RSPB Fairhaven Lake Visitor Centre

What will students see and do?

The RSPB Ribble Discovery Centre reopened in April 2021 as the Fairhaven Lake Visitor Centre. The centre is situated on the banks of the River Ribble and is an excellent place to discover nature and the wildlife that resides there. Animal encounters are pretty much guaranteed!

The Ribble is one of the UK’s most important river estuaries because it’s an important resting point and refilling station for birds migrating south from the Arctic in the winter. More than 300,000 birds pass through the river in the winter months, either during their migration or to make the estuary their home. Some are flying as far away as Africa.

The mudflats at low tide are home to millions of minibeasts, making for an excellent meal for the birds. And the sand dunes nearby are also home to a large variety of interesting plants and animals.

When you visit the Fairhaven Lake Visitor Centre, you not only get the rare opportunity to interact with wildlife but can also learn all about the history of the area. The original boathouse where the visitor centre is located was built in 1901 by the Fairhaven Estate Company.

The visitor centre holds an ‘outstanding’ certificate as part of the Learning Outside the Classroom scheme. As well as outdoor exploration, your students can spend time inside the centre learning from the educational interactive displays. There are also a variety of educational programmes and activities for school groups to book, from mud dipping to birdwatching.

How does the trip link to the curriculum?

Whether you’re looking for a science trip, history trip or geography trip, the Fairhaven Lake Visitor Centre has a workshop to cover it. All the sessions on offer are led by RSPB education professionals and are fully linked to curriculum goals. Some of the skills students can enhance during a visit to Fairhaven include

– Using scientific language in context
– Building resilience and character
– Discovery of diverse and interesting habitats
– Learning about minibeasts
– Discovering birds
– Geographical fieldwork

All sessions have learning objectives tied to the curriculum. These are assessed via games and activities that help children reflect on what they’ve learnt from their experiences.

To keep students’ interests piqued once you return to the classroom, you can also get involved in the RSPB’s Wild Challenge. The aim of this award scheme is to keep primary school children engaged with practical learning and the great outdoors.

It covers 24 different activities, all designed to give students a deeper understanding of the natural world, divided into two categories: ‘Help nature’ and ‘Experience nature’.

Once each activity is complete and you have sent evidence to the RSPB, your class will receive a certificate. There are three levels to achieve: bronze, silver and gold.

Subjects covered

Details of risk assessment

When you book a trip to the Fairhaven Lake Visitor Centre, you will receive all the relevant information you need to fill out your risk assessment. As well as being aware of completing a risk assessment before your visit, you should also speak to your students about the etiquette of visiting. Human activity can disrupt the birds, so being respectful of their natural habit is appreciated.

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