1 Making Sense of Our Site Learning about the Jurassic Coast Contents Foreword 2 Driving Forward Education on the Jurassic Coast 3 Our Aim 4 Our Objectives 4 Outputs: How will we achieve these? 5 Site Management Details 8 Linked Strategies and Frameworks 8 Working with World Heritage 9 A Selection of Case Studies 10 Lifelong Learning and Volunteering 15 Some Case Studies 16 Education Opportunities 17 Outdoor Education 23 References 28 2 Foreword he Dorset and East Devon Coast is England’s first natural World Heritage Site Tand is commonly known as the Jurassic Coast. This unique stretch of coastline has joined the ranks of the Great Barrier Reef and the Grand Canyon as one of the wonders of the natural world. The Jurassic Coast was designated a World Heritage Site in 2001 by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) due to its outstanding geology, which represents 185 million years of earth history in just 95 miles. The variety of landslides, beaches, bays and cliffs results in a constantly changing landscape, with spectacular features such as the Hooken Landslide, Chesil Beach and Durdle Door. The Jurassic Coast is a world-famous educational resource and historically it has played a key role in the study of Earth Sciences. It is our duty to manage our World Heritage Site effectively and education plays a crucial role in all aspects of site management. What are World Heritage Sites? UNESCO World Heritage Sites are places of outstanding universal value. They are environments, buildings or artefacts which are particularly important to the history, culture and fabric of humanity as a whole. They are places which represent our past and which we will pass on to future generations. Despite the fact that World Heritage Sites belong to the whole world, heritage as a concept is often very personal. It is possible to view World Heritage Sites as a collection of stories; stories of both human and earth history that when compiled reflect the things that give our lives and homes meaning. Education forms an intrinsic part of managing World Heritage Sites and is specifically referred to in Article 27 of the World Heritage Convention (1972), where educational and information programmes can be used ‘to strengthen appreciation and respect by their peoples of the cultural and natural heritage defined in Articles 1 and 2 of the Convention.’ 3 Driving forward Education on the Jurassic Coast ive years ago, The Jurassic Textbook (2003) proposed Finnovative ways in which the Jurassic Coast, England’s first natural World Heritage Site, could be used as a tool to promote an understanding of not only the outdoor environment but also the value of Earth Science to many educational audiences. Since the launch of this strategy, and the appointment of a Jurassic Coast Education Coordinator, there have been many achievements, most notably in the formal education sector. The Jurassic Coast has enabled and resourced over 350 teachers to bring the message of the World Heritage Site into their classrooms. Over 2000 children and young people have been engaged directly in projects associated with the Jurassic Coast. Successful funding for many of these projects has been secured from the Jurassic Coast Trust and the Heritage Lottery Fund. There is now an established Schools Day at the annual Lyme Regis Fossil Festival where hundreds of children and young people have a chance to experience the wonder of the Jurassic Coast first hand. In addition, the Jurassic Coast has established strategic partnerships with leading national bodies for science and geographical education such as the Geological Society, Royal Geographical Society, the Natural History Museum, the UK National Commission for UNESCO and Natural England. As new challenges and opportunities come to the fore, such as the London 2012 Olympic Games and the evolving 3–19 years educational entitlement, the Jurassic Coast education guidelines must develop and adapt to encompass these changes. 4 Our Aim The Jurassic Coast covers 95 miles of truly stunning coastline from East Devon to Dorset, with rocks recording 185 million years of the Earth’s history. It is the international importance of the rocks, fossils and landforms that are the core values of the World Heritage Site and these factors play an important part in shaping our aims and objectives. World Heritage status was achieved because of the site’s unique insight into the Earth Sciences which depicts a geological ‘walk through time’ spanning the Triassic, Jurassic and Cretaceous periods. In order to increase awareness and understanding of the values of the Jurassic Coast as a World Heritage Site and to give communities a sense of pride and ownership, we have identified four key objectives: Our Objectives • To improve access to outdoor education facilities and create learning resources along the Jurassic Coast. • To create resources that focus on the values of the World Heritage Site and to effectively disseminate these. • Increased harmonisation of the values of the World Heritage Site with the formal school curriculum from 3–19 years. • Increased opportunities for lifelong learning and engaging with the conservation of the Jurassic Coast. 5 St Joseph’s Primary School pupils visit the Charmouth Heritage Coast Centre Outputs: How will we achieve these? 1. Generating educational resources means not only brochures, text material, displays and web-based material, but also learning trails, viewpoints and signage. We will find out what is already available from a range of sources (including commercially published materials), identify gaps in provision, identify potential creators, seek funding and commission new resources, based on what is known about the effectiveness of existing materials. Developments and progression within the school curriculum will be taken account of in the development of resources. We will seek opportunities to build on new and upcoming Department of Children, Schools and Families (DCSF) education initiatives (e.g. The Action Plan for Geography and the Diploma for Environmental and Land Based Studies) which will help us to remain relevant to the needs of teachers, children and young people. A sub-group within the Jurassic Coast Education Working Group (EWG) will be set up to facilitate and co-ordinate the above, and to disseminate findings. 2. Co-ordinating educational initiatives will be based on a database of users and providers currently being generated, and will foster links between these groups as well as dissemination of existing good practice. Network links such as chat-rooms can be set up, and occasional single-issue meetings will be convened to foster links in areas where these are currently in the early stages. Such meetings can also be valuable sources of feedback on provision. An e- newsletter/hardcopy will be distributed three times a year to all the Education and Heritage centres, schools, and community groups in Dorset and Devon, to help them know what is going on at the centres along the coast, the resources available to them, new developments and how the Jurassic Coast can help to deliver the evolving curriculum. This is in response to the challenges we are aware of in the dissemination of information to partners and especially between centres and schools. 6 Redbridge Community School pupils on a teambuilding exercise at Leeson House 3. Developing and co-ordinating field study facilities is a key aspect of the EWG’s role. We will work towards the provision of further facilities, improve resources at existing centres, develop further training for wardens, instructors and volunteers, and identify gaps in provision, e.g. along the East Devon section of the Jurassic Coast. We will respond to requests to assist in the development of education facilities at the various visitor centre/field centre projects as identified in the Jurassic Coast World Heritage Site Management Plan. Existing research will be used to stress the value to users, and we will lobby relevant authorities via the Steering Group to support initiatives. National examples of good practice, such as the National Trust Guardianship scheme, will be disseminated as models via the newsletter. The EWG will liaise with local press and seek further support from education providers in the area. 4. Developing working partnerships is another key aspect of our work. We will maintain and develop links with local authorities with a view towards assisting in the delivery of the Devon and Dorset Children and Young People’s Plans. We aim to link individual schools and community groups with education centres and other sources of potential support along the Jurassic Coast. We will do this by identifying active schools and groups, fostering visits and placements and arranging meetings for those interested in partnerships, based on best practice models from elsewhere. We will strive to work in coordination with relevant teams based within County and District Councils to emphasise the importance of effective education strategies. The EWG will also act as facilitators to seek funding for and commission small-scale case studies of working partnerships, and disseminate these to interested parties. 7 5. Engaging with teacher education initiatives is a very important objective. We plan to make full use of this valuable resource in terms of both initial and in-service teacher training in university departments of education as well as the Southwest Regional Science Learning Centre. This collaboration has benefits for both partners, and could be a major way of generating new links and partnerships. The EWG will monitor and disseminate what is learned, as well as inviting partners to share their experiences at single-issue meetings or via the newsletter. 6. Developing national and international links will involve strengthening partnerships with similar sites in the UK (e.g. English Riviera UNESCO Geopark and at Runswick Bay in North Yorkshire) and overseas. The Association for Science Education (ASE) ‘Science Across the World’ website is an established forum for schools to exchange ideas, and could be used as one vehicle for St Lucian teachers at a UNESCO/Jurassic Coast linking.