Jack Atkin-Willoughby placement – FSC

The Field Studies Council (FSC) is a long-standing environmental education charity, founded in 1943. Through its UK-wide network of centres and teaching locations, it provides curriculum-linked fieldwork for subjects including biology, geography and environmental science. It is also widely recognised for producing accessible, high-quality field guides. I was fortunate to have FSC Rhyd-y-Creuau nearby: just a short journey through the mountains from my home in Bethesda to Betws-y-Coed.

Grazing exclusion plots in Cwm Idwal, used by FSC to teach conservation practices.

In the build-up to the placement, I worked with Jemma, the centre’s Education team lead, to design something that would benefit both FSC and my own training and understanding of the sector. We settled on a split purpose. I would assist the tutors and gradually take on more team-teaching as I became familiar with the programmes, while also conducting a small research project examining how teacher prompts, particularly questions, can facilitate scientific learning outdoors.

Although a great deal of research has examined teacher–student dialogue in classrooms, far less has focused on learning in outdoor environments. Teaching on a rocky shore or within a glacial cwm requires the management of many additional factors: are the students warm? Can they hear me in this wind? How long can we linger before they become restless or cold? How much time do we have at each stop if we are to keep to our return journey? Within these dynamic environments, we were interested in how tutors use questions to move students beyond memory recall “What glacial feature are we standing on?”, towards thinking about how and why that feature formed. I made short recordings of tutors’ teaching to descriptively examine these prompts and provide reflective summaries of their practice.

The Rocky shore at Penmon Point, Ynys Mon/Anglesey.

We were also interested in how teaching might differ between centres. Rhyd-y-Creuau offers access to mountains, rivers and the coast, while FSC’s work in London and Epping Forest takes place within very different urban and peri-urban environments. I therefore spent a week with the Epping team, travelling into London to teach within its vast network of parks and hosting students at Epping Forest. My admiration for the staff grew as I experienced their commutes into the city and the challenges of teaching physical geography in urban rivers. These tutors are at the coalface of environmental education, and I do not think their effort – or the importance of their work – is as widely recognised as it should be. I am very grateful to Lorna and the Epping team for hosting me and making me feel so welcome.

Greenwich Park, London, used by FSC to teach sampling strategies for grassland species.

Nestled in the heart of Eryri, Rhyd-y-Creuau has wonderful access to the natural landscape. During the placement, I supported teaching on glaciation and conservation at Cwm Idwal; peatlands and upland rivers on the Migneint; lichens and bryophytes in the temperate rainforests of the Conwy Valley; and coastal ecology, sand-dune succession and coastal management at sites including Penmon, Aberffraw and Criccieth. We also worked with local primary schools beside the Afon Conwy, teaching in Welsh about freshwater invertebrates. It was a joy to teach in these locations and to observe and assist such competent and dedicated outdoor and academic professionals.

Building a freshwater invertebrate abundance figure with primary school children from Llanrwst

The adventurous setting also allowed me to draw on my previous outdoor training, assisting with gorge walking in Afon Geirionydd and with scrambling and wild camping in the northern Carneddau. After a long period spent writing my PhD thesis – which I submitted during the placement – my time with FSC was a breath of fresh air. It reminded me of my passion for teaching science outdoors and helped steer me back towards the kind of work I hope to pursue next.

I would like to thank the whole team at both Envision and Rhyd-y-Creuau for being so encouraging before and during my placement. The staff at RYC took the time to talk me through each day’s teaching, were patient and willing when I was making recordings, and supported me through my first attempts at delivering the FSC curriculum. I hope the forthcoming report from our joint research project will prove useful to the charity, and that we will continue to work together in the future.

North Wales Wildlife: Top left – Marsh Orchid; Top Right – Butterwort (carnivorous); Bottom Left – Striped millipede; Bottom Right – Thrift seapink.