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Our Education resources put the Sherbourne at the heart of raising awareness of the river and it’s brooks to help our children and young people to connect with the river and it’s wildlife in Coventry. From a KS2 Healthy Rivers field trip to KS3 History, GCSE Geography and uniformed group sessions, we are spreading the word about green spaces around the Sherbourne to the younger members of our community.
As the Education & Training Officer, I have the joy of running lots of events for schools and young people’s groups. These are always fun and inspiring as I watch the groups or classes connect with nature and learn about the world around them. As a teacher, I know how difficult it can be to find the time to get children out into the world around them to study it, and providing simple, practical solutions for teachers to do that is a key part of my role. Whether it is a healthy rivers day with identifying invertebrates in the river or leading a walk with undergraduate Geography students, there is so much to be gained from being out and seeing what you learn in lessons for real. It makes for tangible learning experiences which leave a lasting impact on the students. There are also classroom resources from KS2 to KS5 available for teachers to use for lessons or homework.
On a wider scale, engaging our children and young people with nature will benefit their mental and physical health, as well as helping the nature they connect with and learn about to thrive. Creating this long-term relationship between young people and nature is vital to their future health and that of our natural world.
We have invested in a number of field equipment loan boxes which schools can borrow for free to help them complete their own field work. The equipment range from science-based equipment like quadrats and field guides to undertake species surveys to flow meters and clinometers for geography-based enquiries. These are available for periods of a week to a term to allow schools to take multiple groups of students out on enquiry visits. If you undertake our teacher CPD (Continuing Professional Development) on river invertebrate sampling then we have survey kits available for your school or group to use whenever suits you. We also have wellington boots available should your students need to borrow these too.
From 2024 we will be offering CPD days designed to help teachers and group leaders to build their confidence in delivering nature-based learning within the curriculum or for their group. These will be in technical skills such as invertebrate sampling (which is accredited CPD) and nature connectedness skills such as delivering wellbeing and nature art and craft sessions for students and children.
“Thanks so much for today. We really appreciated the opportunity to get out of school and do something positive and meaningful for the community. Cadets and staff were really positive about the day- we would love to be able to do the same or similar again next year!”
Rugby School
“What an amazing day Year 4 have had! Thank you so much for your time and energy. The children were very engaged and loved the activities. One child in my class said, "Best day ever!"”
St Christopher's School
“Thank you for today – it was amazing!”
Coundon School
“On behalf of the colony I would like to say a big thank you to Jen for running a really special session last night!”
Allesley Beavers