Day 1 - Welcome to London! Getting to Know Each Other.

Tuesday 24th September
As 9.30am approached excited study tour delegates with an interesting collection of suitcases started gathering in the foyer of the Pullman Hotel in London. They were met by Claire Warden (international Consultant), Valerie Gould (Tour Leader), Wendy Gorman (Key Pedagog) and myself.  Stacey McKenzie (Coordinator) had her lists to make sure everybody was there and by 10am we were in the coach and on our way to Corby.

 Once we arrived at the Holiday Inn in Corby it was time to get to know each other. Valerie welcomed the group and passed on some housekeeping before handing over to Claire who gave a short overview of the program and the settings we would be visiting over the next two weeks. Claire also clarified her thinking behind Nature Pedagogy which is about learning with Nature rather than teaching about Nature or teaching in Nature.
 

We stopped for lunch which was enjoyed outside in the sunshine; catching up with old friends and making new friends. We missed two of our ladies who had to make a trip back to London for a forgotten passport!

After lunch delegates had the opportunity (5 minutes!) to share information about themselves, their settings and their hopes for this study tour. This was a most interesting session with delegates coming from a  range of very different settings and diverse experiences but the common thread was a desire to know more about education in England and Scotland and in particular working in natural environments.

At the end of the session Glen, our bus driver, kindly offered to take those that wanted/needed to go shopping to the local shopping centre. A range of brightly coloured gumboots were purchased - ready for any weather we might encounter!