It’s pretty much proven by now that connecting children and young people with nature and outdoor learning really benefits their well-being, helps them do better at school, and can give them a life-long appreciation of the natural world around them. Unfortunately, for many young people who are disabled, access to nature is difficult – or even impossible.
At Bendrigg, outdoor learning in the countryside that surrounds us has always been at the heart of everything we do for the many participants who visit us every year. Like us, the Ernest Cook Trust are passionate about nature and its power to transform young lives, so we’re over the moon to have been awarded a 3-year grant by them for an Outdoor Learning Lead, a role that has been taken up by one of our Activity Tutors, Jenny A. Jenny will be working hard to make sure that every activity young people do at Bendrigg gives them the opportunity to learn about nature in a fun and informative way.
One of our fundraisers sat down for a chat with Jenny about what she’s up to…
Interviewer
What do you like most about working at Bendrigg?
Jenny
I would say it’s got to be the people. People are lovely here, the people that I work with every day are lovely and the people that I meet are great.
And everyone has so much positive intent to see the good and see the opportunities and see everything that can happen and make things happen and give things a try.
That attitude is invaluable. It’s so beautiful.
Interviewer
Do you feel like that is quite unique to Bendrigg?
Jenny
You can just feel the love pouring out of everywhere. I thought it on my interview day as well, that you just go around and you could just see everyone being really considerate and thoughtful everywhere. Even just in how the grounds are kept, you know, Ed puts so much love into his work looking after the place.
Is it unique to Bendrigg? Yeah, I’d say so. Every workplace has its own unique culture and Bendrigg’s is just lovely and friendly and supportive.
Interviewer
Tell me a little bit about what your title is now and what that means.
Jenny
I am Outdoor Learning Lead. So that means in real terms that I get to create and develop the Outdoor Learning Department, which is a new department completely, which is very exciting.
And it’s a department that, rather than standing alone, I see it as needing to be woven into Bendrigg’s practices in lots of different ways. It’s very multifaceted and it can’t happen without everything else. We’re going to enable young people to develop and expand their relationship with the outdoors and nature. By the end of their course, we want them to feel like they’ve learned something about nature, that they feel like they’ve developed their relationship with nature, and that they’ve just had a nice time outdoors. I think we do that last part already, so we’re keen to build on that and bring more conscious learning and focused experience into the activities.
Interviewer
How do you feel like that can be combined with certain activities?
Jenny
We can keep on doing what we do best, it’ll often just be about drawing focus to more aspects of our surroundings while we’re on our adventures. So if we go rock climbing, we might be talking about the rock and how it’s formed, or the things that live on crags, like peregrine falcon nests.
Interviewer
Would you say that it flows well because it’s on topic with the activity you’re doing?
Jenny
Exactly, it should be like integrated through the programme. At a lot of our venues, we get immersed in beautiful wildlife all the time. And just for our tutors to have the knowledge to be able to say, “there are some otters that live down here, so let’s keep an eye out for otters”. We know there’s a kingfisher on Tewitfield canal, so we can say “There’s a kingfisher that lives here. Look out for this bright flash of blue that might come streaking across the sky!”. Even if you don’t see it that day, you can still talk to the group about it and get everyone excited about nature.
Interviewer
That’s really lovely. A little frog swam next to us when we were canoeing when I volunteered with Bendrigg. It was very sweet, he was just joining in.
Jenny
That’s cute. Frogs swimming look hilarious, don’t they?
Interviewer
They do!
So, what do you think is the positive effect for young people learning about nature while they’re here, especially the local wildlife?
Jenny
I think it’s David Attenborough who said, “No one will protect what they don’t care about; and no one will care about what they have never experienced”. Essentially, our culture has kind of gotten to a point where most people spend 70% of their time indoors. And I think especially for disabled people, they have so fewer opportunities to access nature and develop those relationships. I think it’s really important across the board that young people in particular have more time outdoors, realising that we’re all interconnected, we’re all part of one planet and that the choices we make really impact the environment around us (which then impacts us). It kind of goes along with understanding climate change, because it is absolutely essential that people that people realise the situation that we’re in.
It’s about developing relationships with nature now, whether that’s just enjoying how something looks pretty, how something smells or, I don’t know, how soft a swan looks! The cygnets on the canal right now are so fluffy, it’s crazy. But yeah, I really want people’s time at Bendrigg to be one step in their development of their relationship with nature. They’re not expected to come here and then leave as an eco-warrior or the next David Attenborough and go save the world, but it can be a step forward for them personally.
We can provide experiences where children and young people can get really immersed in natural environments, like woodlands, waterways, meadows, caves, crags. And these are opportunities that might be once in a lifetime, or at least a very impactful experience in their lives. And so they’re more able to realise the value of connecting with nature and then perhaps go on to chase it out later on.
Interviewer
If a child came to Bendrigg and had this connection with nature while they were here, and they were talking about it on their journey home, what would you love them to be saying?
Jenny
It would just be nice if they were simply saying things like, “wow, I didn’t know this before, but that’s really cool”. Our aim is just for them to feel like they’ve gained something new and that they’ve enjoyed an aspect of nature in one way or another that they hadn’t before.
Interviewer
What are you most excited about for the future of outdoor learning at Bendrigg?
Jenny
It is pretty exciting what we’re doing with the woodland trail. I’m developing a bunch of interactive sensory outdoor education boards and activity stations which are going to be dotted through our gorgeous woodland trail so that, as much as it is a space for just a calm walk, regulating and enjoying nature, it’ll also be a really great place for groups to go and play a game or two, like spin a wheel or run their hand across a touchy-feely sensory board. It’ll be a new way for disabled young people to interact with and look at our nature trail, adding extra engagement for those who benefit from another level of interactivity.
So I’m excited because our woodland trail is already so gorgeous; it’s got so much potential and I’m quite excited to go and unlock that a little bit more. It also means I can share with everyone all the wonderful stuff that our grounds people do here, like cultivating the woodland, the coppicing that’s involved, like managing the silver birch woodland at the bottom, the wetland.
Did you know our wetland is actually called a winter lake? In the winter it fills up and in the summer it tends to just dry out.
Interviewer
Wow, I didn’t know that.
Jenny
Yeah, which is a more biodiverse habitat for us here than if we made that an artificial lake and introduced aquatic life. Because there are loads of insects and things that really thrive in a winter lake situation. If we introduced more water and fish, all those native invertebrates and insects would get eaten, and then all the birds that love those wouldn’t be here. It would like completely change. We’ve got lots of habitats here for different kinds of wildlife, and the winter lake is a great one.
Interviewer
That’s so cool! Is that your favourite thing on the grounds at Bendrigg? And if not, where is your favourite spot on the grounds?
Jenny
I actually love the campfire spot. In the northeast corner of the grounds, nestled in the woodland, there’s a little campfire circle. It’s beautiful. I think the trees around it are so gorgeous and the sun shines through leaves in such a beautiful way.
You can see loads and loads of trees, so it all feels really natural and wild. And then just over the boundary, there’s a wild pastural field where you can often see a lot of deer. You’ve even got birds of prey flying over!
Interviewer
That’s a gorgeous answer and a lovely one to finish with. Thanks so much for chatting with me.
Jenny
No problem, I’m happy to talk about all things outdoor education any time!
We’re all so excited to see the difference that Jenny’s passion for her role as Outdoor Learning Lead will make in the lives of the thousands of disabled young people who adventure with Bendrigg every year. This fantastic project would not be possible without the generosity of the Ernest Cook Trust and we are incredibly proud to be playing a part in their transformational work.
