MUDLARKS
Outdoor Educators providing Beach School sessions on Northumberland’s beautiful coast
MEET THE MUDLARKS
Passionate about connecting children to nature.
Mudlarks provide exciting, educational Beach School sessions for children in Northumberland. Our Beach School sessions connect children to nature and allow them to enjoy, experience and learn all about their wonderful coast.
Mudlarks Outdoors
Mudlarks are fully insured for all provided activities. All staff are fully qualified Beach School Leaders and First Aiders with all required DBS checks. We provide full risk assessments for each activity and location.
Bridie Melkerts is a Qualified level 3 Beach Schools Leader, with a BSc in Marine Biology and MSc in Environmental Management.
Helen Ellis is our fully Qualified Primary teacher with over 20 years of experience in education.
Our team are passionate about connecting children to nature and enabling them to gain wonder and respect for their local environment and wildlife.
New for 2021 Mudlarks and Northumberland Coast AONB - Get Children Exploring.
We are delighted to announce that we have secured funding from Northumberland Coast AONB to offer 10 free sessions to local schools. This ongoing partnership seeks to allow as many children as possible to enjoy a full day on their local coast, enjoying the beach and learning about the wildlife around them.
These sessions will include a Rockpool safari and Bug hunts through the dunes. Children will explore these fascinating habitats and meet the creatures that live here. The sessions for 2021 have all been allocated and we are now booking new sessions for 2022. Please get in touch if you would like to book.
Hipsburn Primary School and Burgage Beach School
2021
The Burgage Holders of Alnmouth, Hipsburn Primary School and Mudlarks Outdoors are working together to provide an exciting, ongoing programme of Beach Schools to the children of Hipsburn Primary. The school has committed to giving every class a full day on the beach every half term. The classes are designed and lead by Mudlarks Outdoors and funded by The Alnmouth Burgage Holders. The scheme has been so successful in its first year that the Burgage Holders have agreed to continue funding the scheme on into the future. Beach Schools delivered have included many curriculum linked themes i.e. Vikings, Grace Darling, Rocks and Volcanoes, Pirates, Flowers and Plants, Habitats, World War 2 and much more.
Embleton Primary students earn their John Muir Environmental Award with Mudlarks
2021
Mudlarks were delighted to work with the Orcas (yrs 3-6) of Embleton Primary over 4 full sessions to work towards achieving their John Muir Environmental Award. In order to acheive the award children had to take part in a wide variety of activities which enabled them to discover, explore, conserve and share news of their local wild spaces. Mudlarks designed 4 full days of outdoor education and activities which allowed the children to earn their awards and included litter picking, rock pooling, map drawing, seaweed surveying, letter writing and much more. The children all did a fantastic job of enthusiastically working towards their awards and the whole class got their certificates in January 2021. We are hopeful to work with other school to deliver this fantastic award in the near future.
Shilbottle Primary School
2019
This was our second year of working closely with Shilbottle Primary Reception Class and Friendly Frogs nursery. What a class of superstars - we were pirates, ornithologists, shell hunters, geologists, historians and artists. We loved every session and can't wait to see these Mudlarks again soon !
Embleton Primary Beach School
2019
Mudlarks worked with Embleton Primary School every Friday for a year to help them set up as a Beach School. We thoroughly enjoyed each and every session with this school in one of the most beautiful coastal classrooms in the world. Mudlarks are very proud of helping this school become a fully fledged Beach School and are delighted that we still get to visit regularly - Keep up the fantastic work Embleton Primary !
Our Beach School leaders have years of experience designing and delivering a wide range of sessions to children from nursery - Yr 6. Northumberland has a wealth of beautiful and diverse beaches with golden sands, rocky shores and fascinating heritage all waiting to be explored and enjoyed. We can design any session to incorporate class topics and can link activities to science, English, drama, geography and history. Sessions in the past have included Pirates, Vikings, Grace Darling, Egyptians, Den Building, Rock Pooling, Biodiversity and Food chains and much more. Lots more are planned for the future so watch this space........
Get in Touch
2021
Please don't hesitate to get in touch if you'd like to find out more about Mudlarks and how to book your Beach School Session. We're always keen to work with new schools and meet new Mudlarks !
TK Maxx - Neighbourly Grant
Grant to help deliver 12 Beach School Sessions to local children
Mudlarks were recently delighted to receive a grant from TK Maxx via the Neighbourly Grant fund. TK Maxx and Homesense are partnering with Neighbourly for a 12-month environmentally-themed programme which gives funds from the sale of plastic carrier bags to over 400 good causes across the UK. We're working closely with local Primary Schools to deliver 12 special Beach School sessions all with an environmental and conservation theme. The children will learn all about nature on their doorstep and the harm plastic can have on their local environment. They will take part in litter picks and other practical conservation tasks. We're very grateful to the staff of TK Maxx for voting for Mudlarks and enabling us to provide these sessions.
Swarland Primary School
A whole School at Beach School over two days
We were lucky enough to have the whole of Swarland Primary School with us over 2 days in the summer term. They were superstars at rockpooling and learning all about the creatures that we found. We made treasures to take home, completed scavenger hunts and made Beach art - phew !
Beach School Sessions
We have a wide variety of curriculum linked, exciting and educational beach sessions available from nursery to Y6
As passionate outdoor educators, Mudlarks Outdoors take great pride in every beach school we lead. The subjects can vary (Grace Darling, Tides, Rocks and Fossils, Seabirds, Rocky Shore Field Surveys, Vikings, Pirates) each one is carefully designed to ensure students learn more about the natural world around them and enjoy their outdoor experience. Please contact us to find out which sessions would be best for your class.
An Example Session
A link to an example Beach School Session - this is a Grace Darling day with strong links to lighthouses, drama, history and literacy.
Grace Darling Day
Get in Touch
Contact Mudlarks Outdoors regarding their published work, course offerings or any other inquires.
