The summer starts here!
 
This summer, we are launching our Tribe scheme.  And very excited about it we are too!
 
During August, families joining the Tribe will be able to join in with a week of wonderful tribal activities for all the family.

Woad facepaint? Check.  Building stone-age tools?  Check. Cave paintings?  Check.  Making an iron-age wooden hut?  Check. 

On Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays we’ll be running activities in and around the Footprint and Windermere.  The rest of the time we’ll be giving Tribal Members lots of fun things to go and do on their own.
 
While there is enough to keep everyone busy for at least a whole week, you only need to pick and choose the things you like the look of (which we hope will be most of it).
 
As we are trying this for the first time, all of the activities will be free – the only thing we need you to do is tell us all about your experiences when you’ve finished, so that we can make sure it’s popular enough to run every year.
 
We think it’s going to be amazing, so it is essential that you register in advance.  To do so, click on the TRIBELEAFLET link at the bottom of this blog entry and send it back to us (or just email the relevant information to us at the email address below).
 
If you would like more details, contact Ade on 015394 88409 or ade.collins@nationaltrust.org.uk

TRIBELEAFLET

We’re embarking on a Schools Consultation – what sessions do you want us to deliver, how do you want us to deliver it?
I’m very excited. And a little bit daunted. And more than a smidge concerned.

We’ve noticed that some local schools are still not visiting us. We don’t think it’s the prices – we provide excellent value for money (our prices are still frozen at £7 per child).

It could be the transport – although given that some schools are within walking distance and plenty more are able to take advantage of our free rail travel we don’t think so.

And we don’t think it’s the quality of our delivery – almost every school that does come gives us top marks in their feedback.

So that only leaves what we’re delivering and how we’re delivering it. I’d like to give our programme a bit of a tune up. New subjects, new topics. And we’d like to investigate things like outreach work – maybe doing some work at your school culminating in a visit to the Footprint to see why it’s so special.

But it’s all a bit pointless me doing that without your help – after all, you know what you’re teaching better than I do.

So, please, please, PLEASE get in touch. For 30 minutes worth of ideas, I’d be happy to let you trial bits of our new sessions (that you’ve helped us to write for you) for free. I might even throw in a few whole day freebies for teachers that are especially helpful.

Contact me on 015394 88409 or ade.collins@nationaltrust.org.uk – I’d love to come and see you.

Phew! Time for a breather. We’ve just finished putting on four seasonally-themed events for families in the area, with help from Barnardos.

If you look on our Facebook page you’ll see lots of pictures (and even a movie or two, if my internet connection speeds up) showing people having a ridiculous amount of fun dressing up, messing around, eating cake and playing in St Catherine’s Wood.

All of the families that came were brilliant – everyone threw themselves into dressing up and having fun with gusto*, even our General Manager Jeremy Barlow (photographic evidence is available for the right price).

First TransPennine also helped us out again, by offering free train travel and even laying on a couple of buses at one point. Big thanks go out to them.

Hopefully we can recapture some of that energy over the summer, when we are going to run a series of family activities as part of Tribe – if you’re interested in joining the Tribe, let me know at ade.collins@nationaltrust.org.uk


*That sentence makes it sound like Gusto is the name of a clown that was there with us. It wasn’t.

I’m ecstatic to report that I have now found the on switch to my computer, worked out where the internet is, and joined Facebook, on behalf of the Footprint.

To find out what’s going on here, hear about special offers, see pictures of such diverse things as wasps nests, shelter building, men wearing skirts and High Wray’s Resident Duck, follow this link to Facebook and get liking us!

We’ll also be up on Twitter, just as soon as I can remember a) my password to Twitter or b) the password to the email account that I used to set the Twitter account up with (sadly, I’m not joking) so if you want to follow us there, check back in a couple of weeks.

First TransPennine has agreed to continue their fantastic offer of providing free rail travel to schools from Oxenholme, Kendal, Burneside and Staveley.

As well as making the whole trip more affordable, it provides an exciting experience for the children and makes the journey part of the day out.

As travelling by public transport is part of the sustainable ethos of the Footprint, we will also offer a discount of 50p per child for any group that comes here by train.

Interested? Mention it to us when you enquire about a booking and we will do the rest!

For the last few years, visitors at the Footprint have sat on uninspiring metal and plastic gray chairs at metal and plastic brown tables that we’ve borrowed from another office. Well, no more!

Out of the Woods (formerly of Staveley, now of Holme) have made some lovely oak tables and chairs for us. And frankly, they look stunning. As we have a couple of weddings and a baby naming ceremony booked here for this summer, I’m sure they will make all the difference.

Ranger Roland Wicksteed continues to work with a local school each year on the patented trampling (stampeding herd impressions) of Touch-me-not Balsam seeds in the woods in order to provide the food sources for the larvae of our Netted Carpet moth. This beautiful creepy crawly is extremely rare and the St Catherine’s habitats are managed to conserve it.

However odd this sounds, its working. The site has the second most larvae in the country; a 25-fold increase from when he started in 2007!

We will be trying to meet a few of them at a things that go bump in the night event at the end of July. Check back here later for more details.

Oops. We had a bit of drama here back in November 2010. High winds blew the chimney from our wood burner over a bit, so that it was touching the roof.

Unsurprisingly, it turns that out wooden roof tiles (or ‘shakes’) burn quite quickly when they get really, really hot. More surprisingly, it transpires that straw bale walls do not – they are so heavily compacted that there isn’t any air in them. And as we all know from our fire triangles at health and safety training, without oxygen there’s no fire.

Even so, many thanks to Cumbria Fire and Rescue Service for putting the roof out no muss, no fuss. And thanks to all of the National Trust Rangers from the Central and East Lakes for helping us rescue the contents of the building and then clean them all down.

I’m happy to say that we are now up and running again with a new wind-proof chimney!

Wed 17 February
2 - 4pm
Preparing the Nest
Join in ‘National Nest Box Week’ to make your own bird box to take home and find out how to encourage wildlife into your garden.
£5/child £3 plus £5 per box taken home. BE



Wed 31 March (Food Glorious Food)
2 – 4pm
Make it, Bake it, Eat it at Easter!
Hands-on and fun family cooking. Bake your own Easter cakes and something special for the dinner table! All ingredients and equipment provided.
£5/child £3. BE

Tues 13 April, 11 May & 8 June
6 – 7.30pm
Footprint Evening Talk & Tour
Discover what’s been going on in the straw bale eco-classroom at St Catherine’s. It is not normally open to the public so it’s a great opportunity to find out more. Not suitable for under 10 year olds.
£4/child £2. BE

Sat 8 May (National Compost Week)
2 - 4pm
Compostastic!
Delve into another world of food, waste and the creepy crawlies that help to recycle our rubbish into a nutritious meal for the garden!
£5/child £3. BE

BE: Booking Essential Tel. Gill Fayers on 015394-46027 or email gill.fayers@nationaltrust.org.uk

The new Discovery Programmes developed and piloted in 2008 at the Footprint have seen a greater uptake in 2009 with many repeat bookings and lots of new interest as word has spread of the learning and interest they create and the great day out they provide.

The partnership between the National Trust and TransPennine Express which enables groups to travel for free by train north of Lancaster to Windermere if they are taking part in a Discovery session has also been a big hit with schools. Over 50% of the participants in 2009 arrived on foot..either walking from Windermere station after getting off the train, or from the handful of nearby schools who visit frequently. The generosity of TransPennine Express has been really appreciated by the participating schools, as it cuts the cost of the visit significantly, broadens the visit experience and enhances the sustainability message.

Here’s what teachers and lecturers have been saying:

“The visit, from beginning to end, was a joy. From my initial contact with Kelley by phone, to my pre-visit reconnaissance and our eventual trip, the service was professional and enthusiastic. Health and safety matters were always at the forefront but were handled in such a way as to inspire the flow of learning rather than detract from it.”

“Many thanks to TransPennine Express for providing our transport from Lancaster and securing our seat reservations from Preston. This helped overcome any safety fears we may have had and resulted in a happy travelling experience for all and hopefully more rail travellers of the future.”

“I would like to express my personal thanks to Kelley and convey what a first rate educational experience that she has created at The Footprint. I will certainly spread the word for this great place and look forward to bringing further students here in the near future.”

“Kelly is so enthusiastic, warm friendly and genuine that both adults and children instantly got along with her. She did really well adapting to our needs on the very wet day.”

“It was really useful having a risk assessment provided and for someone to lead the learning so that I could enjoy working with my children, rather than organising as well, as I do day to day.”

“We loved the train journey- what a brilliant set up for the sustainability, the experience, the cost. Thank you very much, I will recommend it to others and we’ll definitely come again.”

“The whole day was an excellent experience for all involved, from catching the train, which was very easy and the letter for authority to travel accepted without question (and there were plenty of seats for the children), to being met at Windermere station it all felt very well organised and resourced. I thought the footprint building and the surrounding environment was fantastic and the planned sessions were lively and inspiring, thank you very much to Kelley and Cathy.”

“Both the morning and afternoon groups really enjoyed their trip to the project. It was so well planned and delivered. Kelley tailored the session to fit in with our History topic and has built on and refined the delivery of the session since last year, which was already very good. The children had such a variety of activities to do; drama, team work, speaking and listening, writing and being physically active. There were great opportunities for cross-curricular learning too; science and nature in the woodland, ecology issues, geography and history of the landscape. It was very well paced and pitched correctly for their interests and abilities.”

“Thank you so much for all your hard work in making it a very educational and enjoyable morning/afternoon in such a safe and calm environment. From the woodburning stove to the cup of tea at lunch – the adults all enjoyed their time there too!”

“This is the second year we have chosen to use the footprint building as part of our Geography and DT work. We once again had a fantastic day and the children really enjoyed themselves. We were also able to adapt and improve our programme of work from what we had done last year and this fit in perfectly. Kelley was once again fantastic and so well organised. She pitched the activities at exactly the right level and kept the children enthusiastic and involved (even despite the rain!).
The children all commented on what a great day they had had. We will be booking again for next year. Thank you.”

“Free train travel was fantastic, especially as some children had never been on one before or very rarely. For some of them this was the highlight of the trip! Seating was good, very clean train and staff extremely friendly. It made the whole trip much easier to run.”

To book a session at the Footprint and apply for free train travel for schools along the line from Lancaster to Windermere, please contact Kelley Sproston-Heath, Community Learning Officer on 015394 88409 or email footprint@nationaltrust.org.uk

Monday 21 December 1 - 3pm
Family Festive Fun at the Footprint
Create your own Christmas decorations using natural and recycled materials. Enjoy an exploration into the woods to inspire the design of fairies and baubles for your tree at home. £5/child £3.
Booking Essential Tel. Gill Fayers on 015394-46027 or email footprint@nationaltrust.org.uk

The floods that devastated parts of the Lake District and Cumbria this month were a close shave for the Footprint. We had to put up quite a barricade here at St Catherine’s as the beck which runs close by, draining the estate, inundated the vehicle bridge between the car park and the main building. It began seeping into the main office and had to be diverted by some creative engineering but then staff had to put up a second defence as it was looking pretty ominous for the Footprint which sits next door!

An anxious few hours went by and thankfully it did not come to pass but there was some real worry for a while, and over the next few days as the rain continued to fall. It turns out that most of the road track up to St Catherine’s has been washed out and many of the footpaths and walls around the estate are damaged so the Wardens have been very busy with the clear up.

Fell Foot Park on the shores of Windermere didn't fare so well though - it was up to shoulder height in the tearoom, so they have to start from scratch a second year running as it flooded last year too.

For more information on the more widespread floods and the effect on the National Trust in Cumbria follow this link: Floods

After the creative rag rug workshops in Spring and popular tours and talks in the summer we had a very successful event in the Footprint in September making homes for Bumble bees and other insects and raising awareness of the threats to bees across the country and how we can help to conserve them in our gardens.

The end of August saw the annual mothwatch at the Footprint celebrating the success of the conservation work that has been taking place right outside its windows. Thanks to the work of The National Trust, an uncommon native plant, Touch-me-not Balsam is growing in the woodland adjacent to the building. Touch me not Balsam is the only food source of the rare and protected Netted Carpet Moth but with the plants’ reintroduction sightings of the moth are increasing.

“Getting Touch-me-not Balsam back has involved a lot of work,” said the National Trust’s warden Roland Wicksteed, “The ground needs to be disturbed and the seed spread around for the plant to grow.”

Traditionally, this would have been done by grazing wild boar, but Roland had a more contemporary and innovative way of undertaking this. “We asked children from Ambleside Primary School to do their best cattle impressions and trample the ground where the plants need to grow. They had great fun and really helped to boost the plants’ numbers.”

The mothwatch was run at the Footprint by The National Trust’s Kelley Sproston-Heath (Communities and Learning Officer) and Benjamin Knipe (Warden) with assistance from Roland Wicksteed. The moth experts bringing equipment and expertise were Sarah Bradley (Moth Officer, Cumbria Branch Butterfly Conservation), Rob Petley-Jones (Natural England), John Knowler (Butterfly Conservation Scotland) and Martin Tordoff.

As soon as the traps were set a variety of winged insects were attracted, observed, counted and released, including, much to everyone’s delight, several fine and healthy Netted Carpet Moths.

At the Footprint on the 4th August, the public were delighted to preview the new beautifully crafted eco-furnishings which now decorate the interior of the building - from stunning wallhangings and woodturned blind-pulls - to the skilfully crafted woodburner surround.

A talented team of local craftspeople and volunteers have been busy creating stunning furnishings for the Footprint, from attractive ragrug wallhangings - to handmade blinds with herdwick wool woven panels

Kelley Sproston-Heath, Community Learning Officer said:
We had a great turn-out with over 30 visitors attending the open-morning, This has been a real community effort, so it was very pleasing to see different sectors of the community coming to the open-morning to help us celebrate with the craftspeople and volunteers, in the excellent work achieved so far. Everyone enjoyed looking at the finished furnishings and eating the delicious cakes the volunteers had made.

Visitors were thrilled to meet the craftspeople as they demonstrated their skills and many of the visitors were happy to try their hands at ragrug making and weaving. It was a lovely atmosphere and a great chance for people to chat about all the work which has been done so far.

The Footprint aims to achieve the smallest environmental footprint possible, demonstrating how natural and renewable materials, combined with historical practice, can deliver a building with outstandingly stylish design.

The National Trust has teamed up with First TransPennine Express to offer schools free rail travel to reduce their carbon footprint in getting to the Footprint.

The first school to take advantage of this new offer was St Thomas’s Church of England School, Kendal, who travelled to The Footprint on the 24th & 25th February. The teachers and over 50 children caught the train to Windermere Railway Station where they were met by the National Trust Community Learning Officer. They were then taken on a delightful walk along footpaths and through woodland to The Footprint for a full day ‘out of classroom’ experience – some might say out of this world!

Catherine Johnston, Environmental Manager for First TransPennine Express, said: “It is great to be able to support this project and offer free train travel to the schools. The rail journey adds to the experience and also helps the children to understand about sustainability.”

Kelley Sproston-Heath, Community Learning Officer for The National Trust, said: “First Transpennine Express’s very generous offer of free rail travel to our participating schools means that children begin to grasp the concept of living more lightly on the planet right from the start of their journey to The Footprint.”

Yvonne Johnson, a teacher at St Thomas’s Primary School, said: “Our school is doing lots of work on sustainability and the environment and we have just been awarded a bronze certificate from the Eco Schools Project. The support given by First TransPennine Express and the National Trust helps the children understand ways in which they can support a sustainable life.”

The free travel is eligible for participating schools on First TransPennine Express services between Lancaster and Windermere. The National Trust also offers schools a discount on their Footprint sessions when they travel by sustainable transport.

To book a session at The Footprint and apply for free train travel for schools along the line from Lancaster to Windermere, please contact Kelley Sproston-Heath, Community Learning Officer on 015394 88409 or email footprint@nationaltrust.org.uk.

 
 
Notes
        To be eligible for free travel schools need to be booked onto a National Trust Footprint Session and apply through the Community Learning Officer on a case by case basis.

        All The Footprint activities and the walk from Windermere station to The Footprint at St Catherine’s are fully risk assessed. All equipment is provided and pre-visits available on request.