Erin Cowham has led and delivered the Trust’s Education Programme since 2020 with her role being funded by JE.
In the first three years of her role, Erin has developed the Education Programme to engage more children with the Trust’s vital work and to inspire the younger generation to develop a passion for their natural environment. In 2022, Erin delivered 131 school activities to nearly 3,000 pupils and the Trust’s members’ family activities, which run during the school holidays, reached 1,000 children.
The Trust has been delivering environmental education for nearly 15 years, with one of its core aims being to address the global climate change and biodiversity crisis that Jersey is experiencing at a local level.
The Trust and JE share a vision for the next three years to educate Jersey’s children and young people on key environmental issues and empower them to become agents of change. The new bespoke school workshops, which are free of charge, cover five themes: Biodiversity, Seas, Pollinators, Woodlands and Climate Change. Through these workshops the students will undertake activities which encourage them to learn about the threats to these areas, explore it and take action to help. The Trust will also be offering new sustainable activities during the school holidays, inspired by the Power Rangers programme.
National Trust for Jersey’s Charles Alluto comment, ‘We are strongly aware of the significant challenges faced in terms of biodiversity loss and climate change. It is crucial that we engage young people, so that they can proactively join us in addressing these challenges with the urgency that is required. We are enormously grateful to Jersey Electricity for their continuing support and recognition of the value of this work, and very much look forward to working with the JE team over the next three years.’
JE CEO Chris Ambler said, ‘Erin has significantly grown and developed the National Trust’s Education Programme and we are excited to see what will be achieved in the next three years. The Programme teaches our youngsters about the immense environmental issues we are facing in a fun and interactive way and we hope we will inspire a new generation of Islanders to put the environment first. We are really pleased that youngsters will be able to learn about the importance of local biodiversity and the challenges of climate change.
‘Protecting the environment and sustainability are central to JE’s business and community activities and our vision is to inspire a zero carbon future for Jersey. As an Island we must reduce our carbon footprint and the sessions will cover how Jersey can achieve this as well as exploring concepts such as renewable energy, energy efficiency and carbon sequestration.’
Erin holds a first Class BSc with Honours in Environmental Sciences, and an MSc in Island Conservation and Biodiversity. She is also Advanced Forest School accredited and has gained her online United Nations Climate Change education accreditation.
Schools can book sessions and request a copy of the new schools programme by contacting education@nationaltrust.je. NTJ members can find out more information on events held during the school holidays at www.nationaltrust.je/events. To support the Trust’s conservation work and the education programme, and to take part in the many exciting family events, the Trust is also encouraging Islanders to consider becoming members.
View Erin's Workshops here
