The PACE Education Team (all volunteers) is currently working with primary schools in the local area. They have run whole school assemblies as well as hands on workshops and field study sessions for smaller groups, either on the school site or within walking distance.  The team works with the teachers of each school to develop Lesson Plans and Worksheets to ensure that each session provided, away from the classroom, will enhance a pupil’s understanding of a topic that they are covering from the national curriculum.

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We would not be able to run these sessions without the support of PACE volunteers, school staff and parents as well as obtaining permission to visit sites not usually open to the public. If you would like to find out more information about our work with schools or are interested in joining the Education Team please email manningtreepace@gmail.com

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Whole school assemblies:

Climate Change, Biodiversity and the Environment - how we can all make changes to the way we live and information about what we are doing at PACE.

Manningtree Earth Festival – pupils were invited to contribute to their school’s display at the 2023 Manningtree Earth Festival.

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Examples of field study sessions:

Tree Survey Walk - looking at trees, their growth, habit, how their seeds are dispersed and whether they are evergreen or deciduous. Pupils take bark rubbings from different trees, during a ‘one minute of silence’ we ask the pupils what they can see, hear and smell.

Moth and Insect Biodiversity – these Discovery sessions are run on the school site. Pupils will be shown what has been caught in the insect light trap. Discussions include: life cycles, habitats and the different plants that particular species feed on. The species and number of each insect collected is recorded, numbers/species will vary according to the time of year and weather conditions.

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Small Mammal Survey – pupils learn how to collect the small mammal traps that they set overnight. Discussions include:  the different animals that they (might) catch, such as wood mice and bank voles; their predators such as weasel, fox, owl and magpie; and details of their habitats and life cycles. 

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Pond Survey – visiting a local (flood water) pond, explaining why the pond is there, pupils use nets to collect and survey the wildlife living in the pond. Discussions include: the habitat, life cycles of different invertebrates; which are the herbivores and carnivores; how they relate in a food web and food pyramid; the groups collate and share their findings with the rest of their class.

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Grassland Survey – Each group of children will be allocated a one metre square of rough grassland to see what minibeasts live and feed there. Discussions include: the habitat, life cycles of different animals; which are predators and which feed on living or dead plants; how they relate in a food web; the groups collate and share their findings with the rest of their class.

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Other Field Trips are developed with the teachers at the schools so that the outdoor work compliments indoor studies towards the appropriate stages in the national curriculum. Most Field Trips are based on Science, however, the very nature of outdoor field work involves spoken and written English, Maths calculations, tally counts and fractions, and elements of other subjects such as Geography, History and Art.

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We have several Field Trips booked with local schools in 2024. We always need volunteers to support the children - please Email if you would like to help manningtreepace@gmail.com