Meet the new education officers

Growing demand to 'learn from the land'

The Ernest Cook Trust has taken on three more education officers and opened a new Education Centre to cope with the growing demand from schools to help children learn from the land on its estates.

Teachers Hilary Hainsworth from Preston near Cirencester and Liz MacKenzie from Highworth near Swindon, have joined the Trust's Gloucestershire education team at the new Education Centre at the Trust's headquarters at Fairford Park. Ex-Highgrove gardener Laura Emmerson from Eastleach is also joining the team at particularly busy times.

All three work with the Trust's Head of Education Anne Newman to plan and deliver outdoor lessons on the Trust's estates around Fairford and Slimbridge near Gloucester. Activities range from weekly Forest School visits for primary school children, to one-off days dedicated to curriculum topics for students studying GCSEs and A Levels.

The Trust's aim is to help children and young people from across Gloucestershire and beyond learn more about the land through hands-on educational activities on its estates. Last year, schools booked free outdoor lessons for more than 10,000 children on the Trust’s farms, woodland and rivers in Gloucestershire, Leicestershire and Dorset, taking the national curriculum outside the classroom. With demand from schools continuing to rise, the number of young visitors has increased to more than 1,000 pairs of feet a month with children and young people learning about farming and agriculture, wildlife, biodiversity and natural habitats at first hand.

Nicholas Ford, the Trust's Chief Executive, said: "We're delighted that the new education officers have joined our Gloucestershire team. We are now welcoming more than 1,000 children a month to our estates in Gloucestershire, Leicestershire and Dorset, which means more young people are learning from the land than ever before.

"Because of this growing demand, the Trustees have invested not only in additional staff but also in a new Education Centre at our Fairford headquarters. This will offer classroom space, storage and facilities for visiting children, making their learning experience with the Trust even more enjoyable."

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."

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."

Laura Emmerson originally hails from Australia but met and married a Gloucestershire farmer while she was working as a gardener at Highgrove House as part of her degree in Ecological Agriculture. "The wonderful woodland, farms and rivers on the Ernest Cook Trust estates provide a superb outdoor classroom for children of all ages. It's fantastic to see how much children enjoy being out of doors; it can completely change their whole outlook," said Laura.