Education

Row of children at a fence overlooking a lake with birds taking flight.

Image © Alex Reynolds

GET INVOLVED

The children of today will need to solve the climate problems of tomorrow, and before they can do that, they need to experience the wonders of nature and be taught to care about our planet.

What I appreciate about nature is how I can feel free

Year 5 pupil, Newcastle

Alex Reynolds is the Education Officer at Northumberland Wildlife Trust and works closely with schools and communities within Newcastle, North Tyneside and Northumberland. The Trust offers nature-based education in classrooms, school grounds, on our reserves and in local green spaces.

What we do

With years of knowledge and experience behind us, Northumberland Wildlife Trust are perfectly placed to bring nature to life for children, young people and adults alike. Educating the next generation about nature has never been more important and we have lots on offer so there is something for everyone:

Primary and Secondary Education –

We build lasting partnerships with schools which enables us to deliver free activities aligned to the curriculum at every key stage and enrich lesson content so pupils can learn about nature with real-world examples. We can visit your school classroom, support outdoor learning in your grounds or hold trips to our nature reserves.

Although we have over 60 reserves in Newcastle, North Tyneside and Northumberland, for school trips we recommend the following reserves:

Northumberlandia, Cramlington.
- 🚻Facilities: Toilets, cafe, packed lunches (price on asking). Ample parking for all vehicles.
- 🔍Great for: Bug hunting, den building, learning about trees, human impacts on landscape, getting creative - and walks up to the 'Lady of the North' land sculpture.
Hauxley Wildlife Discovery Centre, Amble.
- 🚻Facilities: Toilets, cafe, packed lunches (price on asking), classroom for x30. Parking available, but large coaches and minibuses should arrive early as it gets very busy.
- 🔍Great for: Bird watching, bug hunting, tracks and signs of wildlife, human impacts on landscape and beach-based activities.
Weetslade Country Park, North Tyneside.
- 🚻Facilities: No toilets, but camping toilet available on request. Parking available but coaches must drop-off nearby and park elsewhere.
- 🔍Great for: Tracks and signs of wildlife, human impacts on landscape and orienteering.
- 🚌We can support with transport costs to and from this site.
St Nicholas Park, Newcastle.
- 🚻Facilities: Toilets and small classroom (approx x15). Parking available but very limited, minibuses can park with notice, coaches must drop-off nearby and park elsewhere.
- 🔍Great for: bug hunting, den building, learning about trees and pond dipping.

Activities can be bespoke to where you are in the curriculum, so please get in touch to discuss.

"The trip to Northumberlandia was fantastic, there were clear objectives for the whole day with the children having a focus and intent to get excited about. The activities were managed to a very high standard and there was never a minute that was not accounted for. The knowledge and expertise from staff was outstanding, the children learned so much about nature and living things, they could not stop talking about how much fun they had at Northumberlandia. It was truly a wonderful day and I would recommend anybody visit with their class!"

Year 5 Teacher
Newcastle

A group of young children are seated around a bright yellow table outdoors, working on bug hunt activity sheets.

Amberley primary students at weetslade are sitting around a wooden table outside, engaged in a craft project using recycled materials.

A group of children sat around a fire, whilst they are roasting marshmallows on long sticks over an open fire.

A boy with a small camera, looking happily at the screen.

Two young children in green hi viz vests washing their hands in a bucket outside.

Children leaning on a wooden bridge railing, looking down below.

Outdoor leader training

We offer free training for teaching staff to increase confidence taking classes outdoors. We offer a mixture of theory and practical training to help you take the curriculum outdoors or enhance child development. Training can be bespoke to your needs and can take place in school grounds, or on our nature reserves.

I really enjoyed the sessions and I learnt a lot from them - I am looking forward to hopefully running outdoor learning sessions one day

Teacher, Newcastle 2023

Loan boxes

Schools and community groups can loan out equipment suitable for a class of 30 to use on our reserves or in your school grounds. We have equipment for den building, bug hunting and pond dipping. There is no charge to borrow the equipment, but breakages must be replaced or paid for. You can borrow for a day, a week or whatever you need. Loan boxes must be booked and you can collect from our Gosforth office or we can deliver if we’re able.

Self-led visits

Our reserves are available for use in standard opening hours (some seasonal changes) if you want to bring groups or classes to do your own thing – read about our equipment loan boxes above. Toilets are only available at Hauxley Wildlife Discovery Centre, Northumberlandia and St Nicholas Park in Gosforth, and there will be a charge if you need to hire our classroom at Hauxley or St Nicholas Park. We want you to get the most out of your visit so please let us know when you plan to come as our Estates team may be using heavy machinery on any given day, and we can help to avoid any clashes.

School holidays - Through the Spring, Summer and Autumn school holidays we offer family-friendly activities at our Hauxley Wildlife Discovery Centre and Northumberlandia nature reserves, and across local parks and green spaces in the north east. We also offer activities on our St Nicholas Park reserve, aimed at the local Gosforth community. There are changes ahead for Summer 2024 so keep checking our events page for updates.

Events