Field Studies Council is an educational

charity Charity may refer to: Common meanings * Charitable organization or charity, a non-profit organization whose primary objectives are philanthropy and social well-being of persons * Charity (practice), the practice of being benevolent, giving and sha ...

based in the UK, which offers opportunities for people to learn about and engage with the outdoors.

History

The organisation was established as the Council for the Promotion of Field Studies in 1943. It was originally based at Valley Farm, East Bergholt, leasing the property from the

Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings The Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings (SPAB) (also known as Anti-Scrape) is an amenity society founded by William Morris, Philip Webb, and others in 1877 to oppose the Victorian restoration, destructive 'restoration' of ancient bu ...

. At this time the

National Trust The National Trust () is a heritage and nature conservation charity and membership organisation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. The Trust was founded in 1895 by Octavia Hill, Sir Robert Hunter and Hardwicke Rawnsley to "promote the ...

acquired nearby Flatford Mill and Willy Lott's Cottage. These buildings were then leased to the FSC to create the first Field Studies Centre, which opened in 1945, and to provide opportunities for school children to study plants and animals in their natural environment. It subsequently became a nationwide provider of outdoor education, and has established a network of field centres providing facilities for people wanting to study natural history, ecology and the environment.

Activities

Field Studies Council provides outdoor educational residential or day visits from the organisation's centres, and other outreach areas, including London parks. The centres include: * Amersham Field Centre, Buckinghamshire *Bishops Wood, Worcestershire *Blencathra, Cumbria * Castle Head, Grange-over-Sands, Cumbria *

Dale Fort Dale Fort is a mid-19th-century coastal artillery fort at Dale Head, a rocky promontory near Dale, Pembrokeshire, west of Milford Haven in Wales. It is one of the centres run by Field Studies Council and offers residential and non-residential fie ...

, Pembrokeshire *Epping Forest, Essex * Flatford Mill, Colchester * Juniper Hall, Surrey *London Parks:

Bushy Park Bushy Park in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames is the second largest of London's Royal Parks, at in area, after Richmond Park. The park, most of which is open to the public, is immediately north of Hampton Court Palace and Hampton ...

Greenwich Park Greenwich Park is a former hunting park in Greenwich and one of the largest single green spaces in south-east London. One of the eight Royal Parks of London, and the first to be enclosed (in 1433), it covers , and is part of the Greenwich World H ...

and

Regent's Park Regent's Park (officially The Regent's Park) is one of the Royal Parks of London. It occupies in north-west Inner London, administratively split between the City of Westminster and the London Borough of Camden, Borough of Camden (and historical ...

* Margam Park, Neath Port Talbot * Millport, Island of

Great Cumbrae Great Cumbrae () is the larger of the two islands known as The Cumbraes in the lower Firth of Clyde in western Scotland. The island is sometimes called Millport, Cumbrae, Millport, after its main town. Home to the Cathedral of The Isles and the ...

North Ayrshire North Ayrshire (, ) is one of 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas in Scotland. The council area borders Inverclyde to the north, Renfrewshire and East Renfrewshire to the northeast, and East Ayrshire and South Ayrshire to the east and s ...

* Nettlecombe Court, Somerset * Preston Montford, Shropshire *Rhyd-y-creuau, Conwy *Slapton Ley, Devon The Field Studies Council creates a programme covering a wide variety of outdoor education, including fieldwork opportunities in geography and biology, providing fieldwork opportunities to allow students to investigative practical skills and to be given the chance to evaluate and analyse data they collect themselves, and data already held by the organisation. The Field Studies Council also publishes fold-out charts and guides. BioLinks South East and BioLinks West Midlands are lottery funded schemes set up to strengthen UK biological recording. With the goal of promoting and improving geography fieldwork, the Field Studies Council has entered into a partnership with The Geographical Association. Together, they work towards creating cases for geography and fieldwork within policy, and creating resources for education and career development. Partnerships projects include: * Forgotten Places: Greening Coastal Towns and Cities * The Generation Green project Access Unlimited * Mission:Invertebrate * Our Bright Future * Nature Friendly Schools * Work to change policy within education to include environmental studies to school and college students

References

* {{authority control 1943 establishments in the United Kingdom Scientific organizations established in 1943 Charities based in Shropshire Ecology organizations Environmental organisations based in the United Kingdom Educational charities based in the United Kingdom Publishing companies of the United Kingdom