Schools landscape literacy project

Mend the Gap has agreed to fund two initiatives to encourage a number of primary and secondary schools in the programme area to better understand and engage with the National Landscapes of the Chilterns and North Wessex Downs, whilst also improving their local school environment.

Eight primary schools and four secondary schools in the target programme area have been offered an audit of their school grounds. These advisory visits, carried out by industry leaders Learning through Landscapes will identify ways that the school grounds can become functional and inspiring places for learning and play, and actively support students’ personal development. The schools will then be supported to apply for funding from the Mend the Gap programme to implement the audit’s recommendations, which might include anything from habitat creation to interpretation of the area’s local heritage.

Four secondary schools will also have the opportunity to take part in a school- based discovery workshop hosted by The Visionaries, which will encourage students to develop an understanding of their immediate landscape at school, and acquire the vocabulary to describe and engage with it. Students will take part in an off-site workshop at the Hardwick Estate in the Chilterns, where they will be introduced to a variety of landscape management techniques and have the chance to explore the unique nature of the site.