A programme of educational activities for schools and groups is offered through the project, with a number of workshops and activities delivered by a full time Education Officer.
Access and Learning
A varied programme of events is being run to help people enjoy all aspects of the Solway. Recent events have included bat walks, wildlife photography workshops, Trek the Solway mini-expeditions, a Bioblitz wildlife festival and Medieval Christmas at Holme Cultram Abbey.
The Solway landscape was changed indelibly from Medieval times by the Cistercian monks of Holme Cultram Abbey in the village of Abbeytown. The monks worked hard to improve the land, introducing new techniques in aconomic activities such as farming, salt making and milling. The legacy of this important part of the area’s history is being told in a new exhibition in the Abbey, opening in 2014. Improved access work and a new visitor welcome will allow people of all ages and abilities to find out more about this wonderful building and its history, as well as to take tea in the Abbey tea rooms and soak up the atmosphere in comfort. This will complement the opening up of the Abbey after several of years of fundraising and improvement works by the community and the Carlisle Diocese after a devastating fire in 2006.
Our wetland sites are great places to explore, with all sorts of wildlife and fabulous views, but they can sometimes be hard to find and hard to access. We aim to find ways to encourage people to explore these sites in different ways and be confident that they are heading in the right direction.
We have already installed a viewing platform at Drumburgh Moss in partnership with Cumbria Wildlife Trust which gives new access and great views across the bog. A viewing tower will be installed at Glasson Moss in 2014. New boardwalks are being created to create dry routes for people across the sites, and interpretation panels, fingerposts and leaflets will assist visitors in getting around and enjoying these spacial places.
Tullie House Museum & Art Gallery constructed and hosted our exhibition Wildlife of the Solway Wetlands which ran from July to November 2013. This exhibition will travel to different location in Cumbria so watch this space!
