Field Studies Council

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Jenni Taylor - Tutor

• Field Studies Council
• Preston Montford Field Centre, Shrewsbury,
  England

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Background about me!

• Degrees in Geography, Environmental Science and
  Ecology.
• Trained teacher (secondary school Geography)
• Done voluntary work in conservation (UK and
  abroad), and so lots of travelling Slovakia,
  Costa Rica, Tanzania.
• Also interested in music (play cello and
  saxophone)

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Why am I in Beijing?

• Visiting friends from my MSc
  (in Environmental Science and Ecology) at
  Lancaster University, UK.
• Been to Bangkok, Thailand Xiamen and now
  Beijing! 6 week trip. Fly back to the UK on
  Monday 21st Jan.

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What is the Field Studies Council (FSC)?

• An NGO/charity for environmental education.
• Receive no funding from Government or other
  bodies.
• 17 field centres around the UK and Head Office.

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History of the FSC

• Established in 1943
• First field centre opened in 1945
• Most recent field centres to open were
  Derrygonnelly (Northern Ireland, 2001) and
  Kindrogan (Scotland, 2002)
• Oldest environmental education organisation in
  the UK

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Head Office

• General administration, marketing, etc
• Publications
• Lobbying of government
• International department
• Works with international partners, similar
  organisations abroad. Has links in Slovakia,
  Poland, Kazakhstan, Iran, Thailand, China and
  other countries.

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Field Centres

• Most are residential, some day centres.
• Groups visit the centres. At residential centres,
  for up to a week.
• A-Level (16-18), GCSE (14-16), Juniors (9-11) are
  our main school age groups.
• University groups (studying Geography, Ecology,
  etc) and trainee teachers.
• Specialist adult courses - Natural History and
  Arts.

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Secondary school groups

• Teach Geography (A-Level and GCSE)
• Ecology (as part of Biology A-Level and GCSE)
• Linked very closely to the exam specifications.
• We provide what the schools need.
• Visit for coursework, case studies, practical
  field work skills.

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Secondary School Biology (Ecology)
Crosemere, N Shropshire
Vegetation succession
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Stiperstones, S Shropshire
Heather moorland ecosystem management
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Secondary School Ecology
Pond study
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Secondary School Geography
Glaciation, Berwyn Mountains, Wales
Urban Study, Shrewsbury
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River study
Secondary School Geography
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Secondary School Geography Soil Study
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Secondary School Geography Flooding in Shrewsbury
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Junior school groups

• Visit for Geography, Science, History.
• Again linked to National Curriculum, but also
  team building, Awe and Wonder, etc.

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Primary School Geography/Science
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Primary School Orienteering
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Primary School Energy Game
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Primary School Team Building
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A day at Preston Montford

• 8.30 Breakfast
• 9.30-10.30 Intro session in classroom
• 11-4 In field.
• 5-6 In classroom
• 6-7 Dinner
• 7-8.30 In classroom
• 8.30-11 Free time
• Also centre shop, games facilities.

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Adult courses

• A wide range of specialist adult courses on plant
  and animal identification, monitoring, surveying
  etc.
• Some of the most specialist courses in the UK.
• Arts courses on painting, photography,
  traditional crafts, etc.

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Willow weaving
Adult courses Fungi ID
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Preston Montford Field Centre
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• Opened as an FSC Centre in 1957.
• Has 120 beds, 6 classrooms.
• 10 teaching staff, plus office, catering and
  cleaning staff.

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Preston Montford Estate

• 23 acres/9 hectares of land.
• River Severn flows next to the Estate.
• 5 ponds.
• Woodland, grassland, meadow habitats.
• Other wildlife areas eg. log piles and bird
  boxes.
• Many interesting animals seen here eg. badgers,
  bats, kingfishers, newts.

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Sensory Garden,Exploratorium
Built as a disability project with FSCEE. With
help from local schools for children with
learning and physical disabilities.
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Raised pond and flower beds, willow classroom,
brightly coloured plants and objects, wind
chimes, fruit trees, sitting/play area,
whispering tube
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Treats liquid part of PM sewage and waste water
Wetland Ecosystem Treatment (WET) System
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Harvesting the willow
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• Preston Montford is an Eco-centre
• The Eco-Schools programme is popular in the UK
• Schools/centres get a green flag for being
  environmentally friendly
• www.ecoschools.org

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Health and Safety

• A VERY IMPORTANT issue in the UK.
• We have a lot of training and systems in place
  for this.
• Large focus in the media on incidents and
  accidents involving children at school and on
  school trips.

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First Aid Training

• All staff are First Aid trained.
• Through an organisation called Mountain Water
  Safety which specialises in first aid in the
  outdoors and extreme environments.

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First Aid Equipment

• First Aid kit in every classroom, main areas of
  the centre, kitchen.
• Tutors carry an extensive kit in their safety
  rucksack in the field.
• Equipment is checked every week.

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Mountain Leader Training/Assessment

• Not essential but useful
• Training in how to lead a group in
  mountain/extreme/remote environments.
• Deals with group management, navigation, weather
  conditions, etc.

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Safety Rucksack

• Tutors carry a rucksack in the field.
• Contains
• First Aid kit
• Survival bag and fleece sleeping bag
• Water/hot drink
• Injury cards
• Working Information Cards
• Map
• Spare clothes and waterproofs
• Shelter tent
• Torch, compass, whistle

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Risk Assessments
All our sites need to be risk assessed
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Working Information Card
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If an incident/accident does occur

• We must fill out 2 A4 forms, detailing what
  happened, injuries, who was involved, who
  witnessed it, where it was, exactly what time
  everything happened.

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What challenges do we face?

• Money!
• - Self-funding
• - Courses must be necessary so schools can
  find the money to come
• - Training, equipment and staff are expensive
• - Only get schools/students that can afford
  to come
• - We would like to offer more holistic field
  work
• - We would like to work more with
  disadvantaged children.

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• Health and Safety
• - Legislation gets tighter
• - Media interest
• - Schools are worried about bringing groups
  but this can be positive for the FSC
• Rely on field work being in the National
  Curriculum and Exam Specifications they are all
  changing next year, may be some problems.

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Other providers of environmental education in the
UK

• Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB)
• National Trust (NT)
• Wildlife Trusts
• Forest Schools
• Local Authority centres
• Independent centres

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Why do I do this job?

• Always wanted to work in environmental sector.
• A well accepted career area in the UK. Many
  people want environmental jobs.
• Teaching allows me to influence people, help them
  appreciate the environment.
• Working outdoors is great! (Better than a
  classroom or an office)

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• Must we always teach our children with books?
  Let them look at the mountains and the stars up
  above. Let them look at the beauty of the waters
  and the trees and flowers on earth. They will
  then begin to think, and to think is the
  beginning of a real education. - David Polis

Risk is essential. There is no growth or
inspiration in staying within what is safe and
comfortable. - Alex Noble
That which ought and can best be taught inside
the classroom should there be taught, and that
which can best be learned through experience
dealing directly with native materials and real
life situations outside the school should there
be learned.- Julian Smith, 1943, Outside the
Classroom, The Educational Forum, 7(4), 363
A vigorous five-mile walk will do more good for
an unhappy but otherwise healthy adult than all
the medicine and psychology in the world.- Paul
Dudley White
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Field Studies Council
www.field-studies-council.org
Jenni Taylor tutors.pm_at_field-studies-council.org