Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust (WWT) Pathfinder Project Community Engagement Project – formal learning activities with School

Brief

Background

The Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust (WWT) is a leading wetland conservation organisation saving wetlands for wildlife and people across the world. It was founded in 1946 by the renowned naturalist and artist, the late Sir Peter Scott. With over 60 years experience of wetland conservation, WWT is committed to the protection of wetlands and all that depend on them for survival.

WWT is based in the UK where it has a network of nine wetland visitor centres .These centres include nationally and internationally important wetland habitats totalling over 2,000 hectares. Dedicated to engaging visitors with wetlands and their wildlife, the centres welcome over a million visitors each year and over 200,000 members add their support to our cause.

Introduction to Steart Pathfinder Project

In 2009 Defra developed the Pathfinder Initiative, a project designed to increase the awareness of coastal change through direct engagement with coastal communities directly affected by sea level rise. County Council1 was successful in its bid to this Initiative by being awarded grant aid support to further develop this work on a local level at Porlock, Berrow/Brean and Steart all of which have an active involvement from the Environment Agency (EA)2. Further details of the wider Somerset Pathfinder Project can be found at http://www.somersetcoastalchange.org.uk/.

At Steart the EA has appointed WWT to deliver a range of engagement works with the local community at Steart, and area that includes the villages of Steart, , Otterhampton and Combwich. Areas of involvement include planning for flood resilience, fact finding and forming links to existing communities. Overlapping with this is an opportunity to develop formal learning activities with local children through working with Otterhampton Primary School, Combwich.

The aim of the school engagement program is to raise awareness of coastal change processes and through working with Otterhampton Primary School develop a range of appropriate Key Stage 1&2 activities which will help inform the local community of this dynamic environment and celebrate the special environment of the . Linking these activities to curriculum teaching areas is essential part of delivery and the production of outputs will be used by WWT as transferable learning opportunities. This project will be regarded as an exemplar of wetland learning within the parameters of coastal processes, climate change and sea level rise.

1 http://www.defra.gov.uk/environment/flooding/manage/pathfinder/somerset.htm 2 Simultaneously the EA is working closely with partners and stakeholders to create the largest wetland habitat creation scheme within the UK in land east and south of Steart village within the Steart Peninsula. One of the outcomes of this work will be to create a range of intertidal habitats through the construction of new flood defence banks. These structures will also work to reduce the flood risk to properties at Steart. WWT is fully involved in this project as it has been appointed site managers for this new wetland habitat.

Ideas for learning activities will be based on evidence found through fixed point monitoring, story telling and historical images. Also an understanding of the benefits of natural flood defences that permit coastal change processes will be a desired outcome. In-school and on-site activities will enable pupils from the school to understand the effects of coastal processes on local communities, in the past, present and future along with the vulnerability and flood defence benefits of coastal habitats. Compare and contrast with adjacent freshwater communities is important.

A visit to both WWT Slimbridge and Porlock Weir/National Trust Bossington to show examples of coastal change along the Severn Estuary, and some work with local historical and/or archive organisations will be considered as part of this project, to forge future community partnerships or links.

Key points of contact at WWT Project Manager: Tim McGrath (contact [email protected]) Learning Adviser: Carolyn Robertson (contact: [email protected])

Key points of contact at Otterhampton School Head Teacher: Bridget Hemmings

Actions and deliverables See appendix below.

Budget and timescales Allocated cost ranges are indicated within the budget headings below: • Fees (incl travel and subsistence): up to £5500; • Materials (incl school materials/printing and exhibition development): up to £4500; • Facilitation costs (coach hire/capital items purchase): up to £1750.

Applicants are asked to include a side of A4 showing a breakdown of this budget separately under the headings of: • Delivery of learning programme 11 days direct with school plus preparation time; • Development of the learning materials; • Any other costs (travel/capital items purchased).

The work with the school needs to be completed by the end of May 2011. A summary presentation showing project evaluation and cascade training will be made available to WWT staff at Slimbridge by mid June, with date to be agreed.

Application If you are interested in tendering for this project, please submit a CV and a maximum of two sides describing what qualities, skills and experience you bring to this project and a brief overview of how you would undertake the work, engage with the school staff and pupils and deliver creative activities.

Deadline for submission of proposal is Monday 10th January 2011 at 12.00noon.

Interviews will be held Monday 17th January 2011 at Slimbridge Wetland Centre, Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust, Slimbridge, Gloucestershire, GL2 7BT. Directions can be found at http://www.wwt.org.uk/visit-us/slimbridge/how-to-find-us.

Appendix

Actions and Deliverables

Background The main school topics for the Spring term at the school are ‘Animal Kingdom’ and ‘the Universe’ with any additional Steart Coastal Pathfinder work to be slotted around them. Otterhampton School would prefer Steart Coastal Change as a new topic – with the suggestion being ‘Local study – Environment’

Learning outcomes for pupils • Increased knowledge about wetlands and coastal change processes; • An understanding developed of the possible impacts of the coastal realignment work at Steart; • Increased knowledge and engagement with the social history of their community, leading to exploration of the impacts of Coastal Change processes on local people over the short, medium and long terms.

Activities need to be devised that can be evaluated and assessed against National Curriculum criteria. Actions and deliverables will develop as the project is scoped and taken forward. However, we anticipate that these will include some or all of the suggestions below.

Suggested Actions • WWT and Otterhampton School staff planning days prior to pupil involvement - 2 days at the end of Jan 2011 – dates to be confirmed; • A visit and themed activities to Steart (whole school) – ideal week w/b 28th Feb 2011; • A visit to Porlock (whole school) – ideal week w/b 7th March 2011 (not 8th or 10th – parents’ evening); • A themed week (mainly year 5/6 – 32 children) to develop visual / audio exhibition pieces – ideal week w/b 14th or 21st March 2011; • A visit / work with organisation who can offer local history / photo archive material to support the ‘effects on the community’ aspects of the project – ideal week w/b 14th or 21st March 2011; • A visit to Slimbridge – activities for the children and launch of exhibition – ideal week w/b 16th or 23rd May 2011.

Suggested Deliverables • A series of related learning activities for Key Stages 1 and 2; • An archive of historic and recent images and possibly archive oral histories; • An exhibition celebrating the children’s work on local coastal change.

Note • Dates to avoid: Easter w/b 11th and 18th April 2011 and; SATS w/b 9th May.

G:\Centre Developments\Department\steart\pathfinder\WWT\Steart Pathfinder Project final v6 - master.doc Friday, 10 December 2010

Registered charity in and Wales, no. 1030884 and Scotland, no. SC039410. A company limited by guarantee, registered in England no. 2882729