2013

Beginning in May with pouring rain and sharp hail shower in the Duddon Valley and ending frustratingly just before the long awaited heat wave in July, this year’s school project was nevertheless a great success. Despite some anxious moments regarding the weather and river levels we were able to run to plan with all the field visits.

Six schools participated in the project, three of whom were brand new customers, with two new river locations on the Duddon, and the Kent in the middle of Kendal town. One hundred and thirty children took part, ranging in age from 8-11years, aided by teachers, teaching assistants and other school staff, parents and volunteers. We are extremely grateful to all for their invaluable help. We also extend our thanks to the landowners who allowed access to the river sites and helped with the arrangements, and to our sponsors who included The Bridge Hotel at Grasmere, Nurture Lakeland and HJ Heinz Kendal.

The children enjoyed some new art activities this year, including Andy Goldsworthy style installations at the river bank, which proved to be more weatherproof than paper based sketching, and very enjoyable and effective to create. The children also produced some great printed hangings to conclude the project, using a variety of materials and techniques, and were highly delighted with the results, some of which went on display at the County Show in September.

Special thanks to Angie Mitchell for leading this creative work for the last three years, but sadly this was her final session, as she leaves us to concentrate on her own studio ceramic and printing work, exhibitions and travels. We have benefited hugely from her professionalism, enthusiasm and ability to draw out the very best creative work from each and every child, often to their own surprise and pride.

All the rivers, from the Duddon in the west to the Bela in the east, brought their own beauty, excitement and specific theme for the project. We jumped on invasive Himalayan balsam at Beetham, fished out flatties from the tide at the River Crake, and wowed at crayfish on the Kent, to name but a few highlights.

Each class participated in an introductory session where they learnt how to identify river creatures and the features of a healthy habitat, about some of the management problems and solutions happening on their doorstep, and how to respect, preserve and improve the environment of their local river.

Adults and children alike all enjoyed the session at their local river, exploring texture and colour, netting bugs, fish and other creatures, marvelling at the wealth of wildlife all around, and of course getting wet, mucky and hungry in the process. The project ticked all the boxes for “Learning Outside the Classroom” but above all was fully engaging and great fun.

The following art sessions saw the children making detailed sketches of a variety of creatures and turning them into a printed sequence representing the food chain. They used block and mono printing and created a mixture of textures to complete a lasting tribute to the river.

Participating Primary Schools in 2013 were: Beetham ( Bela) Broughton (Duddon), Castle Park (Kent), Flookburgh (Eea), Levens (Lower Kent) and Penny Bridge (Crake). Schools in the Windermere catchment were offered projects with the Windermere Reflections team, so between the two organisations a lot of children have gained some useful experience and knowledge of our lakes and rivers this year.