Gamekeepers Help School Children in Wales
28 June 2010
"Brilliant" was the overwhelming cry of more than 160 primary schoolchildren from across North East Wales, as the youngsters clambered on to their coaches after a day out in the country. The "learn about the countryside day" was held at Beatrix Potter's garden near Denbigh and supported by The National Gamekeepers' Organisation Charitable Trust (NGO Charitable Trust), Marsdens Game Feeds and CL&WT Services. The day was held on 28 June 2010.
The children from Ysgol Bryn Hedydd and Ysgol Maes Owen in Rhyl and Ysgol Heulfre and Howell's Preparatory School in Denbigh visited the Gwaenynog Estate, just outside Denbigh, where the youngsters got to grips with an array of rural pastimes under the watchful eye of expert countrymen and women, and also saw for themselves how the estate's modern dairy farm produced milk to pour over their breakfast cereal.
It was tired children that went home having had a go at falconry with one of Britain's leading falconer's Terry Large; heard about the wildlife of Wales' rivers and tried their luck at fly casting with Ken Parry and his team from the Environment Agency; handled Ray Leece's wriggling ferrets; watched Jackie Owen direct her Labrador gundogs with pinpoint accuracy; seen fluffy pheasant chicks and listened intently to Harold Jones tell them about his work as a gamekeeper at Gwaenynog; found out where milk came from as the farm's black and white dairy cows grazed around them; and discovered the secrets of the classic children's author Beatrix Potter from her great-great niece Janie Smith. If that wasn't enough to keep the youngsters busy, the primary schoolchildren also discovered the sweet smell of silage, gazed on wildflowers and had a tractor and trailer ride.
Gamekeeper Harold Jones, the co-organiser, who is a member of The National Gamekeepers' Organisation (NGO), went to Ysgol Bryn Hedydd in Rhyl as a child, said: "It is good to see my old school here today. I was born a townie, but luckily discovered the countryside. It is no exaggeration, gamekeeping changed my life for the better. And as the gamekeeper at Gwaenynog, it is a great privilege to be able to tell the next generation about what I do, about how we manage the woodland to keep it healthy, why we plant crops to help gamebirds and songbirds in the winter and what it is like to work outside all year round in all weathers."
He added: "Obviously much of this is completely new to the children and it is fantastic to be able to give them an insight into what is for some another world. Hopefully in the future that world will not be so alien to them. It was lovely having them here and giving them new experiences to talk about back in class."
The other co-organiser, Bruce Weston, a retired schools' inspector and an NGO supporter, said: "We wanted to run an event to show children, who might not otherwise have the chance to see for themselves, what goes on in the countryside. It is important for youngsters to find out where their food comes from, hear how the beautiful countryside around them has been managed by mankind over the years and to see the contribution of rural leisure pursuits."
He added: "Most of all we wanted them to have fun in what is an outdoor classroom. To see, to smell and to listen to the birds and the animals and to have great memories and much to discuss when they get back to school. You could tell by the questions that the youngsters were really interested. The countrymen and women who come and help us are experts but it is really hard work fielding so many good questions from young inquiring minds. But none of this would have been possible without the kindness of Janie and Tom Smith, the owners of Gwaenynog, in allowing the day to be held on their estate."
Janie Smith, the owner of Gwaenynog, who took the children around the garden made famous by her great-great aunt Beatrix Potter, who used it as the setting for her classic children's book The Tale of the Flopsy Bunnies, said: "Even in the age of the internet, the books of Beatrix Potter still captivate children. I hope this will never change."
She said: "It's been a pleasure to have the children here today, wonderful to have so many little guests scampering around our garden, almost like Beatrix's little bunnies. I hope that one day, long into the future, when perhaps today's young visitors read the books to their own children, they might still remember having seen the garden and Mr McGregor's shed. Perhaps, who knows, with the passing of years, the line between fact and fiction will blur and the Flopsy Bunnies will become even more real in the telling."
Chairman of the NGO's North Wales group David Pooler, a headkeeper, based near Corwen, Denbighshire, said: "The NGO has more than 14,000 members and it is always a proud moment when we can explain the conservation work we do as keepers, especially to the adults of tomorrow. All day long there has been a sea of happy enthusiastic faces. I wish we'd had day trips like this when I was at school. I would like to thank The National Gamekeepers' Organisation Charitable Trust for supporting this day."