Background to SpeyGrian
In the summer of 1998, Joyce Gilbert was awarded a Winston Churchill Travelling Fellowship to examine education and sustainability in Northwest Canada. During her four-month stay, she met and worked with Dr Bob Jickling of Yukon College. Bob Jickling runs a number of unusual courses at Yukon College. Of particular interest is the Summer Institute in Environmental Ethics.
This is a fully credited course that is attended by primary and secondary teachers from throughout Canada. However it is not restricted to teachers, and in the past participants have included economists, ecologists, engineers, lawyers, musicians, artists, writers, social workers, community educators and librarians. Participants are expected to read background papers and present topics for discussion. Seminar topics range from the foundation of environmental thought to deconstructing adverts and analysing educational materials.
The highlight of the programme and what gives it a richness not found in other courses is the outdoor element. Bob arranges for professional ecologists to join the group during these trips and when possible the participants help these people with their work. The combination of reflective outdoor experiences with scientific research and the reading of philosophy, poetry and prose is very powerful. Undoubtedly it left a lasting impression on all of the course participants.
Returning to Scotland, these experiences inspired Joyce to set up the SpeyGrian Initiative. In June 2000 funding was secured from the Scottish Arts Council, the Scottish Consultative Council on the Curriculum (now Learning & Teaching Scotland) and Scottish Natural Heritage, to bring poets, artists, scientists, musicians and educators together on a river journey travelling by open canoe. Named SpeyGrian ('sunshine on the Spey') their goal was to consider how reflective outdoor experience combined with the many different perspectives brought by arts, philosophy and science, can be used to develop a deeper understanding of the natural world. It was hoped that a new network would be established in Scotland, which would become a catalyst for philosophical debate and bring new perspectives to the relationship we have with nature. Furthermore, such a network would have the potential to become involved in new and innovative training initiatives in Scotland including teacher professional development.
In December 2001 funding was secured to develop a six-day pilot course based on a traditional sailing boat off the west coast of Scotland. Running for two consecutive weeks at the beginning of August 2002, the course was supported by the University of Edinburgh and Scottish Natural Heritage. Course design was modeled on the Yukon College programme with artists, writers and ecologists from the recently formed SpeyGrian network helping to provide a Scottish focus. The courses were run on the sailing boat from 2002 -2005. In 2006, a land-based course for educators called 'Creative Connections' was developed on the island of Canna. Working in partnership with EcoSchools Scotland and the local community, 'Creative Connections' is now run annually on the island of Eigg. A nature journaling course called 'Wild Connections' was piloted on the island of Tanera Mor in 2010. This new course has attracted a wider audience with participants including writers, ecologists, artists and educators.
In summer 2007, SpeyGrian registered as a charitable trust to promote outdoor experiential learning. This has allowed SpeyGrian to broaden its activities to include working with primary and secondary schools, Scottish Natural Heritage, RSPB Scotland and the Think Tank 'VINE' (Values in Nature & Environment).
An important part of SpeyGrian is the growing network, which has flourished as people with diverse backgrounds (and importantly not restricted to educators) have continued to meet on courses and for informal weekends to share different experiences and perspectives.
