LEEFlet
Autumn/Winter 2010
LEEFlet Newsletter of L ondon Environmental Education F orum Autumn/Winter 2010
Woodland craft training – a fun learning weekend
Contents News & Events Woodland craft training – a fun learning weekend 1 LEEF AGM 2010: ‘Habitats for frogs’ 2 A sunny invitation to teacher champions 2 Wildlife Gardening Forum 2 Seed gathering in London 2 “What the Bee Sees” – Children’s art competition 2 Urban gardeners questioned! 3 A fruit adventure in London! 3 ‘Let Us Feed Your Senses’ 3 Training Training: Managing Challenging Behaviour 4 Carbon detectives in schools! 4 ‘Facilitation for Learning for Sustainability’ 4 Engaging volunteers in visitor studies 4 “Winter Tree ID” Course 4
LEEF Woodland Craft Training Residential Weekend took place at the Lambourne End Centre in Essex on 4 and 5 December 2010. At this programme, the participants learnt woodland crafts, willow weaving and traditional woodland games from a team of trainers, including Tony Sharp (Lambourne End Centre), Geoffrey Sinclair (The Woodland Trust), Antony Chadwick, Ute Villavicencio and Alison Pelican (Wimbledon Common Nature Club). The skills would be useful in making Christmas presents and could be passed onto young people. For the participants it was a memorable weekend in a beautiful countryside setting as they enjoyed food from the farm in the warmth of the bonfires. We do not inherit the earth from our ancestors; we borrow it from our children.
My idea of education is to unsettle the minds of the young and inflame their intellects.
Native American Proverb
Robert Maynard Hutchins
LEEFlet The newsletter of LEEF (London Environmental Education Forum) Issue: Autumn/Winter 2010 Guidance Anna Portch LEEF Co-ordinator aportch@wildlondon.org.uk Editor & layout designer Asitha Jayawardena LEEF Communications Intern http://www.aij.t83.net Page1 of 4
LEEFlet
Autumn/Winter 2010
LEEF AGM 2010: ‘Habitats for frogs’
The AGM of the London Environmental Education Forum (LEEF) was held at the ZSL London Zoo on 15 July 2010. Jules Howard, a guest speaker from Froglife, discussed how to enthuse children on the subject of habitats and showed how to create a frog-friendly habitat in a school playground. Before that, the zoo education staff took the members on a tour of different habitats in the Zoo, discussing how these areas can be used for engaging children. LEEF members had brought habitat activities they use with children and there was time for sharing of such resources as well as mingling. No, none had brought any frogs! Froglife: Froglife is a national wildlife charity committed to the conservation of amphibians and reptiles – from frogs to lizards – and saving their habitats. Established in 1989, Froglife coordinates a number of national and regional projects, such as the Frog Mortality Project, Toads on Roads and Green Pathways. http://www.froglife.org
Wildlife Gardening Forum
Seed gathering in London
The Wildlife Gardening Forum held its International Year of Biodiversity conference in London on 17 November 2010. It highlighted the first results from the Forum's Plants for Bugs study at Royal Horticultural Society Wisley, and the national launch of Dr Jennifer Owen's new book Wildlife of a Garden: A Thirty Year Study. The conference was the Forum’s contribution to the 2010 International Year of Biodiversity.
The Tree Council’s Seed Gathering Season ran at a number of locations in London from 16 to 30 October 2010. The Mayor of London, The Royal Parks and the London Wildlife Trust joined forces to promote this programme.
Why should society feel responsible only for the education of children, and not for the education of all adults of every age?
Erich Fromm
A sunny invitation to teacher champions Your school lacks some fresh rays of solar education? Why not turn to Sunny Schools from Solar Aid? The Sunny Schools programme, open to ecocoordinators and KS2 teachers, helps teachers bring to life the science of renewable energy and climate change with a global perspective. Participants will be entitled to an education pack containing hands-on, investigative activities, a class set of practical solar kits and a twilight training workshop exploring these vital issues and how to teach them. Solar Aid invites potential teacher champions committed to a sustainable London to teach the Sunny Schools programme at their schools. Solar Aid, an innovative charity, tackles global poverty and climate change, enabling the world’s poorest people to gain access to clean renewable power. More info: Martha@solar-aid.org http://www.solar-aid.org/
“What the Bee Sees” – Children’s art competition Cool It School’s next children's art competition 'What the Bee Sees' is now open and it’s good for garden biodiversity too! More info: http://www.coolitschools.com/w hat-the-bee-sees
There is a sufficiency in the world for man's need but not for man's greed.
Mohandas K. Gandhi
More info: wlgf@stephenmhead.com Page2 of 4
LEEFlet
Autumn/Winter 2010
Urban gardeners questioned!
A fruit adventure in London! Abundance London held its first Abundance Fruit Day in Chiswick on 16 October 2010.
Garden lovers and school and community gardeners questioned their way to urban gardening enlightenment at LEEF Urban Gardener’s Question Time at the Garden Museum in London on 4 November 2010. The participants dug into the brains of some of London’s most inspiring urban gardeners: Catherine Miller (Federation of City Farms and Community Gardens) St. John Stephens (gardening expert, BBC London) Dusty Gedge and John Little (London’s green roof experts) Richard Reynolds (guerrilla gardener and author of On Guerrilla Gardening: A Handbook for Gardening without Boundaries) Lia Leendertz (The Guardian’s gardening correspondent) Lydia Davis (Landscape Design and Projects Manager, Trees for Cities) Elaine Hughes (Wildlife gardening expert, London Wildlife Trust) Helen Babbs (writer and journalist, an aerial, edible gardener, author of
‘Let Us Feed Your Senses’ Let Us Feed Your Senses Conference took place in London on 29 November 2010.
Opening the conference, Dr William Bird, Natural England's Strategic Health Advisor, focused on the benefits of the natural environment for physical and mental health and general wellbeing. This special day of presentations and workshops was hosted by people involved in Let Nature Feed Your Senses. They shared a selection of special moments of engagement and insights from recent farm and nature visits. More info: http://www.letnaturefeedyoursenses.org/letnature/Conference Photographs from http://www.letnaturefeedyoursenses.org/
There's so much pollution in the air now that if it weren't for our lungs there'd be no place to put it all.
The one real object of education is to have a man in the condition of continually asking questions.
Robert Orben
Bishop Mandell Creighton
Abundance is a team of volunteers who harvest city fruit for distribution for preservation (e.g. jam) or for selling the surplus to local restaurants and shops on a not-for-profit basis. The money goes back to the project or to local charities. Abundance London’s Fruit Day was a celebration of the joint efforts of three groups – schools, restaurants and residents. For this Day, working together with local primary schools (staff, children and parents), Abundance London picked over 1000 kilograms of surplus fruit from 65 local trees. And local residents showed up with bags and sometimes barrow-loads of apples. The big juice press, the star attraction, pressed over 800 kg of apples into juice. And hitting the stalls were a variety of products, such as chutneys, preserves, cordials and cakes – all made from fruit that would have otherwise rotten into waste. And the contests – ranging from rhubarb baton relay race to the longest fruit peel contest – added fruity aroma to the great atmosphere. Next year - more trees, more fruit, more schools, more jam, more juice, more fun... More info: Karen Liebreich and Sarah Cruz info@abundancelondon.com Photo from www.abundancelondon.com Page3 of 4
LEEFlet
Training: Managing Challenging Behaviour LEEF training on Managing Challenging Behaviour was held at Holland Park Ecology Centre on 25 November 2010. It was conducted by two experienced trainers – Sam Lewis LWT Senior Youth Officer and Beth Jones FSC Trainer for working with secondary schools.
‘Facilitation for Learning for Sustainability’ SEEd (Sustainability and Environmental Education) will conduct a fourday course titled ‘Facilitation for Learning for Sustainability’ in London in January-March 2011. The programme consists of four facilitated training days and a supported action learning project. Participants will have the opportunity to try different techniques under the guidance of Ann Finlayson, an experienced facilitator and educator. Dates: 25 & 26 January and 29 & 30 March 2011 Location: St Ethelburga's Centre, London Booking: Email facilitation@se-ed.org.uk or complete the online booking form at http://www.se-ed.org.uk/events/facilitation-for-sustainability.html
Engaging volunteers in visitor studies The Natural History Museum and Association for Heritage Interpretation organised a workshop on ‘Engaging volunteers in visitor studies’ on 12 November 2010. It was based on the Museum's successful 'Evaluation Volunteer Programme' now running for the second year. The participants benefitted from meeting the Learning team from the Museum and discovering the benefits of running a volunteer programme that engages volunteers in visitor studies.
Autumn/Winter 2010
Carbon detectives in schools! The Southwark Council conducted a free training session for teachers under the Carbon Detectives scheme on 19 October 2010. The first half of the session focused on raising the profile of school associated carbon emissions and how teachers and school staff can lower them. The second half focused on the Carbon Detectives scheme and the toolkit and offered teachers with guidance on how to make the best use of the scheme in reducing their schools’ carbon footprint. The training session introduced the Carbon Crisis and the three issues that the Carbon Detectives scheme focuses on – energy, transport and food. It covered several related aspects, from carbon calculators to action planning. More info: Tracey Franklin tracey.franklin@southwark.gov. uk 020 7525 3758, 079 3268 3305
“Winter Tree ID” Course The Field Study Council in association with the South London Botanical Institute (SLBI) conducted the “Winter Tree ID” training session in Lambeth on 9 November 2010. It focused on improving participants’ identification skills of common London park trees using bark, buds and seeds. They were enjoyed the opportunity of trying out range of activities suitable for secondary schools. More info: beth@field-studies-council.org
More info: c.thalund@nhm.ac.uk Page4 of 4