Giving youngsters a taste of the stunning great outdoors

The Sill: National Landscape Discovery Centre Partner Schools Programme combined classroom learning with a range of workshops connected to nature, history, arts and conservation.

The sessions were delivered both in school and within the National Park by a dedicated team at the National Park Authority, and have led to the development of a learning programme open to all schools.

The programme has been made possible by National Lottery players as part of a £7.8million grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund.

It utilised Northumberland National Park’s landscapes to provide enhanced learning opportunities to schools from rural and urban locations across the region. The sessions were designed to connect and inspire a new generation of landscape and nature enthusiasts.

Eight schools volunteered to work with the National Park to develop the pilot sessions; this development work was sponsored by the Sir James Knott Trust. Teachers benefitted through a workshop, as part of teacher training.

The eight partner schools which took part in the pilot stage included Branton and Harbottle Primary schools.