Twenty years inspiring children in nature

Families with children, teachers and schoolchildren, members of the local community, and anyone who wants to find out more about the wildlife and cultural heritage of Longdendale and the Peak District National Park are invited to come along and join in for a special event being held to mark twenty years of school visits to Longdendale Environment Centre.

There’ll be ranger-led activities outdoors including bug hunting, den building, treasure trails and willow weaving. Inside the Centre, there will be displays and activities including artwork by local schools and historical artefacts connected to the Longdendale Valley and its reservoirs.

The event is to be held on Sunday October 27, at Longdendale Environment Centre, which is at Bottoms Reservoir, Tintwistle, SK13 1HS. The event is free to attend and people can drop-in any time between 11am and 3pm.

Zahid Hamid, member of the Peak District National Park Authority with special responsibility for connecting young people with nature, said: “The Centre and the staff are a fantastic resource for helping understand the Peak District National Park. For many children, their visit to Longdendale Environment Centre is their first time spent in a National Park.

“We hope everyone, whether they have never been before or visit regularly, will feel welcome to come along to the event to get to know the Peak District National Park and enjoy the inspiration and health benefits of spending time in nature. We want local communities and people from cities to feel connected to the landscape here.”

United Utilities water catchment officer Iain Leach said: “We hope the event will be a chance to celebrate all that the Centre has achieved so far and that more people will come to enjoy Longdendale Environment Centre and the Peak District National Park in future.”

Since the centre opened in 1999, the Learning and Discovery Team based there have enabled over 60,000 children from schools across Greater Manchester to visit and learn about the Peak District National Park’s landscape, wildlife and cultural heritage.

In the last 12 months, over 4,000 young people have visited and taken part in activities ranging from Forest Schools to mini-beast hunting, pond dipping, and advanced rivers fieldwork. During school holidays the centre provides outdoor fun for local families. And there is a Junior Rangers group which meets monthly.

For more information about the event, contact learning.discovery@peakdistrict.gov.uk.

To find out more about school visits, go to www.peakdistrict.gov.uk/education.

For more details about Junior Rangers, visit www.peakdistrict.gov.uk/junior-rangers.