Education Programme Team 2010/2011
The Ulster Wildlife Trust has a vast experiencing of ‘partnering’ with local funders, businesses and other voluntary/community groups to develop exciting and innovative educational programmes that are devised to facilitate engagement by particular a geographic/social/cultural or ability grouping with the natural environment or local environmental assets.
Working in partnership to develop and deliver inspiring programmes
The following are the educational programmes that we are currently running with a range of partners: corporate, council and voluntary/community sector.
CARING BREAKS: The Ulster Wildlife Trust is ‘partnering’ with local charity Caring Breaks to deliver the Natural World Challenge programme (funded by the Big Lottery fund). The programme provides opportunities for adults with learning difficulties and their carers in the Belfast area to learn more about nature and take part in a range of nature-themed activities and events.
WATCH THIS SPACE: A community engagement project between the Ulster Wildlife Trust and Belfast City Council, it encourages local people to develop their appreciation of nature in their public park. The pilot year saw officers, Siobhan Coyle and Lucille Coates working with schools near Falls Park (West Belfast) and Woodvale Park (North-West Belfast). With funding secured until spring 2012, more schools are now exploring Belfast parks.
FLIGHT IN NATURE: Bombardier (an Ulster Wildlife Trust corporate member) currently sponsor the Ulster Wildlife Trust to deliver Flight in Nature sessions to school children for a specified number of local primary schools as part of their Flight Experience programme. Flight in Nature teaches children about the inspiration that ‘natural flight engineering’ has provided to aviation organisations such as Bombardier.
ENERGY IN NATURE: AES (an Ulster Wildlife Trust corporate member) have just come on board to sponsor the Ulster Wildlife Trust to deliver Energy in Nature sessions to school children for a specified number of primary schools local to their Ballylumford and Kilroot sites in 2012. Energy in Nature teaches children about the sources of energy in nature, how wildlife uses energy and energy conservation.
MAKE SPACE FOR NATURE SCHOOL GROUNDS: This project supported by the NIEA gave schools and pupils the chance to develop their school grounds for wildlife while bringing environmental education to life for the pupils and teachers. It was a free programme. This came to an end in March 2011, however it leaves a legacy of wildlife-friendly school grounds and resources for teachers (to be available from Make Space for Nature by October 2011).
Further information
If you would like to talk to the Ulster Wildlife Trust about funding an educational programme or if you work with a voluntary/community group and would like to ‘partner’ with the Ulster Wildlife Trust to deliver a programme, please contact Anna McCoy (Ulster Wildlife Trust’s Discovery & Learning Officer) to discuss your potential project. Please telephone: 028 4483 0282 or email education@ulsterwildlifetrust.org