Cumberland Building Society Help Children Enjoy Their Local River

News From The Eden Rivers Trust

Cumberland Building Society staff joined children from Stanwix Primary School for a day of messing about on the river! 

The Cumberland Building Society has provided £7,000 a year for two years towards the education work of Eden Rivers Trust.  The money helps to fund “Rivers Days” which involve taking children to their local river to learn about its importance and wildlife. 

Children love these outdoor days which often involve getting a little wet and muddy while seeing river creatures never before experienced!

These river education days are available to all schools in the Eden Valley.  They are aimed at 7 – 11 years olds (Key Stage 2) and tie in with the river, habitat, water and mountain environment topics which they cover as part of the National Curriculum.  These events give children the opportunity to have a “hands-on” experience of the river, to support their class room based work. 

During a Rivers Day the children are given an interactive presentation in the classroom before heading down to their local river.  There they enjoy a spot of river dipping to find and see the creatures which live in the river.  They also carrying out a river corridor survey, draw a river cross section diagram, and measure the river flow rate.

Chris Slater, Kingstown & Rosehill Branch Manager for Cumberland Building Society, said, “As a mutual organisation, we are committed to helping the communities which we serve, so it is great to be able to support the River Days programme. The children who take part have a fun and exciting day learning about their local environment.”

Becky Helm, Education Officer for Eden Rivers Trust, said, “We are very grateful to the Cumberland Building Society for this funding because it will enable us to continue our valuable education work which is so popular with local schools. We hope that this successful partnership with the Cumberland Building Society will continue into the future.”

During 2009, over 1000 primary school children from 25 different schools in the Eden valley took part in Rivers Days with Eden Rivers Trust.  For more information on how your school can take part, contact Becky Helm, Education Officer at Eden Rivers Trust, or visit www.edenriverstrust.org.uk

If you would like to learn more about the work of Eden Rivers Trust, you can visit www.edenriverstrust.org.uk. Alternatively, email office@edenriverstrust.org.uk or telephone the office, which is at Skirsgill Business Park, Penrith, on tel. no. 01768 866788.