BIOREGIONAL ECO-SCHOOLING
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Understanding our region
Learning to read the land
Stewarding for nature
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ECO-WINTER-SCHOOL 2024
17th / 18th December 2024
The Gower
The Severn Estuary
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THE SOUTHWEST COASTAL BIOREGION – PROGRAM 2025
The Southwest Coastal BioRegion
Avonmouth and the Severn Estuary
Somerset Coastline
North Devon
Cornwall “from Tor to Shore”
South Devon
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LEARNING:
Reading the land
Geology of the Southwest
Forest Forensics
Climate, Weather and Ocean
Rivers and Watersheds
Archaeology and Ancestors
ENQUIRIES AND CONTACT
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peterjeffs.holistic [at] gmail.com
mobile: 0777-604-3705
BIOREGIONAL ECO-SCHOOLING
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This work is the follow-on from my work on a BioRegional eco-summer-club which I held during the months of July and August 2024. These two-day workshops were thematic, and explored aspects of Wiltshire, where we live, through a class situation, and with practical activities.
Our project was initially inspired by Patrick Whitefield’s books on “Reading the landscape”, and Tom Wessels “Forest Forensics” and these fed into our practical work in the land surrounding on the Spye Estate.
One aim is to learn how to better read the land – that is – understand more about it simply by observing. By walking in the land immediately surrounding the Club, we were able to use each two-day session to explore an aspect of our region. Themes for the Summer-Club were Geology, Forest Ecology, Climate & Weather, Bristol-Avon Watershed.
Over the past two years, I have given inspirational classes to groups of children on the Salmon and the Bears in the Northwest Pacific; the Great Ocean Conveyor, a tour of the earth’s ocean system; the British Atlantic Rainforest. And the Great Basin in the US Southwest. These classes teach children what we mean by a BioRegional approach.
During the first BioRegional Eco-Summer Club, our learning was based around Wiltshire and the Southwest. The aim was to better understand our region, our local geology, soils, ecology and even archaeology.
Our approach aims to create a stronger connection between children and Nature. I believe that the children are the stewards of tomorrow’s earth. By understanding how regions work, like the Cascadia BioRegion, in the Northwest Pacific, or the Bristol-Avon Watershed in Southwest England, they see better how we are a part of Nature. And when Nature is well, so are we!
CLASSES, GENERAL INFORMATION FOR FUTURE ECO-SCHOOL DATES
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I am currently planning my next offer of classes and sessions.
For the moment the maximum number of places on each day is 8.
Age range: 8 1/2 to 14.
Children generally need to bring wellies or outdoor boots, lunch and snacks. A waterproof will be a good idea, though, with luck the weather will hold out for us. We will have indoor activities planned as well as outdoor activities. Timing of activities will ultimately depend upon the weather.
All my thanks to the Parents and to the children who have joined us over our first Summer-School. The Clubs have been an adventure, and I hope have contributed to their awareness of our BioRegion.
For more information about future BioRegional Eco-School, please contact me, in preference by email, with BioRegional Eco-School in the title, and please leave me your phone number. I can also be contacted on 0777 604 3705, but email is best.
CLASS ACTIVITIES
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The activities for each class are posted here, on this webpage, so you can see exactly what we will be doing during each two-day session. The two days function together so it is ideal if we can have the same groups for each two-day week.
Some of the work will be class-based, and then there will be activities. In the photo below we worked on a collective map of the Globe, into which we added the routes of all the Warm and Cold currents as they circulate around the Earth. These distribute heat, and are a major factor in our climate. Working on such a project offers a gentle introduction to something like climatology, but also enables us to understand why we, here in the South West, also benefit from warm (wet!!!) weather, which is also extremely mild. If it were not for the Gulf Stream, coming up from the Gulf of Mexico, we would have much more extreme winters… The Earth is linked, and we are part of this great flow of the currents. This gives a good idea of the work that we do together, in learning how we are part of a larger system.
A TYPICAL WEEKLY PROGRAM
Day 1
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10h00 – 10h20 / Welcome and settling in.
10h20 – 10h30 / Break
10h30 – 11h00 / The Bristol Avon – from Source to Sea
11h00 – 11h10/ Break
11h10 – 1145 / Rivers and Floodplains
11h45 – 12h Break
12h – 12h45 – Getting to know the forest – forest walk (1)
13h00 – 13h30 / Lunch
13h30 – 13h45 / Rest
13h45 – 14h30 / Flooding and the Bristol Avon
14h30 – 14h40 / Break
14h40 – 15h20 / Activity – Creating a Watershed Map
15h20 – 15h30 / Break
15h30 – 16h00 / Discussion, tidying up & close
Day 2
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10h00 – 10h20 / Welcome and settling in.
10h20 – 10h30 / Break
10h30 – 11h00 / River ecology (1)
11h00 – 11h10/ Break
11h10 – 1145 / River ecology (2)
11h45 – 12h Break
12h – 12h45 – Getting to know the forest – forest walk (2)
13h00 – 13h30 / Lunch
13h30 – 13h45 / Rest
13h45 – 14h30 / Animals that have an impact on Rivers – the Beavers
14h30 – 14h40 / Break
14h40 – 15h20 / Ancestors in the Bristol Avon Watershed
15h20 – 15h30 / Break
15h30 – 16h00 / Discussion, tidying up & close
FOLLOW THE ECO-SCHOOL ON INSTAGRAM
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Our Instagram will share photos of the land, plants and some of our discoveries. It is the Nature-Diary for our work.
A WORD ABOUT MYSELF
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Trained in the life sciences (Botany, Durham University, Genetics and Evolution, Cambridge), I have been teaching groups of children a holistic and BioRegional approach to biology for several years. I believe that there is nothing more important than learning through our appreciation and understanding of the land. This inspires all my teaching. We work with the land in many ways, looking at geology, soils, climate, forest and river ecology, and archaeology.
In my holistic practice, my work engages with horses, the land and an ecological approach to the natural world.
I am an active member of the Design School for Regenerating Earth, and founder of the Western Atlantic and North Sea Coastal BioRegion, which meets biweekly on Friday afternoons (3h30pm, BST/GMT). I am also a member of the AAAS, the American Society for the Advancement of Science.
BOOKING AND PAYMENTS
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When booking a club, please let me know which dates your child is available for. To facilitate the process, I can also receive PayPal payments using the buttons below. One day is £40/child, and two days are £70/child. For the activities, two consecutive days will be ideal as the activities will run on from each other. Single days can be booked if your child is unavailable for one of the two days in any given week. If you prefer to pay via BACS transfer, I can send you payment details via email. All payments should be made immediately following booking to ensure that your place(s) are reserved. Once the eight places for a club have been filled I will post a here on the Club webpage.
CANCELLATIONS
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Cancellations will be possible up to the Friday before a Tuesday club. After this, fees will be non-refundable, given the considerable amount of preparation that goes into preparing each workshop.
Dr Pete Jeffs
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Contact page
Wiltshire,
September 2024