We’re thrilled that The Sir John Fisher Foundation have continued to support SCRT’s Wild About Rivers education project. We have received a grant for £2575 to continue this exciting work.

What is Wild About Rivers?

Wild About Rivers is an education programme, run by SCRT, with funding helping to target schools in the Barrow and Furness area. It supports classroom visits and river-based visits so that children can learn more about river habitats and wildlife. It also provide a vital opportunity to get out and explore the river themselves.

Last year we worked with 5 schools, delivering class-based and outdoor learning sessions all about rivers. Here is a statement from one of these schools:

“As a Year 3 teacher who has rivers as a Geography topic this year, working with the South Cumbria Rivers Trust has extremely enhanced the learning and understanding for the children in my class. The knowledge and expertise from the afternoon session in school was fantastic. The children gained a much better understanding and were able to get answers to the questions they had thought of. The trip to Gleaston was such a brilliant opportunity for the children to see what we had talked about with their own eyes and have a go at dipping in the river and seeing some of the wildlife we had talked about.”

Bethany Ducie, class teacher, Cambridge Road Primary School

Enabling children to access green and blue spaces boosts mental wellbeing and academic performance. Not only that, it encourages a better connection to nature fostering a willingness to care for it from a young age.

Barrow-in-Furness has less accessible green and blue spaces compared to other areas in the Lake District. This equates to 0.83ha per 1000 population in the centre of Barrow, compared to over 2,000ha accessible space per 1000 population in the neighbouring Lake District.

The Sir John Fisher Foundation is a Charitable Trust established in 1980, by Sir John and Lady Maria Fisher. The Foundation supports causes in six main areas: Maritime, Education, Medical & Disability, Music, Arts and Community Projects, with special regard for those in Barrow-in-Furness and the Furness peninsula.