£4.5 million project to help young people forge closer connections with nature making a difference
Generation Green 2 is in full swing at Northumberland Coast National Landscape. On a recent beach trip, primary school children were in awe of the National Landscape: “Wow, this beach is beautiful”, “that was the best school day ever, I wish we could sleep here” were some of the comments made during the day.
Northumberland Coast National Landscape is delivering a third of all Generation Green 2 experiences in National Landscapes and they are working with local partners to deliver landscape experiences, including daytime and residential experiences. Nearly 800 young people who wouldn’t normally get the chance to experience this special place are expected to take part by the end of the project in Spring 2025.
Local partner Mudlarks Outdoors, led a session with children from Bishop’s Primary School in Ashington. They took part in a sandcastle making competition and helped to clean the beach.
Head Teacher of Bishop’s Primary School Jessica Hodson said:
“The children talked about how beautiful it was and really enjoyed the different activities, the litter picking, sandcastle competition and rock pooling. The children learned so much about the coast and how nobody is too small to make a difference."
Superhero schoolchildren having a great day on the beach
Founder of Mudlarks Outdoors, Bridie Melkerts said:
“The Generation Green sessions have been a great success. The excitement and enthusiasm from the children for playing in, learning about, and exploring their local National Landscape has been a joy to watch. Together they have caught crabs, created amazing natural art, built dens, cleaned beaches, and climbed mountains.
"Many of the children had never visited this stretch of coastline before and for some this was their first time ever at the beach. This Generation Green funding has given these children the opportunity to experience and enjoy their National Landscape together.”
In total, Mudlarks Outdoors will host 660 children from schools across Northumberland for beach school sessions at Alnmouth.
Meanwhile, Ranger Jane Beach School founder Jane Dixon ran a residential with a class of schoolchildren from Gateshead. Children saw the Bamburgh Bones project at St Aidan’s church and visited Holy Island, before enjoying a fish and chip supper and staying overnight at the Seahouses Hostel. The wide range of activities also included building a sandcastle model of Lindisfarne, looking for fossilised jellyfish (crinoids) that are older than dinosaurs, a sea watch session and litter picking.
Jane said:
“My aim was to connect these young people with the natural environment of the Northumberland Coast National Landscape, and this one-night stay was a pleasure to host. The feedback we received was that 46% of children enjoyed the outdoor activities most, while 27% said a night away from home with friends was their favourite part.”
A farm trip will also take place early next year. The funding will cover the cost of the experiences but also the bus hire, which can be a major barrier for schools.
Generation Green 2 is funded by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) as part of its ongoing support of access to nature. It is being delivered by a coalition of 24 organisations and authorities. By the end of the project, more than 41,000 day and night experiences will be delivered. National Landscapes in Blackdown Hills, Cornwall, Cotswolds, Mendip Hills, North Pennines, Northumberland Coast, Shropshire Hills and Surrey Hills are all taking part.