Sunday 2 August 2015

Peregrine Resources for Schools - online now! Plus a Hen Harrier Day invitation

NOTICE: Stream 4 is now active. View it here
(And for details of Hen Harrier Day on Sunday 9th August see below.

Over the last ten days we have completed two final tasks we were committed to deliver under the terms of our Heritage Lottery Grant. Our three-year support from the HLF for the 'Peregrines, People and Places'  comes to an end this summer, and soon we shall have to look to new ways to continue funding some of the amazing outreach work we have achieved in that time.One task was a production of a self-guided leaflet for visitors to Derby Cathedral (more on that later); the second was the publication of an online schools resource pack.

Contents of Schools Loan Box on Peregrines
Earlier last year Ian Layton (our amazing Peregrines and People Engagement Officer) worked with a number of school teachers to develop a set of Education Resources Loan Boxes for teachers to use. There are four of these available to county schools, plus one for schools in Derby City, and a number of schools have borrowed and used them very successfully.

We also undertook in our grant bid to HLF to convert these for wider use by schools anywhere in the country - or indeed the world - and these have just been made freely available online for teachers to use. The resource pack offers ideas for using peregrines and other nest cameras as the core of a wide range of curriculum activities, from EYFS right through to pre-GCSE classes.

These include:

  • Design Technology, 
  • Science, 
  • English, Mathematics, 
  • Art and Design, 
  • Literacy, 
  • Speaking and Listening, 
  • ICT/Computing
  • History
  • English
  • Geography

All we ask in return is that teachers using our resources let us know how they got on, and give us feedback which may help to improve them in the future. (A few photos would be nice too!)
Many people have helped us compile these resources, and we are especially grateful to Helen Naylor from Brigg Infants School and Georgina Greaves of Derbyshire County Council's Environmental Studies Centre.

The Online Resource Pack is available as a 14Mb zipped download of 26 files from our Project's Google Drive here.  If you want to see what's in the resources box, or make your own, download a contents list here.

Let us know how what you think!
Visit our dedicate Schools page on this Blog for more teaching resources on offer from the Derby Cathedral Peregrine Project.
Nick Moyes (project team member)

Hen Harrier Day Sunday 9th August - a rally in Derbyshire.

Our Peregrine Project is now an official supporter of this important day and event. See our logo among those of many others (including DWT and RSPB) on the hen harrier day website henharrierday .
At least two of the project team and several of our Watch Point volunteers will be there (along with Chris Packham) - so why not come and join us and hundreds more trying to raise the profile of the hen harrier which should be breeding on our Peak District moors but isn't....and neither are peregrines incidentally.....
If you don't know why there are no raptors on grouse moors (or why you should support this rally) then have a read of Mark Avery's blog here for example (a post from May).
And if you can't come along, then at least please join the Thunderclap here.
If you want to let us know you will be there or to ask any questions, email peregrines@derbyshirewt.co.uk .



10 comments:

Peregrine Project Member (Nick M.) said...

Stream 4 is now active again!

Heather said...

Congrats on stream 4 working again, although Mr P seems to be inhabiting the pigeons' nest lately. Fairly large uneaten prey on tower, hope the juvies are catching their own food by now.

Sue Hetherington said...

Just reading the project team's diary entry at the top of these comments and wanted to say that yes, I'm one of the volunteers who is going along to the Hen Harrier Action Events. I'm absolutely passionate about the plight of these raptors and hope that I actually see one one day and that they're not made extinct before I succeed. I'm passionate about all of our wonderful natural environment ..... and what's not to like about Chris Packham too!
Fingers crossed for a fine day this time, last year we almost drowned in the tail end of Hurricane Bertha.

Anonymous said...

Hi Sue, Good luck for fine weather this Sunday it surely can't be any worse than last year which was awful! If it is you can always ask to share Chris Packham's umbrella:)

I've signed Mark Avery's petition to ban Driven Ground Shooting so hope some more of us "peregriners" will join me - it would be marvellous to see the Hen Harrier improve in numbers as our peregrines are slowly doing (but of course they're lucky to have Cathedrals etc. to nest on).
.

Heather said...

Sorry that should read Driven GROUSE Shooting- but perhaps it would be a good idea for the guns to be aimed at the ground and not at these wonderful birds.

Abby-Lynn said...

Looks like Mr P on the scrape edge again. Maybe once the juvies fledge he will take his spot up top again. Nice to have Cam 4 going again. Thanks to the guys!

Sue Hetherington said...

Really excited, setting out for Buxton tomorrow. Heartbreaking that people who care about the natural world have to do this sort of thing but it feels good to be able to be with like minded people and feel that we're doing something practical about it. I STILL haven't added Hen Harriers to my "life list", I hope they don't become extinct before that happens. If it does, not only is my life list ruined but that life becomes all the more impoverished for ALL of us. I wouldn't mind if we had a biblical flood on the day if I could share the blessed Mr Packham's umbrella but I'm not sure he'd offer that to an old bird like me! He did sign my T shirt last year so maybe there's hope. :)
I still count myself so lucky to have seen real live wild peregrine falcons (my first ever at Derby) so maybe I'll get lucky and see a HH one day.

Lorraine said...

Oh Sue, you're such a trooper! Those of us who know you ( via this blog ) know just how dedicated you are in helping ALL forms of wildlife, especially you're beloved peri's. And if anyone deserves to see a wild Hen Harrier, then it's you! Hope you had a great day today ( lovely weather for the meet this year at least! ) and fingers crossed, you WILL see your Hen Harrier one day soon.

This summer has found me soooo very busy and unfortunately no break to drive up to a Derby watch point, but still intend to do so at some point. I'm so exhausted when I get home from Cornwall ( restoration work at Mums, with builders all over the place + lots of garden re-development keeping me attached to mi shovel - been through two so far! ) ) that when I get back home to Plymouth in the evenings, I just have time for a quick check-in before I fall fast asleep, but nearly always find one of the birds in cam view, which is nice. One there right now in fact, and usually always one sleeping over on the tower after dark.

BFN good buddy :)

Lorraine said...

Can just make out a visitor to the corbel below the scrape - think it's Mr P

Is that an old prey carcass in the r/h side of the scrape? Gosh, if so, it's been there for ages and must surely be a bit whiffy by now, to say the least. But maybe it's just the lining of the scrape showing, as previously explained by the team, but if not, you'd think either Mr or Mrs P would have removed it by now. It will probably remain there now ( mummified! ) until the scrape is cleaned, but would be interested to know why none of the family chose to eat it at the time.


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