The North Pennines Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) Partnership received funding, largely from the National Lottery Heritage Fund, for its Landscape Partnership Scheme (LPS) ‘Fellfoot Forward.’ OASES tendered to deliver the Fellfoot Forward education resources element of this project. As part of the Fellfoot Forward LPS legacy, the project sought to leave behind resources for schools, youth groups and families to use with their young people. The resources focus on Talkin Tarn Country Park and drew upon the rich vein of wildlife, geology, mining history, farming and stories and characters from the past that the Fellfoot Forward landscape offers.
OASES developed six education resources, linked to the National Curriculum, that are suitable for schools and youth groups:
- Resource 1: Art at the Tarn
- Resource 2: Beneath the Surface
- Resource 3: Nature Detectives
- Resource 4: Reading the Landscape
- Resource 5: Wildlife Matters
- Resource 6: Wonderful Water
OASES also developed a ‘Plan Your Visit’ resource to help schools and youth groups with the planning and practicalities of organising a trip to Talkin Tarn Country Park. In addition to the original tender, OASES were commissioned to enhance the accessibility and education component of the resources, through the production of a short promotional video. In a joined up approach with the North Pennines AONB Partnership, OASES were able to establish and tender a video brief that was developed within an appropriate timeline to complement that of the written resource production. OASES Officers worked closely with Canny Productions on site and remotely to produce and present a short film introducing the site and the resources.
Schools and youth groups trialled the resources and their feedback was used to inform the final edit. All of the resources and the short film can be viewed on the North Pennines AONB Partnership website. OASES also led two CPD sessions at Talkin Tarn Country Park for teachers and youth group leaders. The sessions were designed to enable the teachers and leaders to get to know the site and the resources, and to build their confidence in delivering learning outdoors.
OASES also created a family pack, which inspires families to discover the full breadth of the site and connect with nature through fun, family friendly activities.
Feedback on the resources and CPD sessions was very positive:
“We found the resources and the training visit [CPD] both very useful, both prior to and during the visit. The tarn would be a great place to revisit to follow up work, particularly with specific focus and classes. We are looking forward to planning future visits.”
“We found [the resources] very useful. The wide range of activities available gave us lots of options. The tree area where the moss and the talking trees are are brilliant and we knew about these because of the CPD.”
“We were privileged to test the resources as a group. We are a very experience leadership team and have seen most outdoor resources available in our cumulative years of leadership so it was great to have a few new ideas we had not seen before to try.”
