Children Commence Common Conversations
Thanks to National Lottery funding, 30 pupils from St Stephen’s Primary School in Skipton enjoyed a three-day residential on Ingleborough, staying at the Ingleton YHA as part of their ‘discover’ section of their John Muir Award.
Delivered by the Yorkshire Dales National Park (YDNP) and the Foundation for Common Land (FCL), the John Muir Award encourages people to connect with, enjoy and care for wild places.
The 10-to-11 year olds spent the first day walking up the Clapham trail to Trow Gill and Gaping Gill. They met the project’s archaeologist who explained how he and the team were recording evidence of prehistoric life around the many caves of Ingleborough. After a visit to the Ingleborough Show Cave, pupils headed to Clapham gathering 10 tiny treasures for keepsake boxes on the way.
One pupil, Sofia said: “The activities on day one pushed us to our limits, but it was definitely worth it. Scrambling between two rock faces to see open moorland and Ingleborough Peak was over-whelming. It was interesting to hear how the land was used by humans thousands of years ago.”
On day two, the children visited Bleak Bank Farm and met commoners, to understand how sheep on a common are gathered. They also watched shearing, tried dry stone walling and learned about Dales bred sheep. After lunch they climbed Ingleborough common to the blanket bog. Here they studied the peat depth, the species of sphagnum, grasses and flowers which are vital to the ecosystem and tested the quality of the water produced by the bog.
FCL’s Yorkshire Dales Project Officer, Claire Braeburn said: “This experience is about the children connecting with nature and learning about the commons, on the common. The John Muir Awards, as part of the Our Upland Commons Project, has helped them to discover and explore the people, the heritage and habitats found on the common. The knowledge amassed and shared from the experience, will hopefully ignite explorers for life.”
On the last day the children debated the different roles of those visiting and managing the commons and produced information posters. Their trip concluded with a session creating felt pictures of a scene from their experience, using some of the wool they had seen sheared the day before.
Deputy Head, Luke Gilhooly said: “What a fantastic opportunity this has been for our children, broadening their understanding of what is on their doorstep. The teaching that took place simply cannot be done in a classroom. Pupils told us its changed how they view the natural world and made them aware of the importance of conserving the upland commons. It was a specular adventure and, no ordinary residential.”
Our Upland Commons Project is a three-year, £3m, 25-partner project helping to secure the future of upland commons in Dartmoor, the Lake District, Yorkshire Dales and Shropshire Hills. It’s led by the Foundation for Common Land (FCL). The project has been made possible by funding from the National Lottery Heritage Fund, grants from Esmée Fairbairn and Garfield Weston Foundations and funding from the YDNPA, amongst others.
For more information visit www.foundationforcommonland.org.uk or get in touch claire@foundationforcommonland.org.uk