Have a free school visit at WWT Martin Mere Wetland Centre
WWT Martin Mere Wetland Centre is offering free visits to schools where 20% or more children qualify for free school meals.
Nearly 3,000 pupils have already benefited from a free visit and this year WWT Martin Mere has funding for 3,000 more.
Children love learning outside in nature: it inspires them, helps them learn, and can improve attitudes and behaviour back in school. However many children miss out because the cost of visits is a step too far for their parents or schools. Through this HSBC-funded scheme, eligible schools are offered a free learning session, where pupils are immersed in activities such as pond dipping, looking for birds, hunting for invertebrates and exploring WWT’s conservation work.
Learning Manager, Chris Whitehead, said: “Autumn and Winter is a great time of year for schools to visit Martin Mere. Pupils are always amazed by the sight and sound of thousands of Whooper swans that have made an incredible journey to the centre, and they love using our child-friendly binoculars to get even a closer look at the wildlife around them.”
Feedback from schools has been overwhelmingly positive, with 100% of teachers surveyed saying they would recommend a WWT school visit to a colleague. One teacher visiting recently said: “Our children often cannot afford trips and they are very aware of this fact. For them to be able to have a fun, educational grip completely free is very important. This trip, in particular, was something most of the children would never experience otherwise”.
To find out if your school qualifies for a free school visit, please call the Learning team on 01704 891244 or visit www.wwt.org.uk/learn.
WWT Martin Mere Wetland Centre is also hosting special teacher information days on Thursday 16 October at 4pm and Saturday 18 October at 1pm. For further information about these free events please call the team on 01704 891244.
Martin Mere is open every day (except Christmas Day) from 9.30am to 6pm during summer months (and until 4.30pm during the winter) and parking is free of charge. Situated off the A59, it is signposted from the M61, M58 and M6. The Centre is also accessible via the Southport to Manchester and the Liverpool to Preston line by train from Burscough Rail Stations. Visit the web site http://www.wwt.org.uk/martinmere/ to find out what’s on all year round at Martin Mere and the other eight WWT Wetland Centres.
