Learning Outside the Classroom Tour March 14th 2013 9:30-4pm
Within Newham we have a fantastic range of EcoVenues to visit - from farms to sewers...
Do you and your staff feel confident to plan and visit an EcoSetting?
Are you aware of the Sustainable Education Experts ready and eager to help bring Sustainability alive to your pupils?
How could our EcoSettings help you plan your curricular themes?
Newham Learning Outside the Classroom Tour
Details, links and important contacts...
Towards the end of the Spring Term NSS and a cohort of enthusiastic school staff set off around Newham on a very successful CPD day to see what opportunities exist here in our own Borough for Learning Outside the Classroom.
The morning session took place at MuRFy’s World, at the Jenkins Lane Reuse and Recycle Centre. As many schools will already have experienced, MuRFy’s World is an interactive facility which brings to exciting life the “Reduce Reuse Recycle” mantra, with tours tailored for groups from KS1 – KS4. This session looked at the benefits of Learning Outside the Classroom, with guidance from Newham Council on the safe organisation of LOTC visits. There was also a very interesting presentation from The Crystal, the sustainable cities initiative by Siemens which has taken striking shape at the West End of the Docks, next to ExCeL.
Fully au fait with LOTC theory, the party then toured three outdoor learning sites in Newham, experiencing the expanding delights of Newham City Farm, the innovative approach of Play Sow and Grow, and (your writer’s personal favourite) the all-action adventure possibilities of Outdoors in the City. With so much to see and do, we were late delivering our intrepid band of 15+ school staff back at the end of the day, but we think they have forgiven us by now.
For simple yet comprehensive educational visit guidance, contact NSSN as per this newsletter, or Loo Devine at LB Newham [email protected]
MuRFy’s World (it stands for “Multi-use Recycling Facility” in case you were wondering is here http://www.recycleforyourcommunity.com/schools/murfys_world/default.aspx?printer=true
The Crystal is here http://www.thecrystal.org/_html/
Newham City Farm http://www.community-links.org/local-services/city-farm/ and Play Sow and Grow http://www.community-links.org/local-services/play-sow-and-grow/ are both run by the excellent Community Links, without whom sustainability and life in general in Newham would be much the poorer. Links also runs the hidden gem which is the East Ham Nature Reserve http://www.community-links.org/local-services/nature-reserve/.
Outdoors in the City http://www.outdoorsinthecity.co.uk/about/ is a unique facility offering a huge range of climbing, abseiling and similar recreational experiences. You will probably have seen their climbing wall jutting up above the A13 at the Brede Arkless Centre. (Incidentally, Brede Arkless was an astonishing woman, well worth Wikipedia-ing and probably worth an assembly too.)
Not part of the LOTC day but one of the best outdoor nature experiences in Newham is Forest Lane Park, which manages to fill a quite small space with every conceivable LOTC-worthy experience, including a small lake, a raised pond, meadow and garden, a hillock with rocks, climbing wire, slide and platform, and a wilderness area. There are trails with excellent signage and pictures, and art in many forms including totem poles and wood carvings. Well worth a visit for anyone thinking of improving their school grounds, with lots of simple and effective ideas suitable for even the smallest spaces. The Field Studies Council http://www.field-studies-council.org organises children’s holiday activities at Forest Lane Park.
Do you and your staff feel confident to plan and visit an EcoSetting?
Are you aware of the Sustainable Education Experts ready and eager to help bring Sustainability alive to your pupils?
How could our EcoSettings help you plan your curricular themes?
Newham Learning Outside the Classroom Tour
Details, links and important contacts...
Towards the end of the Spring Term NSS and a cohort of enthusiastic school staff set off around Newham on a very successful CPD day to see what opportunities exist here in our own Borough for Learning Outside the Classroom.
The morning session took place at MuRFy’s World, at the Jenkins Lane Reuse and Recycle Centre. As many schools will already have experienced, MuRFy’s World is an interactive facility which brings to exciting life the “Reduce Reuse Recycle” mantra, with tours tailored for groups from KS1 – KS4. This session looked at the benefits of Learning Outside the Classroom, with guidance from Newham Council on the safe organisation of LOTC visits. There was also a very interesting presentation from The Crystal, the sustainable cities initiative by Siemens which has taken striking shape at the West End of the Docks, next to ExCeL.
Fully au fait with LOTC theory, the party then toured three outdoor learning sites in Newham, experiencing the expanding delights of Newham City Farm, the innovative approach of Play Sow and Grow, and (your writer’s personal favourite) the all-action adventure possibilities of Outdoors in the City. With so much to see and do, we were late delivering our intrepid band of 15+ school staff back at the end of the day, but we think they have forgiven us by now.
For simple yet comprehensive educational visit guidance, contact NSSN as per this newsletter, or Loo Devine at LB Newham [email protected]
MuRFy’s World (it stands for “Multi-use Recycling Facility” in case you were wondering is here http://www.recycleforyourcommunity.com/schools/murfys_world/default.aspx?printer=true
The Crystal is here http://www.thecrystal.org/_html/
Newham City Farm http://www.community-links.org/local-services/city-farm/ and Play Sow and Grow http://www.community-links.org/local-services/play-sow-and-grow/ are both run by the excellent Community Links, without whom sustainability and life in general in Newham would be much the poorer. Links also runs the hidden gem which is the East Ham Nature Reserve http://www.community-links.org/local-services/nature-reserve/.
Outdoors in the City http://www.outdoorsinthecity.co.uk/about/ is a unique facility offering a huge range of climbing, abseiling and similar recreational experiences. You will probably have seen their climbing wall jutting up above the A13 at the Brede Arkless Centre. (Incidentally, Brede Arkless was an astonishing woman, well worth Wikipedia-ing and probably worth an assembly too.)
Not part of the LOTC day but one of the best outdoor nature experiences in Newham is Forest Lane Park, which manages to fill a quite small space with every conceivable LOTC-worthy experience, including a small lake, a raised pond, meadow and garden, a hillock with rocks, climbing wire, slide and platform, and a wilderness area. There are trails with excellent signage and pictures, and art in many forms including totem poles and wood carvings. Well worth a visit for anyone thinking of improving their school grounds, with lots of simple and effective ideas suitable for even the smallest spaces. The Field Studies Council http://www.field-studies-council.org organises children’s holiday activities at Forest Lane Park.
