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Heritage and conservation package for school pupils

Published: 12/02/2015

Flintshire County Council’s Countryside Service and Tata Steel Shotton have teamed up to launch a new heritage and conservation education package right on the banks of the River Dee. The new initiative will be operated from the steel works’ Tern Centre and involves Coastal Rangers delivering a package of environmental activities for the summer term, based on the Shotton Nature Reserve, to Flintshire schools and beyond. This includes the history and heritage of the steel works, the water cycle, food chains, bird life and insects, and grassland habitats. “It’s a great opportunity for children to visit the steel works grounds and learn about industry and local wildlife” said Karen Rippin, Coastal Ranger. The education package will be offered as part of the Countryside Service’s environmental education programme currently based around Wepre Park and will use the experience of staff based there. The Tern Centre and education resources for the visiting schools, including extra staff support for visiting groups, will be provided by Tata. “Our partnership will allow many local schools and pupils the chance to see a unique habitat, which is internationally recognised and highly valued for its wildlife. By teaming up with the Rangers, this will allow our Schools programme to have new wings; and we will all benefit from each others strengths and experiences,” said Peter Shephard, Senior Energy and Environment Officer of Tata. Coastal Rangers hope that the extra bonus of visiting the Common Tern colony during the breeding season will provide a site worth seeing for hundreds of school children this year. “This is a great example of partnership working between the public and private sector to benefit our local children,” said Councillor Bernie Attridge, Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Environment. “I would encourage schools and other educational providers to get in touch with our Countryside Service to take advantage of this opportunity.” For further details and bookings, please email countryside@flintshire.gov.uk.