A project which has seen academics and teachers collaborate to promote interest and awareness in the environment and sustainability among young people living around Morecambe Bay has reached another milestone.
The Morecambe Bay Curriculum, a partnership between the University of Cumbria, Lancaster University, Lancaster & Morecambe College and the Eden Project, was set up in 2019.
The aim is to influence the National Curriculum at all levels by supporting teachers to embed sustainability and place into their everyday teaching.
From environmental art to the history of walking across Morecambe Bay, how science mimics nature to the opportunities of eco-tourism, the Morecambe Bay Curriculum supports teachers to help young people understand the Bay area better.
Professor Bob Lauder, from Lancaster University Faculty of Health and Medicine, said: “One of the key aims is to make people proud of where they live.
“Part of that narrative is around seeing things that perhaps people see everyday but see it in a different way and think about it being proud of that environment.”
The project also aims to boost young people’s wellbeing while also preparing them for jobs in ‘green’ industries. Looking after the environment is also embedded in the work.
“We’re encouraging people to think about their actions, both individually and as part of a community, small and large and consider the impact they have on the Morecambe Bay they know,” Professor Lauder added.
Teachers, academics and partners including the Morecambe Bay Partnership are now being encouraged to share Resources for our Bay: Place, Sustainability and Hope, a document released in July which has been designed by a team of forty teachers and academics.
It contains teaching plans linked to subjects ranging from art, geography and history aimed at primary school age children to agriculture and construction for students in further education.
Dr Beth Garrett, lecturer in the Morecambe Bay Curriculum within the Department of Educational Research at Lancaster University, said: “We want to go out into schools to promote this and we have teachers who have worked on this and gone back into schools with real enthusiasm and passion.
“It’s very much in the spirit of collaboration and goes beyond the National Curriculum.”
Carys Nelkon, partnership Mmnager for the project, said: “I was so proud to see the launch of Resources for our Bay: Place, Sustainability and Hope, which has been co-designed by over 40 brilliant teachers and academics who have worked tirelessly together to merge cutting edge research with best practice teaching. “
