The Natural Classroom

noreply@blogger.com (Fritz) — Sun, 04 Jul 2010 17:29:00 +0000

It has been a long time since the last entry on the site and a great deal has happened since January.
There has been a great deal of work done in the forest at Grizedale by all candidates, Discovery, Explorer and Conserver, on their journies of learning and self discovery.
Three candidates recieved their Discovery Award, Three candidates recieved their Explorer Award, and one candidate recieved his Conserver Award, the first to be presented this year and the first from the Witherslack group of schools.
For all the candidates it was a fantastic achieement to be able to undergo a prolonged period of study, sometimes in appalling weather, and then to go on and talk about it to a group of people, this in itself is a difficult task for many people.
To carry on with the journey to learn about the environment and themselves takes a great deal of courage as each progressive step makes more demands of a person; so for the Explorer recipients it marks a significant step to gaining a better understanding of the world around them. To want to go on and gain the Conserver Award is a notable achievement as it underscores the amount of dedication needed to gain this final certificate that the John Muir Trust offers.
As one of the candidates said:

"The certificate is a piece of paper. It's what the piece of paper represents that's the real prize."

Well done to all candidates for their achievements and a fantastically large thank you to Mary, Miranda, Mark and Brian for all their help in bringing about this success.

A return to work.

noreply@blogger.com (Fritz) — Thu, 14 Jan 2010 18:00:00 +0000

JANUARY 2010

A very happy New Year to all the John Muir students and a very successful year it may be for you all.
The current batch of inclement weather that has caused so much trouble all over the country was responsible for the delay in starting the work in the forest. Last week saw the two groups, Tuesday and Thursday, having to spend the day examining the structure of snow and ice crystals from the front of a speeding sledge! It was a great example of what an extreme environment was and what the consequences to adapting to life in such a climate could be. A real living lesson!
The second week of term when the snow cleared enough for the Tuesday group to get to Grizedale; unfortunately the snow still lay thick in the woods preventing us from doing any hard physical work but the opportunity was seized for the candidates to use the Log Cabin to have a natural classroom session.

The theme was native species of fauna that inhabit the woodland of Grizedale Forest. the group also learned about the differences between a temperate climate, a tropical climate, and polar climate. It was a good productive session, the animals the group chose were the red squirrel, a red deer and a mouse.

One of our students, Denver, is ready for his sharing so the other three, Holly, Ethan, and Jordan were helping him with this by offering advice about what to say and how to pass on the enthusiasm that he shows for the work that he has been doing. This is also part of the mentoring role that Holly and Ethan have adopted as part of their Explorer work.

The Bendrigg Trust group were also delayed in their return to work but they were thrown into the deep end when they did get back this Wednesday, 13th January. They were given the task of gritting 300 metres of hill to ensure their minibuses would not get stuck or slide off the road.

After their hard work on the 'hill' they were given the opportunity to rest and drink lots of tea before they were given the task of clearing the car park of the frozen snow.

noreply@blogger.com (Fritz) — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 14:45:00 +0000

The Sharing

noreply@blogger.com (Fritz) — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 19:14:00 +0000

A group of Discovery candidates have recently undergone perhaps one of the most stressful parts of the award.

Dragging themselves out of a warm, cosy, comfy, bed to get showered: putting on their Grizedale clobber, and eating their breakfast while the other students at school are still only dreaming about getting up is tough.

Getting the van loaded with all the tools they think they may need for the mornings work in the rain and wind is tough.

Getting out of the warm bus with Alexander Burke singing 'Hallelujah' is tough.

Working for 21/2 hours with rain dripping down their back is tough.

Having the well earned cup of tea with water dripping from their noses turning their tea from luke warm to cool is tough.

To do this week after week in the unfriendly months of late Autumn and early Winter is tough.

But to stand in front of unfamiliar faces and be able to talk about their experiences in the woods and on their Duke of Edinburgh Expeditions is very tough!

They managed it well, entertaining the residents for 40 minutes with their tales of high adventure and derring-do on their various exploits. They were able to tell of the things they had learned and how they felt about their adventures.

Well done on completing the difficult part with confidence. The residents are looking forward to the nex opportunity to hear about your adventures.

noreply@blogger.com (Fritz) — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 20:34:00 +0000

"....the rain was beating down while we were sheltered by the tree. A strong breeze was blowing, and although cold it felt welcoming and inviting after the hard digging. The forest was huge and we feel small. It's like we were the only people in the world. The wilderness does that. It makes you feel unstoppable, sure, but it also puts you in your place, like there is more to discover just round the next corner. It's a fantastic feeling."

Ethan, Tuesday 24/11/09.
The Ridding Wood Trail
Grizedale Forest.

A mixed bag.

noreply@blogger.com (Fritz) — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 18:12:00 +0000

It has been a damp week in the great outdoors and the activities of the candidates for the JM awards had to be put on hold due to the rain and the flooding. Tuesday 17November 2009 was the exception. The Conserver candidate, and the two Explorer candidates successfully helped to remove and replace a damaged wooden boardwalk on the Bogle Crag Trail in Grizedale Forest with the help and advice of Mark.

The task was part of a forest maintenance, and conservation project, to provide a safe means of negotiating a boggy patch of land on the trail for people who are exploring the wild places of Grizedale Forest. It was a good task for them for a number of reasons,
1) They worked well as a team, each doing their own thing but contributing to the whole job,
2) The group had a look of knowing what they where doing,
3) They were able to work under a time constraint and not get bothered by having a 'foreman' badgering them.

Bendrigg Turst was cancelled: working in the forest where the ground is expected to be wet, muddy, and boggy, and any footprints that may be left behind will add to the ambiance of the woodland environment is one thing, but working on a neat lawn where there is more of a need to take a bit more pride in the look of the grass is not best suited to the stormy conditions that prevailed on Wednesday.

Waking up to the continuing storm on Thursday morning filled me full of excitement. Being out in the raw elements of nature is a fantastic experience. To feel the wind blowing you about, and to be wrapped up in waterproofs as the rain tries its best to find a way into your coat, is a great way to start the day. Unfortunately the weather denied us the opportunity to enjoy what it had to offer as it seemed to have become bored of playing a game and had suddenly turned serious.

However Friday proved to be a good day. The rain held off, the Conserver candidates were on good form and were all set to give a talk about their experiences Discovering, Exploring and working towards conserving the wilderness to a willing audience at the Abbeyfield residential home in Kirkby Lonsdale. They told of their experiences on the Duke of Edinburgh Bronze Expedition in the Yorkshire Dales. The residents were entertained with one of them asking it she could join them on their next adventure!

Nature stirs under her duvet.

noreply@blogger.com (Fritz) — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 19:33:00 +0000

When my lift came this morning to take me to work I didn't realise that I would be in for such a treat. I knew that the night had been stormy, prompting me to stop my Ipod that was playing 'Thunderstorms' and listen to the real thing, but I hadn't realised that nature had really had a restless night and had put many a ripple in her duvet.

The river at the bottom of the road was just awesomely scarily high and fast! It was replying to the rippled duvet by letting everybody know that it did not like to be disturbed. Irritated, angry, tetchy, and perhaps just a little bit excited at the power that had been awakened.

The roads themselves were complaining of being disturbed and let all know about it by allowing huge great puddles, some of them like small lakes, gather in the dips and hollows that normally stay hidden. They were waiting for us to see what we would do, if you listened closely enough to what was going on above the wind and rain outside, you could hear them laugh behind their hands, the ripples on their surface like their shoulders shaking with silent stolen laughter.

Natures duvet is big and when she stirs beneath it the ripples stretch a long long way.

noreply@blogger.com (Fritz) — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 14:38:00 +0000

Life working on Conservation projects can be physically, as well as mentally, draining. It takes a particular type of person to become a John Muir candidate to work through the different levels of award in all types of weather.

"I know this looks like it should be easy, but I didn't sleep well last night and the rain seems to be running down my back!"

Shane, Tuesday 10/11/09

Mountains Talk

noreply@blogger.com (Fritz) — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 14:44:00 +0000

Mountains tell of small feet scratching their backs.
And of the scars they make.
They tell of the long hours that bring out these feet,
And of the shorter ones,
When the feet were sometimes lighter,
Sometimes,
Heavier.
But non were heavy enough to give them scars.
Mountains tell of the tiny feet, light feet, touching there a bit and here,
And of the tickling snow as it falls,
And the wash they get as it rains, And the great hair drier,
The wind,
And the sun that makes their grow.
Mountains have many tales to tell in many languages.
My favourite is Scottish.

Ghostly goings on.

noreply@blogger.com (Fritz) — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 08:30:00 +0000

As I was out exploring the Scottish wilderness the other day with my fellow explorer, that's him up there, I saw for the first time an awesome spectacle.

We were well up the slopes of Beinn a'Bheirthir on our way to Sgorr Dhearg, in Glencoe, when we stopped to look at what Scotland has to offer regarding truly wild and fantastic scenery.

The clouds were resting in the glens after their long climb down the slopes of the high mountains creating a sense of brooding majestic magnificence. The feeling of being surrounded by the quiet power of nature was palpable and we both took many seconds to soak up this feeling, it was like we were recharging our spiritual batteries to keep us going until the next encounter with the natural world. Fortunately this was not long in coming.

Mick let out a shout! Thinking that some disaster had befallen him I turned to see what the noise was about, on the cusp of leaping to his aid, or to admonish him for tripping up over his walking poles, I saw him pointing furiously down into Gleann a'Choalais and shouting about some ghostly spectre! Not being able to see what he was pointing at I thought that he may be suffering from low altitude illness or tiredness brought on by early starts and steep slopes. Then I too saw what he had seen.

At first it was the coloured halo, a rainbow round my head with the pot of gold on one of my ears! Then slowly the ghostly figure materialised on the cloud that had come up to have a look at who was on his mountain,

my first mountain ghost! A Brocken Spectre! Caused by the sun behind our backs casting our shadows onto that curious cloud! We both watched in awe at this natural phenomena, seeing the large ghost follow us up to the peak, watching us, maybe looking after us. It was a rare moment in mountain days when all the conditions that are needed to do this meet and include us in their games.

We continued on to Sgorr Dhonuill followed by our own mountain guide. Then as we descended into the glen, he left us and slipped safely into the cloud that had become denser, his job done.

It was a fantastic experience and reminded me of all the similar experiences John Muir would have had on his many adventures in the wilderness. Two friends went back to the campsite happier for this rare privilege.

The Students perform.

noreply@blogger.com (Fritz) — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 20:30:00 +0000

The short play:

Those who make it a bit easier for me.

noreply@blogger.com (Fritz) — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 19:27:00 +0000

In order to deliver the various John Muir awards to the candidates, there are a number of different factors that must came together: the students must be willing to work in all weather conditions, must be willing to want to learn, be receptive to new ideas, and be ready to embrace the need to be aware of what is happening to the environment. What it also takes is the help and support from those who are involved with the teaching.

Without all those who have helped throughout the delivery of the awards, it would have been a longer journey and meant a great deal of work for me, so thank you for all your help.

The Gathering

noreply@blogger.com (Fritz) — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 16:49:00 +0000

Holly, Shane, Jordan, Cheryl, Ethan, Mary, Mark, and myself, attended the Providers Gathering at the Crosthwaite Centre, Keswick to meet other providers to see the work that they are doing and to exchange ideas on how to keep the Award exciting for the candidates.

After the introductions the group set about their given task of producing a 'short play' (our choice) to highlight how wild places could be used to educate people about trying to do something constructive for the environment.

This was a great chance for the students to work together, along with Mark, Mary and I, on a task that was not based on using tools, but the knowledge gathered on their journey through the Discovery, Explorer and Conserver awards. The task was a difficult one as they all had to contribute so they had to talk, listen, and discuss what they wanted to get over to the other groups.

It was a stressful time for them all as they almost battled to get their point of view across but with help and guidance form Mary and Mark they managed to produce a short play in an hour that told the story of excess leading to decay but with a chance for hope for the environment. Well done to you all!

A delicious lunch followed, and a time for the group to meet and chat to other providers,

All the students mixed well and had a great deal to say about their experiences of discovering, exploring, conserving, and sharing, and they listened to the adventures of others.

The final task that the groups had to do was go for a walk and 'map out' the route they had taken using natural features, i.e. trees with ivy growing on them, clusters of mushrooms and any other identifiable features that were present on the walk. The 'map' they had produced was then given to someone else to follow.

The students worked well well today, at times under difficult circumstances. They had to think of a script, discuss it amongst themselves, then act it out in front of strangers. Their personal development is progressing well and the knowledge they are gaining is evident in their interactions with other people.

Puddle splashing.

noreply@blogger.com (Fritz) — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 18:29:00 +0000

Tuesdays morning is the time for the Conserver group to work in the forest, but they also take with them candidates from the Explorer and the Discovery group. This helps the Conservers pass on their knowledge to others on a regular basis, a great opportunity to practise this skill. It also gives the Explorers a chance to work more frequently in the woods, watching the more experienced candidates and learning from them, also adding to the hours they need to work. The Discoverers love to come out as often as they can!

It was a wet one. As we stood by the Log Cabin waiting for Mark to let us in I was watching Shane standing under a drip if water and Denver and Ethan splashing in puddles and for a moment I was back to being a youth and thinking of the times I did the same thing. Why do you enjoy doing that enjoying? " I asked.

"Because it's fun! and being our ages, it's allowed!"

"Listen lads", I said, "never let the child in you go completely," and joined them puddle jumping. It was good.

The aim today was to encourage the group to tell us what they wanted to do to keep the work interesting. This is also good practise for them to develop their conversational and social skills.

The group did very well, sitting down for a good hour and contributing well to the discussion.

We then went to Sean's Plot, Bowkerstead, to show Ethan the site as he had not seen it before. As Shane was telling him all about the woodland management programme that he had been working on, Ethan looking shocked said:

"How does he remember all that information?"

"Simple" I said "he enjoyed learning it".

We all left the forest deep in our own thoughts.

Megan had a fantastic two days on her Duke of Edinburgh Bronze Expedition. More of that to come.

Scary times

noreply@blogger.com (Fritz) — Sun, 04 Oct 2009 19:21:00 +0000

The Conserver candidates are doing well with their sharing experiences so far. They have had some good opportunities to talk to many different people during their adventure and are progressing well on their journey.

One of the interesting things that I have found about working with the many different award candidates, is that they all take sightly different paths but get to the end eventually. Some of the candidates skills are stronger in communicating with other people, some stronger in getting their hands dirty, some stronger in the more technical aspects of their work, but what is important about each of them is that at some point in their journey they have to face a difficult situation. For some, looking out at a group of expectant faces is enough to make all the leaves on a pine tree fall, but to see the self confidence develop and the fear gradually receding, is to see a positive move in a personally advantageous direction.

So for all the candidates who have put themselves into a potentially horribly scary situation......well done and keep going!

Coming scary events:

1) Duke of Edinburgh Expedition,
2) John Muir Gathering,
3) Abbeyfied Residential Home,
4) Bendrigg Lodge Trust,
5) The Abbey Care Home, Stavely.

Two Conservers and an Explorer

noreply@blogger.com (Fritz) — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 20:46:00 +0000

The area where the group is working Sean's Plot, Bowkerstead in Grizedale Forest. It is part of a Woodland management program where the students learn how to thin out saplings in order to give the good specimens a better chance to grow and produce good trees to harvest.

Developing the roles of the candidates

noreply@blogger.com (Fritz) — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 20:07:00 +0000

Tuesday 29th September 2009

A day worth noting for the Tuesday group Conserver/Explorer candidates as it was a day that they begun to act as mentors and supervisors for other candidates. The Conserver students tried these skills on the two Explorer students and vice -versa. The results were very interesting.

'He just doesn't listen to what I've said!'

'They think I know everything and don't give me time to think about it!'

'I think we need to explain things more slowly.'

'I know what I'm trying to say but it seems to come out differently.'

These are just some of the comments that the student's came out with this morning. I decided to let them get on with the task without interfering to see what would happen. I'm glad I did as non of them fell out, the problems were discussed in small groups, and solutions were worked out!

Sometimes going into the forest with the students is a pleasure, they enjoy the work, they work hard and they learn something; sometimes going into the forest with the students is excellent! They learn how get on with the job and to get on with each other.

The John Muir Award has provided the opportunity for personal development for all of the students from Cedar House School, who have participated in the award scheme.

noreply@blogger.com (Fritz) — Sun, 27 Sep 2009 20:00:00 +0000

It has been a few weeks since any news of the work that is being undertaken in the natural classroom has been posted, but there has been many changes. First change, a big one, is the seemingly sudden leap from the busy wide awake summer months, to the lazy somnolent autumnal months. This is especially noticeable when we go into the forest; as one candidate stated:

'Everything seems to be changing so quickly......where has the summer gone?'

We have been back in the forest for a few weeks now and have taken many photos but what the camera can capture in visual imagery it cannot let the viewer share in one of the finest experiences of autumn. The wonderful smells that are all around. Taking a journey through one of our deciduous woodlands is not just filled with visual stimulation, but also a journey into childhood recalling those wonderful smells of leaves and damp earth that we used to play in.

Other changes are the groups that are going into the forest to begin their JohnMuir Awards. There are 2 new Explorer candidates, Holly and Jordan, and 8 new Discovery candidates, Brandon, Jacob, Jodie, Katy, David, Cheryl, Macauly and Denver. Holly was presented with her Discovery Award at the recent opening of the new visitors centre in Grizedale. We had been invited to attend this opening and to have some candidates showing their skills to a variety of dignitaries. This was a good opportunity for the Conserver candidates to 'share' their experiences with others as well as a great opportunity to develop their confidence in speaking to people during social events.

The two Explorer candidates are now going to put their acquired skills into practice by being seconded to the two new Discovery groups. This is a new development for the award its on a trial basis but we feel that it is worth taking the chance to embark on a new exciting journey.

As for embarking on a new journey, it's Scotland bound in October to climb some more of the magnificent hills, to feel the freedom they offer and to see things from a different perspective.

The wilderness

noreply@blogger.com (Fritz) — Sun, 19 Jul 2009 23:40:00 +0000

Songs of
Unlimited
Majesty
Murmur
Environmental
Rumours

About
Untold
Trouble
Under
Mournful
Nights

With
Increasingly
Naive
Thoughts
Even
Rhythms

Show
Priceless
Repairs
In
Natural
Gardens

Staying power.

noreply@blogger.com (Fritz) — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 19:30:00 +0000

More like a tropical jungle than a temperate woodland, but this has not deterred the students from working hard towards their respective awards.

Of all the skills that the groups learn, the one that really impresses me is their ability to work in the woods in all conditions. We have been in the woods for three years now and have worked in sun, rain, snow, wind, and freezing cold and the students have rarely complained!

On the face of it it would seem obvious that the bad weather that the seasons can throw our way would be something that would put people off from going into the wild places of the country, but sometimes the reason for not staying in a comfortable house when the weather turns bad, is that it can be exciting and fun to venture out and really experience what nature has got to offer. Another reason to go out is that why not use the expensive equipment that you have bought?

The candidates show many attributes during their time working towards the John Muir award and many more are developed as they progress through the different levels. It is an ongoing process of learning and development for them, much like the learning that John Muir experienced on his journeys.

Passing on the knowledge

noreply@blogger.com (Fritz) — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 18:15:00 +0000

THE SHARING

PUTING IT ALL TOGETHER

All the hard work that has been done by Holly over the past few months towards her Discovery Award had been worthwhile for today she proved that she had listened, learned, and was able to discuss and answer questions about her time in the forest.

She began her sharing in the carpark explaining to one of her guests, Christine Matu, what the forest experience was all about. After Holly had given a brief explanation of what her time spent in the wilderness had meant to her another two of her guests had arrived, Miranda Morgan the John Muir Inclusion Officer, and Mark Birchall the Forest Ranger.

Holly took her guests to Sean's plot in Bowkerstead, one of the wild places she has being exploring, to talk about about her work and the need to understand how nature fits together. She was asked some very tough questions by all of her guests about the work she has done , what she has got out of the John Muir experience, and where she would like to go with her work. She answered all of the questions well, taking time to think about some of the more difficult ones. She remained calm throughout not getting flustered by lots of questions.

It was a fantastic sharing for Holly!
She went on to talk about her experiences on her Duke of Edinburgh expedition practice, and how she has gained a much better persepective of how she fits into her natural environment. Well done Holly.

The Dalesway volume two

noreply@blogger.com (Fritz) — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 20:58:00 +0000

Anything you can do we can do too!

Getting ready to continue the exploration in the wilderness.

Working with little help from staff is a great way of gaining confidence in the wild place where you may find yourself and for gaining confidence in your self and the group that you are working with.

The camping proved to be be little problem to the group, they were all organised and ready to work hard in setting up an organised area and get the cooking under way.

Not to be bettered by the boys, the girls also went down to the river side to see what was there to interest them.
But not before getting in touch with themselves and the beautiful peace and tranquility around them.

The last day, they all succeeded in braving the wilderness and learning to understand themselves just that little bit more. When asked if it was worthwhile their response was unanimous:
"It was not just a good trip, but an educational one and when can we do it again?"
The trip had all the elements of what John Muir is about, self sufficiency, working towards achievement, learning, and fun.

The Dalesway - Dentdale

noreply@blogger.com (Fritz) — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 20:06:00 +0000

The expedition was to walk a section of the Dalesway, an 82 mile walk from Ilkely to Bowness on Windermere. The section they were covering was in Dentdale, a beautiful part of the Yorkshire Dales and a fantastic wilderness to explore.

The group of intrepid explorers were fortunate with the weather as it was fine for the entire trip. This made the heavy packs lighter and navigation easier.

The discovery of new skills (being able to carry large packs, helping each other when the going gets a little bit tougher, navigating using a comapass, cooking your own tea, pitching your own tents, sorting out your own personal space... the list goes on) is an exciting experience.

The students had the thrill of adventure coursing through their veins and were ready for a night under canvas, but not before a spot of fishing by the nearby river so that they could have a fish supper. The rods were fashioned form the braches of trees and the hooks were borrowed from the supply of safety pins. The noise and sight of the fishermen sent the fish swimming into the distance. You could almost imagine the fish laughing at the spectacle.

The Dalesway - Dentdale

noreply@blogger.com (Fritz) — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 19:29:00 +0000

Quite a few of the students who are using the natural classroom of the forest as a place to learn new skills have also taken up the challenge of the D of E scheme. It would seem that the call of the wild is strong within these young ones and the chance to get out and have an exciting adventure is just too good to miss!
One of the best parts of an adventure the beginning, before the discomfort begins to take its toll. It is a time for checking your pack and helping each other, and for good natured banter between people who are sharing the same experience.

Journey of self discovery

noreply@blogger.com (Fritz) — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 20:28:00 +0000

It was interesting to listen to what Megan and Shane had to say about their sharing experiences in a residential home, they found it a little nerve wracking. I asked them about how they felt when they were in the forest and doing their sharing and they replied that it was a much more natural experience for them. What I did not realise is that they had been taken out of their comfort zone and placed in a potentially threatening environment; because I was so confident in their ability to be able to talk with ease about what they had learnt in the natural environment, I had forgotten that they were now talking in front of people that they were unfamiliar with and it had made them nervous! But they both managed to overcome their fears and perform to their own high standards.
The journey that these candidates are taking is not just one of being in a different environment, learning about habitats, photosynthesis, how people impact on the balance of nature, but one of self discovery and being put in a position where you have to feel uncomfortable before experiencing the great feeling of relief.