Ancient times

‘March comes in like a lion and out like a lamb’ – in the past, before barometers and accurate weather predicting devices, the only way of knowing  what the weather would do the next day was people’s memory and experience. Well, it certainly is roaring this week with all the cold, ice, sleet, hail and snow we’ve been having, not that that stopped our adventure activities! With the Easter holidays about to start the weather will hopefully settle down and let March go out like a lamb.

 
Today is the Spring Equinox (equinox meaning ‘equal night’), also know as the Vernal Equinox (vernal meaning ‘spring’), and is when day and night are equal in length. In the past Egyptian priests built their Great Sphinx to point directly toward the point from which the Sun rose on this day every year. In Ireland in pre-Celtic times, it is believed there was an astronomical alignment of the spring and autumn equinoxes in the Neolithic passage grave of Knowth, near Newgrange, in Co. Meath. The 30m long passages allowed a sunbeam in on the morning of the Spring and Autumn Equinoxes that lit the megalithic art on a stone inside. This is precise timing from over 6000 years ago which would still work today if the passages hadn't collapsed...a lesson there for our visiting young geographers.

In pre-Catholic times the celebration of the Vernal Equinox was about new life, hope and the planting of seeds. So time to start planting your vegetable garden!

The 7th Lindley Festival of Outdoor Learning

Grass hopper on white clover

Lindley near Manchester hosted the Annual Festival of Outdoor Learning for the 7^th year on the weekend of 23-24 February 2013 and we were there! It was their biggest gathering yet of people who work in the outdoors teaching environmental studies in one form or another to young and old. The tutors came from all corners of the UK and shared their knowledge of not just the environment but on the best ways of teaching it, planning events, and reviewing events during and afterwards. Most events were outdoors in whole or in part, and even though it was snowing and very cold everyone eagerly participated. Some even went on a hike up the local hills on their geology walk. Kippure is delighted to say that two of our Educationstaff attended the event and thoroughly enjoyed the festival, bringing back new skills and ideas for developing new programmes for our Education Centre.