Meet the Ernest Cook Trust education team

Head of Education
Anne Newman Contact

Anne, a farmer's wife and former Learning Resources Manager at Farmor's School at Fairford, was the Ernest Cook Trust's first formal Education Officer, appointed in 2002. Over the years, she has built up the Outdoor Education activities in Gloucestershire and supported their development in the Trust's Dorset and Leicestershire estates to the point where 10,000 children a year 'learn from the land.'

Gloucestershire - Fairford Estate and Slimbridge Estate

Education Officer: Hilary Hainsworth Contact

Hilary Hainsworth has been teaching for 35 years and grew up in Fairford. She said: "Working for the Trust, I can see how much children learn by being outside; having their classes in the great outdoors is just fantastic. We can offer any aspect of the curriculum while being outside - teachers are amazed at the difference in behaviour and concentration that learning outside makes to even their most challenging students. We're also helping them understand how they 'fit' in the natural world."

Education Officer: Liz MacKenzie Contact

Liz MacKenzie has been teaching since 1997, most recently at Kempsford Primary School. She has a degree in Ecology so her new job with the Ernest Cook Trust is a perfect match for her interests and skills. "The children have fun and they are learning so many things at the same time, without even realising it," she said. "It's a way to help children understand where their food comes from, how things grow and how we need to care for our environment for that to happen."

Leicestershire
Education Officer: Susan Perry Contact

A former primary school teacher, Susan was appointed in 2009 to develop the new Hollies Education Centre on the Trust's Little Dalby Estate in Leicestershire which is housed in former farm buildings and can accommodate groups of up to 30 schoolchildren. She was formerly a science co-ordinator and she combines her subject knowledge with a passion for the environment. Read more..

Dorset
Education Officers: Stuart and Tessa Casely Contact

Stuart and Tessa's 400-acre Gore Farm in Trent grows wheat, barley, maize and grass and supports 200 head of beef cattle. They have been organising the outdoor education visits with help from their sons David and Mark since 2005 after giving up dairy farming and wanting to find a new use for the redundant dairy buildings. Gore Farm has been in the Casely family since 1957.