Blencathra Centre – What do they do up there?

As many of you know Blencathra was originally a ‘Sanatorium’ opened in October 1904 for 20 patients. The Cumberland branch of the “National Association for the Prevention of Consumption and other forms of Tuberculosis” selected Blencathra, which was reported as having perfect drainage, ample shelter, sufficiently isolated from any town or village and having a view over “one of the most striking bits of scenery in the Lake District”.

As we know today it was the discovery of streptomycin which effectively dealt with tuberculosis and replaced the need for sanatoria. However, those original site location factors were ideal for providing the environmental education base which Blencathra enjoys today. The Blencathra Centre, run in partnership with the Lake District National Park, is one of eighteen field centres operated by the Field Studies Council. The Field Studies Council is a pioneering educational charity which was set up to help people discover, explore, understand and be inspired by the natural environment. We believe that the more we know about the world around us, the more we can appreciate its needs, and help to protect and sustain its diversity and beauty for future generations. The centre welcome people of all ages and background .The majority of our work involve teaching students who follow fieldwork studies here. These are linked directly to subjects in their schools, colleges and universities.

Blencathra FSC has an excellent reputation for delivering high quality programmes – over 7000 visitors and 80% repeat business and is committed to helping people discover, explore, understand and be inspired by the natural world. The key areas we work in are:

Outdoor Classroom – Universities, Colleges Schools and Youth Organisations. This is the majority of our work and is very diverse. One day we might be teaching a Princess and the next a student who is visiting the countryside from a tough inner city area for the first time. It could be geographers studying glaciation in Easedale, biologist’s investigation freshwater ecosystems in the Vale of St John or geologists in Threlkeld Quarry.

Professional Development & Publishing – this might be trainee teachers learning how to manage fieldwork or The Mammal Society ‘upskilling’. The FSC publish over 700,000 fieldwork keys and guides and this is increasing with the use of I Phones.

Activities – Hill Walking & Mountaineering and Gorge Scrambling – self explanatory, but did you know that Doug Scott,Tut Braithwaite and Chris Bonnington have been here?

Leisure Learning – Natural History & Art Courses – Moths and Butterflies to Digital Photography. This is a small part of our business, though very interesting. One of the art courses appeared in The Sunday Times Top 50 lists of value for money in the summer last year.

Environment – Eco Challenge, John Muir Award & Bushcraft – very successful programmes to get young people into the outdoor classroom..Ray Mears has a lot to answer for!

I will expand on some of these in future Beneath Blencathra editions.