The Canal and Riverside Trust are responsible for the care of most of the canals and rivers in England and Wales. They have an Educational Volunteer body which leads inspiring trips to waterside locations, as well as visiting schools. You could join one of their museum workshops or build a Canal and Riverside Trust trail to walk a waterway near you.
The Trust ensures that all activities are linked to the national curriculum and enjoy high regard from teachers. Twenty-one of their destinations hold the Quality Badge for Learning Outside the Classroom. The have a variety of free resources available on their website, including lesson plans and activity sheets covering curriculum relevant topics around canals and rivers. The resources cover a variety of subjects from science to art. There are also educational games like Build a Canal.
The Trust state that ‘learning is at the heart of what we do’ and every river and canal is unique in the learning opportunities it can provide to students. Jackie Harris an education volunteer at Gloucester Docks stated that, ‘There are few things more satisfying than seeing a child's eyes light up when they learn something new and exciting.’ Waterways are easily accessible and provide endless possibilities for days out, from hiking to surveys, nature watches to sailing. Contact with the natural world teaches young people about the environment around them, but also enriches their connection with nature and their desire to protect it. The Trust also provide important guidance on safety near water and how to visit natural spaces safely.
The Trust are currently running an exciting new competition called Corridor for Nature. The competition involves the design of a canal habitat for school sites. The winning school will have the habitat created as a learning area by a specialist architect. The competition is cross-curricular, has a wealth of resources to support it and can be adapted to all age groups. Sign up for your FREE competition pack.
HandsamSchoolTripsAdvisor can help you plan an exciting trip to a local waterway with our trip planning system and identify and reduce waterside risks with our risk assessment guidance.
