Teachers Set To Go Wild About Learning
5 February 2013
A class of children from a local school pond dipping.
We anticipate that the skills and experiences gained at the conference will empower our teachers and educators to inspire the next generation of nature-lovers.
”Lauren Gough, OPAL East Midlands Community Scientist.
National initiative Open Air Laboratories - which has helped more than 500,000 people learn more about nature - will hold a free teachers' conference at the University of Derby, showing how to get pupils into the great outdoors.
On Saturday 9 February more than 100 teachers and 50 environmental educators from the Midlands will attend the Escape from the Classroom event at the University's main Kedleston Road site, in Derby. More than 30 regional and national organisations involved in promoting wildlife and biodiversity will also exhibit at the event.
The conference is being staged by the OPAL (Open Air Laboratories) project, in partnership with the University and Derby City Council. The OPAL project was launched in 2007 with a £12million grant from the Big Lottery and has since encouraged more than 500,000 people to get outdoors to observe, learn and record the world about them.
The conference's opening speaker will be leading British environmental educator and shaman Gordon MacLellan, also known as 'Creeping Toad'. Gordon takes inspiration from nature and the history of man's place in it to facilitate absorbing, and magical, educational experiences.
Ten workshops to inspire primary and secondary schoolteachers will be held during the day. Subjects covered will include:
- Get me out of the classroom - Scientific Enquiry in your School Grounds and local environment
- Demystifying the misconceptions of outdoor learning: Why you don't have to be an eco superhero to use your school grounds
- Eco Schools - The Birds and the Bees! - A practical workshop on using your school grounds for learning enrichment and to be awarded Eco School status
- Maths Naturally - Discover how learning in the fresh air can develop an enthusiasm for Maths, as well as deepen mathematical understanding and thinking.
Professor Karim Vahed of the University of Derby - whose work on the mating habits of insects has garnered international attention - will be the closing speaker at the conference.
Peter Walker, Community Relations Officer at the University and conference co-organiser, said: "We live at a time when fewer young people are getting the chance to absorb nature into their daily lives, and into their imaginations and how they look at the wider world.
"Schools and communities may be passionate about wildlife and the environment but need support to take action. The 'Escape from the Classroom' event we've organised is designed to help them, at no cost to the teachers involved."
Among the over 30 organisations exhibiting during the February 9 event will be the National Trust, Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trusts, and the RSPB.
Lauren Gough, OPAL East Midlands Community Scientist, added: "OPAL aims to get people back in touch with nature. We provide fun, free activities to equip people with the knowledge, skills, and support to explore, study, enjoy and protect their local environment.
"By bringing together teachers, environmental educators, and organisations at this conference we hope that lasting partnerships will be formed. We anticipate that the skills and experiences gained at the conference will empower our teachers and educators to inspire the next generation of nature-lovers."
Over the last five years the University of Derby, in conjunction with Derby City Council's WildDerby initiative, has been linking community organisations with opportunities to enjoy wildlife and the environment, through its WildVolunteering and WildScience projects. Students carry out projects in the community, as part of building a dynamic and living 'science lab'.
For more event information contact Peter Walker: p.walker@derby.ac.uk or Jason Nichols: j.nichols@derby.ac.uk) at Community Relations at the University of Derby, or OPAL's Lauren Gough: Lauren.Gough@nottingham.ac.uk or Jackie Adams: Jackie.Adams@nottingham.ac.uk
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