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FORMBY SCHOOLS LAUNCH NEW WEBSITE TO SAFEGUARD WOODLANDS...
200 primary
school pupils from across Formby have been combining nature and
technology to produce a new website which will help shape the future
of the town’s coastal woodlands.
Year 5 children from Freshfield Primary, Redgate Primary, St
Jerome’s Catholic Primary, St Luke’s CE Primary and Woodlands
Primary joined forces for the
website - to put across young
people’s opinions about the first five years of the Forest Plan for
Sefton’s Coastal Woodlands as part of a wider public consultation.
The project was co-ordinated by North Sefton City Learning Centre
and environmental regeneration initiative The Mersey Forest, and saw
the schools undertake fieldtrips to Lifeboat Road, Formby National
Trust and Ainsdale’s National Nature Reserve to hear from rangers
about the work taking place to manage the sites for the benefit of
wildlife and people.
Reflecting on what they had learned, the children then created
plays, news bulletins, radio shows and even pop songs to have their
say on topics ranging from the woodlands’ patchwork of different
habitats to how the woods can generate an income.
The schools visited the City Learning Centre to record their ideas
as videos, posters and mp3s, with the finished website showcasing
their work launched at a special meeting which brought the pupils
face to face with the woodland landowners themselves.
The children were assisted on their fieldtrips and at the CLC by
sixth form ‘mentors’ from Formby High School and Range High
School, who also used their technological know-how to build the
finished website as well as producing summary reports on the project
for the landowners.
David Bill, Centre Manager at North Sefton City Learning Centre,
said:- “We have been delighted with the way in which the
pupils collected information and then used their imagination to
express their ideas in informative and creative ways.
We would like
to pass on our thanks to the teachers, rangers and mentors who have
supported the project.”
Paul Nolan, Director of The Mersey Forest, said:- “It’s great
to see young people helping to shape the future management of their
woodlands in this way.
The children will be able to look back in
years to come and be proud of their involvement in this excellent
example of citizenship.
On behalf of all the woodland landowners within the Forest Plan I’d
like to thank the rangers, teachers, the City Learning Centre and
most importantly the pupils for making what was a very ambitious
project such a success.”
The project will also feature at the Sefton Coast Forum later this
month with a presentation to be given on the “making of”
the
website. |
Library treasures unearthed
4 of
Liverpool’s leading libraries are unlocking their vaults to reveal
some truly unique cultural treasures. As part of the city’s
Capital of Culture celebrations, Liverpool Central Library is
teaming-up with the university libraries at Liverpool Hope,
Liverpool John Moores and University of Liverpool for the
‘Treasures’ project, celebrating the historic, varied and
surprising collections held in the city.
Liverpool’s stunning rare books, literary manuscripts, photographs
and films will be put on display for the public until December. A
series of exhibitions, talks and open days will give people a rare
chance to see the city’s fascinating collections and archives for
themselves.
Items on display
include the magnificent Audubon’s Birds of America, literary
manuscripts from poets including Seamus Heaney, Ted Hughes and Brian
Patten, Adrian Henri and Roger McGough of the Liverpool Scene. There
are portrait photographs taken by Julia Margaret Cameron, who shot
19th century celebrities such as astronomer Sir John Herschel and
Poet Laureate Alfred Tennyson. Also on show will be the
Everyman Theatre and Frankie Vaughan archives.
Liverpool City Council’s executive member for libraries, Councillor
Keith Turner, said:- “Liverpool’s special collections archive
is absolutely world class. The city has an amazing 800 year
heritage and the manuscripts, books and other documents in our
archive reflect our incredible past. I am delighted that in
our Capital of Culture year we have been able to team up with our
partners in the universities to give everyone the chance to discover
these rare items. Over the next 6 months, we will be
giving local people and visitors to the city a taste of the city’s
varied and rich cultural heritage through a series of fascinating
exhibitions, displays and talks.”
Library special collections and archives are always carefully
preserved in controlled conditions. They are widely used by
researchers, but are not often accessible to the general public. The
Treasures project aims to open up these collections to local people
and tourists alike. Over the next 6 months, the libraries will
host a range of public talks, presentations and exhibitions. And a
new website is being developed which will provide details of library
locations, visitor information, an events programme and promotional
materials describing the collections.
Liverpool Central Library holds 6,000 rare books, including the
magnificent Audubon’s Birds of America, medieval manuscripts, early
European printed books and a complete set of the Kelmscott Press,
beautifully intricate private press books produced by 19th century
artist and writer William Morris. University of
Liverpool Library’s world-class collections of rare books and
manuscripts include literary manuscripts of Seamus Heaney, Ted
Hughes and the Liverpool Poets; Science Fiction Collections; and
archives of local interest including Liverpool Royal Institution,
the Liverpool Philomathic Society, the Liverpool School of Tropical
Medicine and Cunard.
Liverpool Hope University Library has collections in theology,
philosophy, secular and local history, ecclesiastical history, art,
architecture, and sociology. An exhibition on Millennialism and
apocalyticism will run in July to coincide with an international
conference, displaying books, DVDs, newspapers, graphic novels and
pamphlets on “end of the world” themes.
Liverpool John Moores University Library holds collections in
popular culture include the Everyman Theatre archive, the Frankie
Vaughan Archive, the England’s Dreaming archive of punk-related
materials and the International Times underground newspaper
archives.
Treasures launches at 2pm on Saturday 7 June 2008 with a special open day
at Liverpool Central Library. The event will include displays of
books, manuscripts, photographs, posters and magazines from the
collections. There will also be presentations, and a chance for the
public to talk to the archivists and sign up for forthcoming events. |
