Tag Archives: OLNP

New online resource – Inspiring Landscapes Inspiring Learning

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This new resource to support professional learning of all teachers and providers in outdoor learning has been framed around short clips from the workshop sessions from last year’s ‘Inspiring Landscapes Inspiring Learning’ professional learning weekend. As well as the clips, there are links to related resources. Incorporating Emerging Technologies, Literacy and Numeracy outdoors, photography and wellbeing of habitats and populations, and more besides there is bound to be something for everyone. You can access the resource here.

Inspiring Landscapes Inspiring Learning

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Over 20 teachers spent a packed weekend in the heart of the Cairngorms National Park learning about and sharing different approaches to taking learning outdoors.

The teachers from all sectors came from the councils which are funding partners of the Outdoor Learning with the National Parks project, and considered progression through outdoor learning in a variety of workshops including literacy and building a sense of place, numeracy outdoors, emerging technologies and geocaching activities, the John Muir Award and more. Some of the best learning evolved through sharing the wide range of experiences brought by the teachers and workshop providers, and all left inspired to develop new and build on existing opportunities in their schools and local areas.

On their arrival the teachers were first learning from groups of S5 and S6 pupils from ten different schools who had spent the week at the residential centre focusing on leadership, personal development and environmental stewardship through undertaking a John Muir Award and a range of adventure and environmental activities. The groups’ presentations were varied, entertaining, enlightening and challenging, setting the scene well for the teachers’ weekend.

Look out for the film clips from each of the sessions, which will soon be shared on the Education Scotland OL website, with further links and support to provide all teachers with ideas and guidance for developing their own outdoor learning.

Outdoor Learning Winners in the Cairngorms National Park

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Learning outdoors in the Cairngorms National Park is proving to be a winning combination as schools in the area celebrate their success in the first ever Outdoor Learning Awards.

Organised by the Cairngorms National Park Authority (CNPA), the Outdoor Learning Awards are set to be a biennial event. Winners receive a certificate, £300 to spend on outdoor learning and a flag to proudly show visitors and the community their achievements.

Winners of Lower Primary category, Aviemore Primary School, are extremely delighted to be able to hoist up their flag outside their brand new building. They have been studying biodiversity and produced an interesting report about taking part in the RSPB ‘Every Child Outdoors’ event.

Presenting them with their prizes, CNPA vice-convener Brian Wood said: “There is no better outdoor classroom than the Cairngorms National Park and the entries we received for the Outdoor Learning Competition demonstrate that pupils and teachers are very inspired by the environment around us. As a former teacher I know that getting children into the outdoors for learning can help stir their imaginations and capture their interest.

“We are very fortunate to have this resource on our doorstep and from science to history and from geography to art; there isn’t a subject in the curriculum that can’t be taken outdoors. We hope that the competition will help raise awareness among young people about what the National Park is about and the responsibility we all share for looking after this special place.”

Other winners were Abernethy Nursery who produced a big Forest School Book containing lots of photos of them enjoying local woodlands and Abernethy Primary School who submitted their report of the local tourism industry in the area. Grantown Grammar School were also successful with their competition entry which was a film all about their John Muir Award experiences detailing what they had learned. The Bridge Intensive Support Unit in Inverness were awarded for their powerpoint presentation which showed the activities they took part in the Cairngorms National Park and detailing what they had learned from their experiences.

The competition was open to schools and education facilities from all over Scotland who had used the Cairngorms National Park as a topic for their outdoor learning either remotely or by visiting the Park. The next competition will be in 2014.

Alan Smith, Outdoor Learning Officer at the CNPA commented: “This has been a great start to the Cairngorms National Park Outdoor Learning Awards, we received entries that showed the breadth of outdoor learning opportunities in the National Park and they were all of a very high standard; very well done to everyone who took part!”