| Pic: Geograph.co.uk | A review of the state of Britain's native woods and trees finds only 7% are in good condition. While woodland cover is slowly increasing, the wildlife within it is decreasing, says the Woodland Trust. Read more.... | Schools and out-of-school settings resumed educational day visits from 12 April. Any educational day visits should be conducted in line with relevant COVID-19 secure guidelines and the regulations in place at the time, including protective measures, such as keeping children within their consistent groups, and the COVID-19 secure measures in place at the destination. Read more... | Funding of £1m was announced by the Northern Ireland Education Minister, Peter Weir, in January for centres that provide curricular relevant, residential outdoor learning opportunities for children and young people. Read more... | ▪ Respect the water: Plan your day ▪ The right gear’s a good idea ▪ Know your limits ▪ Know how and when to get help ▪ Float to live Download the poster leafllet ▪ | Respect the water: Plan your day | ▪ | The right gear’s a good idea | ▪ | Know how and when to get help | | Pic: Doug Sim | A summary of the main changes which affect climbers and hill walkers based on the information available at the time of writing on 14th April. Read more... | Pic - PGL on BBC newssite | The party said pupils have missed out during the pandemic, and called for a support fund to ensure low-income families do not miss out. John Swinney promised the SNP would exempt such families from paying for school trips. Read more of this BBC News Report... | The IOL JobSite is a vital service to our members and to the whole sector. We have been looking at updating the JobSite and are currently running both the current style alongside the new style while we gather feedback and fine-tune the new version. Let us know which version you prefer! Read more... | Pic from the Lancashire Telegraph | In a feature in the Lancashire Telegrahp, Sian Riddell, who teaches a class at a Church of England Primary School, has written a letter to Gavin Williamson praising a programme she has taken part in offered by Learning through Landscapes (LtL). Read more... | Sign the petition asking the Government to provide financial assistance for residential centres: It's so important that the sector survives to help people's physical & mental health during & after the Covid-19. Let's get this to 100,000 signatures. #SaveOutdoorEd. Sign the petition here... | The DofE has become one of The Duke’s most remarkable achievements, equipping and empowering young people from all communities to build the skills, confidence, and resilience they need to make the most out of life. If you ever worked towards or achieved a DofE Award, they’re asking you to share your DofE story. Tell them how doing DofE helped shape you. Read more... | A fund will be established to support the residential outdoor education sector in Wales with an initial allocation of £2m. This fund will provide eligible centres across Wales with support to cover essential operating costs during the period June to September 2021. Read more... | Foxgloves brought to the Americas 200 years ago have evolved to be bigger to allow pollination by hummingbirds, researchers have found, as a new study concludes flowers can rapidly change shape to adapt to their environment. Read more... | We like to keep channels open for our members and others to keep in touch, updated and to discuss whats going on in the #outdoorlearning sector. Find out more... | Who to contact at IOL ▪ Andy Robinson, CEO ▪ Louise Keir, Operations Manager ▪ Fiona Exon, Media/Publishing (Event bookings, Web listings, Advertising with IOL) ▪ Steve Ullyart, IT Manager (Accounts payable, IOL IT) ▪ Dave Brooks, Member Services Admin (Membership, Bookshop) ▪ Neal Anderson, Professional Standards Manager | | |