Covid-19 will not put a stop to Let’s Learn Moor as partners announce this year’s initiative is going virtual.
Instead of the children visiting the moors this summer, the moors will be visiting children with five in-depth films and an activity centre due to be launched in July.
Partner organisations had been planning to host 3,000 children at 16 venues across the UK. Children should have been learning about a variety to subjects from conservation, farming and staying safe when visiting the uplands. The creation of an online resource will now be the focal point of discovery and education.
Let’s Learn Moor began on a grouse moor in the North York Moors with 300 children in 2017, thanks to BASC legacy funding and the commitment of countless volunteers and organisations it has grown into the largest upland education project in the country. Ensuring children are connected to upland habitats and the people who help protect them.
Gareth Dockerty, Let’s Learn Moor coordinator, said: “It is a real shame that our plans have been put on hold due to Covid-19. However, with every challenge there is an opportunity. Launching a virtual version provides us with an exciting opportunity to allow our amazing partners to reach an even larger audience. Packed with films, games and information the virtual Let’s Learn Moor will enable the stunning uplands to be enjoyed by all.”
For the first time this year senior politicians from Labour, Conservative, Green, SNP, Liberal Democrats, Plaid Cymru and the DUP have publicly supported the initiative. A parliamentary campaign spearheaded by BASC saw 41 MPs and Lords state in an open letter: ‘As parliamentarians who understand the importance of moorland habitats, we wholeheartedly welcome the ‘Let’s Learn Moor’ initiative’.
These politicians which included Minister’s and Secretaries of State (writing as local MPs) signed themselves off as parliamentarians who ‘strongly support the countryside and the habitats, wildlife and communities which live within it’.
BASC political affairs manager, Jak Abrahams said: “With the support of MPs and Lords from every political party in England, Scotland and Wales, cancelling this year’s events was simply not an option.
“The unprecedented level of political backing confirms the support for moorland conservation and the need for upland education. We were incredibly pleased to have absolute cross-party support for this vital initiative. I know Parliamentarians will be thrilled to know Let’s Learn Moor will be continuing in a virtual fashion.”
