Skills for All at Berrington Hall

The environment

Skills for All at Berrington Hall helped the environment by: *upskilling individuals and community groups in land-based proficiencies *exploring how land-based skills may help mitigate for some of the impacts of the climate and biodiversity crises *facilitating networking between community groups *directly improving habitat on site and elsewhere locally. Land-based skills & knowledge offered by this project included hedge-laying and management, winter & summer orchard management, willow coppicing & weaving, introductions to permaculture and to forest gardening, tree care and identification, responsible foraging for food and making herbal remedies, and mammal surveying & recording. 131 places on these courses were taken advantage of by 86 people, with evidently a large number of people booking onto two or more courses. Some participants represented community groups and organisations including Shropshire Good Food Partnership, Severn Gorge Countryside Trust, Shropshire Organic Gardeners, Castlefield Allotments, Shropshire & Edges Permaculture Network and our own Crabapple community members & volunteers. Some attendees told us that they were excited to apply their new skills and knowledge to better management of their own private orchards, hedges and coppice, and others felt inspired and resourced to design permaculture projects for local community spaces to benefit nature and local people. Sarah, one course attendee, said: 'I left feeling confident in pruning techniques, pollination groups, tree training, cleft grafting, and how to manage my orchard for productivity and longevity.' She also shared that Joey, the tutor, 'threaded through important information about fruit trees and their role in food security and community resilience in addition to how to manage orchards in nature-friendly ways and how to adapt to a changing climate.' Tina, having attended 'Trees: From Seed to Soil', said: 'From tree identification, using hand tools, seed collection and tales of myths and traditions... It was a great weekend, lots of learning, facts and practical skills, and meeting a variety of people.' Within the project period, practical demonstrations and practice on site during the workshops along with volunteer work party events we ran resulted in beneficial management of our willow coppice, hedges and orchards. Six members of Crabapple Community and four members of our volunteer group acquired new skills and knowledge which has been and will continue to be applied to how we use and manage the land to support sustainable living and nature conservation. Amber, Volunteer & Community Officer at Severn Gorge Countryside Trust, fed back to us that she shared her improved knowledge with her regular volunteer group, passing along direct benefits to the orchards they manage together.

Volunteering, jobs & education

The project increased education through the provision of 13 one-day courses delivered by expert tutors, with 86 people taking advantage of these educational opportunities. 58 attendees lead or support local community groups and many were keen to share their newfound knowledge and skills with their communities, The upskilling of six members of Crabapple Community supported us to run four work party events focused on coppicing & hedge-laying during the project period, and has enabled us to offer a wider variety of volunteering opportunities to our weekly local volunteer group. Four members of our local volunteer group attended some of the courses and have since been able to apply their new skills & knowledge while volunteering with us and with other community groups they support. Course tutors and attendees alike shared the land-based community groups, projects and initiatives they were part of or aware of, increasing opportunities for participants to connect with, support, learn from and volunteer with local groups and projects.

Arts, culture & heritage

Skills for All at Berrington Hall promoted and disseminated the knowledge and practice of traditional land-based skills and crafts including hedge-laying, coppicing, willow weaving, herbal medicine making, foraging, animal tracking, managing orchards, growing and caring for trees, growing food in nature-friendly ways, and designing spaces in which to grow food, support nature, improve wellbeing and increase relationship with nature. All courses promoted and showcased the interconnections between heritage rural skills, reciprocity with nature and good mental and physical health, increasing awareness about and offering exploration of how land-based skills support and sit within land-based cultures. A lot of the course promotion effort was focused on younger people in the age bracket 18-25, with 30 young people in this bracket attending courses, and the provision of the courses completely free made them accessible to people from different socioeconomic backgrounds. The project therefore built links across generations and backgrounds, supporting the continued survival of our land-based heritage. The project also connected participants with creativity and the arts. Courses not only taught specific skills but also explored how there can be a level of creative freedom in the small choices we make that can have different outcomes for nature, aesthetics or productivity. Sam, speaking of the hedge-laying course, said: 'I discovered that it really is an art, it's not just hacking at trees and cutting out branches. Tris, our tutor, showed us how every decision we make, each tree we lay or coppice or remove, each branch we leave in or trim or remove, has an impact on how the hedge will develop. We might want a hedge that is beautiful, or animal-proof, or will produce lots of wild edibles, or will be of most benefit to wildlife, or a combination of any of these, and we have creative power to bring our vision into being.' The willow-weaving courses offered participants direct connection with the arts and recent feedback celebrates the pleasure of being able to craft beautiful, nature-friendly creations from willow as Christmas decorations and gifts.

Activity, health and leisure

Feedback from course attendees has demonstrated that not only did Skills for All at Berrington Hall upskill people, but the project increased people's awareness of and relationship with the natural world. Attendees have been inspired to spend more time out in the countryside looking for and identifying different tree species, ancient trees, wild foods, beneficial herbs, and mammal tracks and signs, noticing benefits to their mental wellbeing of doing so. Archie, attendee of 'Mammal Tracking for Connection & Biological Recording', described how the course had boosted his confidence and awareness in nature: 'During my team meeting at work the following day, I enjoyed telling them about the structure of badger hair! When I’m now on a walk I always look for signs of mammals, and enjoy trying to see if I can identify them.'