10:54am Monday 9th July 2007
By Mid Devon Star Reporter
Six hundred primary school children attended Countryside Day at Duchy College, Stoke Climsland.
This major annual event with countryside activities, presentations and displays was organised by higher education students to help young children learn about the rural environment while having fun.
The student organisers invited a selection of local schools and for some, it was their first Countryside Day experience. This year children attended from Braddock, Dolton in mid-Devon, Millbrook, Stoke Climsland, Trewidland and Wadebridge primary schools.
The main organisers are in the second year of their Foundation Degrees in Rural Environmental Management and Sustainable River Basin Management. They spent many months planning mostly outdoor events in the woods and extensive grounds of the campus, but on the day they had to bring the whole event indoors, because of heavy rain.
At least 200 other students from across the range of College departments helped man stands, run activities and act as guides to school parties. Guests from wildlife and countryside organisations from the National Trust to the National Marine Aquarium, and those with rural skills including sheep shearing and wool spinning, offered a range of educational activities. A new highlight was a display by the Devon Bird of Prey Centre, who brought along a different species of owls and hawks.
Students Alison Bockh and Demelza Carne, who were responsible for the Woodland Zone, which usually features activities along a woodland trail, said: We are encouraging children to appreciate nature through their different senses and to get them thinking about what they are doing.' Woodland activities included a scavenger hunt with a list of things to find and a subtle colour chart so that children could seek out similar colours in nature. There were also outdoor trails for finding tiny creatures and hidden man-made items to enhance children's observation skills in the countryside, plus a leaf identity quiz and touchy feely' boxes. Children also saw the whole College landscape on a projected aerial photo and were invited to create a montage of the aerial view from scrap material and paper.
In the indoor equestrian school, pupils enjoyed a covered straw bale maze, parachute games, fishing for cardboard native fish with the South West Lakes Trust, identifying water creatures with the Westcountry Rivers Trust and a compost safari with the Devon Wildlife Trust.
They were given a taste of farm life too, meeting calves, watching sheep shearing, climbing aboard a tractor and going on tractor and trailer tours. There was also a chance to meet the smaller animals in the Animal Care department.
On the day, Foundation Degree Course Manager Tony Connell said: We made the decision yesterday to bring the event indoors, and students have done an incredible job reorganising everything in a few hours.' Head of Countryside Peter Walker said: It's been another successful day, with the help of staff and students from other departments throughout the college.' Student organiser Lawrence Stapley, currently completing a Foundation Degree in Rural Environmental Management, said: It's been fantastic but hectic - the learning experience has been great and everyone has coped really well with the weather.' A school pupil Rio, said: We've had a brilliant time and I liked having my face painted.' The following day, Duchy College opened its doors once again, this time to the general public for its annual Open Day.
Campus tours introduced potential students to the site and there were opportunities to talk to staff about courses and student life in the Learning Centre. Members of the public were also encouraged to take part in activities, from physical challenges including the climbing tower and archery in the sports hall to a food puzzle in the Learning Centre and giant Sudoku in the Pathfinder department. There were farm tours by tractor and trailer, displays of agricultural machinery and an opportunity to meet livestock in the workshop area and pets in the Animal Care department. Young children played with art materials in the Child Care department. The Pathfinder students' well-tended garden was open for viewing and a wide selection of their plants were on sale, while the Creative Studies Department showed a colourful display of handicrafts from their City & Guilds courses in embroidery, patchwork, quilting and soft furnishings.
Despite the weather, crowds gathered to watch beautifully choreographed displays of synchronised riding and jumping to music by students from the Equine department, and canine heelwork to music as a bonus. College mascot Charlie Bear' was present at both events to entertain the children.
John Latham, Principal of Cornwall College, of which Duchy College is part, said: Staff and students at Duchy College worked hard together to ensure that the hundreds of children, teachers, families and potential students who visited Duchy College on Friday and Saturday were educated, entertained and inspired. There is a great team spirit and positive feeling at the college which won through on both days despite grey skies and rain.' Children from Year 4, Stoke Climsland School, some in army camouflage, enjoyed crawling through the indoor straw bale maze at Duchy College's Countryside Day.
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