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Education

We work with children in and out of school and with adults to illustrate how our individual actions can make a difference to our immediate surroundings and the global environment. We help train teachers to deliver education for sustainable development, for example by involving pupils in improving their school grounds or by establishing links with local businesses. We also educate people of all ages to act more responsibly with regard to energy, waste, water and transport, to conserve natural resources and to respect local places and other people. This includes training businesses in environmental management and giving people the skills to get more involved in local regeneration.

Education in the South East - Case Study

Grasshoppers

Grasshoppers are a series of environmental education activities run by Groundwork Kent & Medway for children aged 5-12yrs and their families in Dartford and Gravesend. The activities usually take place during the summer holidays at a variety of locations across the two boroughs.

The purpose of the project is to raise local awareness and appreciation of local and global environmental issues; and to provide a fun, educational alternative to the usual sporting activities on offer. The boroughs of Dartford and Gravesend include wards that feature highly on the DCLG’s indices of deprivation.

The Grasshopper activities are offered free of charge and specifically run in target areas to encourage families, who might not normally visit the countryside, to take part. The project has successfully run for 8 years, and during this time has gained an excellent reputation with the local community.

During the 2005 project, over 600 people took part during 4 weeks of events.
Further information is available in the Grasshoppers 2005 report, if you want to find out more contact Joe McIndoe in the regional team.

Some examples of the types of activities offered include:

• Energy Games – activities explaining and promoting the use of sustainable energy sources
• Minibeast hunting – looking for bugs and beasties in a local country park
• Pond dipping – looking for creatures in a local pond
• Bat hunting – a nighttime expedition watching and listening for bats.
• Orienteering – a race, using a map and compass to find clues in the countryside
• Tracker – learning how to identify tracks left by different animals and how to lay a trail
• Waste not want not – turning jam jars and cereal boxes into amazing pieces of art

Groundwork South East
18-21 Morley Street
London
SE1 7QZ