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Berkshire Outdoor Education Trust

berkshire outdoor education trust

Hertford

The Berkshire Outdoor Education Trust was founded in 1977/78. The original purpose of the Trust was to locate and operate an Outdoor Education Centre for the use of Berkshire school children. The Trust was started with the active encouragement and support of Berkshire County Council and its then Director of Education, Peter Edwards and the late John Wood Griffiths an officer in the Berkshire Education department. The Trustees raised and borrowed the money to buy an existing centre from Glamorgan County Council in the small settlement of Rhos y Gwaliau in the Snowdonia National Park, close to the market town of Bala. In the early years Berkshire County Council paid the teachers’ salaries and gave an annual grant towards the other teaching equipment that was needed, mainly protective clothing. The Trustees managed the centre, hired and paid the domestic and maintenance staff and settled all other expenses including food and heating costs out of the fees charged to attendees. With teachers’ salaries paid by the LEA the additional amount needed to be charged to pupils was quite modest. Over time, however, the level of subsidy given by the County Council was reduced and when in 1998 the 6 Unitary Councils replaced the County Council the subsidy was phased out completely. In consequence fees had to rise considerably. It was at this point that the Trustees decided to sell the centre to the present owner, who had been a teacher at the centre for some time previously. The trust then invested the proceeds of sale and now use the income to assist the most financially disadvantaged young people in the County enjoy the benefits and experience of time spent in outdoor educational activity.

Manchester Environmental Education Network

manchester environmental education network

Manchester

Manchester Environmental Education Network, or "MEEN" as it is more commonly known, is dedicated to supporting teachers, organisations and individuals working to promote environmental education and Education for Sustainability. To achieve this, we use a variety of methods: we run projects with schools, organise networking events, provide a termly newsletter and pool various free curriculum resources on this website. MEEN began life in 1994 as an informal organisation. It was run voluntarily by teachers who wanted to bring environmental issues into their teaching practice. Today, MEEN has become an independent charity. In January 2001 a coordinator was employed to support and build the network. Since then, MEEN has provided a range of CPD services, training sessions and networking events, conferences and numerous projects around sustainability with schools and educational providers. MEEN is now over 20 years old and still upholds its core values: it was set up to support its members and to promote the sustainability agenda within schools and to agencies working with schools. The first edition of Beehive, the MEEN newsletter, was produced in 1994, and despite a few changes in its format, continues to be produced today. MEEN has undergone two significant changes due to the impacts of austerity. Firstly, our remit changed from serving the city of Manchester to cover Greater Manchester. MEEN has always had members from schools in other parts of Greater Manchester so it seemed appropriate, especially as services in the other nine Council areas were being reduced, to widen our remit. Secondly, we now focus increasingly on projects working directly with schools either through the curriculum or working with young people in their Eco Committees.