Forestry Commission’s first strategy for education and learning services in England, which was published in October.
For further information about the Forestry Commission in North West England, visit www.forestry.gov.uk/northwestengland
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NOTES TO EDITORS
1. Images attached of children (Alice and Kate Birchall) learning about woodland wildlife and a family at the Forestry Commission’s Whinlatter Forest Park. Higher resolution versions are available by calling 015394-42436.
2. The Forestry Commission Education and Learning programme in England has three key messages:
· The role of trees, woods and forests in mitigating the effects of climate change
· Wood as a sustainable material, including wood fuel
· The ecological and environmental benefits of trees, woods and forests
3. Newlands is a unique £59 million NWDA-funded regeneration scheme, which is rejuvenating around 381 hectares of the Northwest’s derelict, underused and neglected land to stimulate economic growth and further opportunities for leisure and environmental improvements. Newlands, which stands for New Economic Environments via Woodlands, is a partnership scheme involving the NWDA and the Forestry Commission. www.newlandsproject.co.uk
4. Community Woodlands are multi-purpose open spaces that can be easily accessed by the local community, and can include a series of small woodlands, footpaths, cycle and bridleways, football pitches, wetland habitats and a wildflower meadow. Each site is designed in partnership with the local community to help improve and enhance the economic, environmental and social value of the local neighbourhood to work towards a sustainable environment for everyone.
5. The Forestry Commission is the largest provider of countryside recreation in Britain, with responsibility for more than one million hectares (2.4 million acres) of forest, woodlands and open countryside. The North West England Forest District covers the Lake District in Cumbria, the Forest of Bowland in Lancashire, Merseyside, Greater Manchester and Cheshire. The forests are managed for conservation, wildlife, landscape and recreation as well as providing a valuable source of timber.
Media contacts:
Nathan Fox (Forest Ranger) at Whinlatter Forest on 017687 78611 (office) or 07720700322 (mobile).