Skern Lodge celebrates GA National Fieldwork fortnight

Skern Lodge in North Devon marked the GA’s National Fieldwork fortnight from 26 June to 7 July by hosting school trips from Dorset and Buckinghamshire.  Students from Dorset developed fieldwork skills for their NEA data collection and studied the Pebble Ridge at Northam, and the historic coastal decisions over coastal management at nearby Westward Ho village. Students from Buckinghamshire looked at core river processes by kayaking down the river Torridge to the estuary field testing the Bradshaw model from the river itself.

Skern Lodge is named after the 'Skern', the distal end of Pebble Ridge capping Northam Burrows Country Park. 'Skern' is thought to be the Viking word for 'sheltered harbour'. The title comes from  Chief Hubba the Dane who led over 300+ Viking Warriors in conflict against Earl Odda on his way to depose King Alfred of Wessex. Luckily for the 'home team' Hubba did not get far and never met Alfred on the field of battle. When he returned to the 'Skern', he found his boats stranded on the mudflats at low tide and he had no escape! If only Chief Hubba had been a geography.

During May, Skern Lodge adopted No Mow May.  The site team at Skern left areas of their fields, verges, and banks uncut to encourage the growth of wildflowers which in turn provide vital food needed by pollinators such as bees and butterflies, and shared the wildflowers that were growing with school groups, as well as saving on fuel! https://www.plantlife.org.uk/campaigns/nomowmay/

In April, Skern Lodge supported the meeting of NEED - Network for Environmental Educators in Devon which was well attended by geography teachers, fieldwork tutors, outdoor learning practitioners, activity instructors, and forest school leaders. https://www.devonlnp.org.uk/knowledge-hub/environmental-education/

The Spring in-person meet-up was hosted by Kingsley School and members who attended are pictured here at the outside the School. They enjoyed a fieldwork visit to Skern Lodge and a study of Northam Burrows Country Park. Those involved in outdoor education in Devon are encouraged to join this active group.

Barry Kaufman-Hill celebrated 30 years working at Skern Lodge in 2023 and rewarded himself by  buying a drone. He has produced some superb aerial photography of the local fieldwork sites to assist with teaching and learning. The featured image of this article is his photo of The Skern.