Learning Through Landscapes: TEP’s Educational Outreach

Learning Through Landscapes: TEP’s Educational Outreach

Learning Through Landscapes: TEP’s Educational Outreach
February 6, 2026

TEP has a proud history of providing educational outreach activities for schools, charities, and local groups. Our Ecohydrology team are enthusiastic advocates of outreach activities which teach children and adults the benefits of landscape restoration and water systems thinking.



Recent highlights include:


Mourne Mountains National Trust Outreach – Engineers Week


We designed and led an innovative activity at Silent Valley Reservoir during Engineers Week. Over 200 primary school pupils took part in a series of activities that explored the connection between engineering, landscape, and water, including:


🌿 Measuring peat depth using a real slice from the Mournes: Pupils learned how peat forms (approximately 1mm per year) and its vital role in filtering water in the catchment area before it becomes drinking water for Northern Ireland.


🌿 Creating mini peat restoration dams using natural materials: Hands-on activity to see how small interventions can contribute to large-scale landscape restoration.


🌿 Building water filters using natural materials: Pupils saw how peat helps cleanse water, reinforcing the idea that a healthy landscape directly benefits people.

Design Your Own Green Roof – London Academy Event


At a large London-based academy, children aged 11–13 received a short lesson on green roofs, their types, and the benefits they offer to cities. They then designed their own green roofs, impressing with forward-thinking ideas such as climbing plants for green walls, flowers for pollinators, and even a fully functional football pitch on the roof!

Water Reuse Game


TEP has designed and built a bespoke interactive game focused on water reuse. Participants share limited water resources among different land uses, learning the importance of responsible landscape planning. Points are awarded for supplying water to as many land uses as possible, with bonuses for water reuse and nutrient removal.

Verda Valley Board Game


We have developed a full board game called Verda Valley, designed to teach children and adults about integrated land management. Players buy and build different land use industries to gain ecology, people, food, and water points. Players must balance the needs of people, nature, and business to create a sustainable future. TEP staff have helped to demo the game and have provided valuable feedback for version 2, which will be trialled this year!

October 30, 2026
Built in 1873 as part of the former Whittingham Asylum, the Grade II listed Church of St John has stood within the Whittingham landscape for more than 150 years. Designed by Manchester architect Henry Littler, the church remained in use until the hospital closed in 1995. Today, its significance lies not only in its architecture and historic associations, but in the surviving details that tell the story of the building, from stencilled decoration and high-quality timberwork to its distinctive cast-iron columns. To help inform the church’s future management, TEP’s Historic Environment and Archaeology team was commissioned to prepare a Conservation Management Plan (CMP) for Homes England. The work began with understanding what makes the building significant. An onsite appraisal and condition review were combined with an assessment of its heritage significance, including the contribution made by its setting. This allowed the team to identify important surviving features and consider the issues affecting the building before translating that evidence into practical principles for its ongoing management. 
October 13, 2026
Growing People CIC at Lanjeth Nursery received a TEP Environment Grant to help improve access to the organisation's restored pond habitats in Cornwall.
October 6, 2026
TEP's Environment Grant was established to support projects that inspire environmental learning, raise awareness of environmental issues and encourage positive action. Since launching in 2020, the grant has supported 17 projects across the UK, helping individuals, community groups and organisations bring environmental ideas to life. Now in its seventh year, the grant received a record 102 applications from across the UK. Following a detailed review process, funding has been awarded to two projects that stood out for their innovative approaches to community engagement, environmental awareness and learning.
October 30, 2026
Built in 1873 as part of the former Whittingham Asylum, the Grade II listed Church of St John has stood within the Whittingham landscape for more than 150 years. Designed by Manchester architect Henry Littler, the church remained in use until the hospital closed in 1995. Today, its significance lies not only in its architecture and historic associations, but in the surviving details that tell the story of the building, from stencilled decoration and high-quality timberwork to its distinctive cast-iron columns. To help inform the church’s future management, TEP’s Historic Environment and Archaeology team was commissioned to prepare a Conservation Management Plan (CMP) for Homes England. The work began with understanding what makes the building significant. An onsite appraisal and condition review were combined with an assessment of its heritage significance, including the contribution made by its setting. This allowed the team to identify important surviving features and consider the issues affecting the building before translating that evidence into practical principles for its ongoing management. 
October 13, 2026
Growing People CIC at Lanjeth Nursery received a TEP Environment Grant to help improve access to the organisation's restored pond habitats in Cornwall.
October 30, 2026
Built in 1873 as part of the former Whittingham Asylum, the Grade II listed Church of St John has stood within the Whittingham landscape for more than 150 years. Designed by Manchester architect Henry Littler, the church remained in use until the hospital closed in 1995. Today, its significance lies not only in its architecture and historic associations, but in the surviving details that tell the story of the building, from stencilled decoration and high-quality timberwork to its distinctive cast-iron columns. To help inform the church’s future management, TEP’s Historic Environment and Archaeology team was commissioned to prepare a Conservation Management Plan (CMP) for Homes England. The work began with understanding what makes the building significant. An onsite appraisal and condition review were combined with an assessment of its heritage significance, including the contribution made by its setting. This allowed the team to identify important surviving features and consider the issues affecting the building before translating that evidence into practical principles for its ongoing management. 
October 13, 2026
Growing People CIC at Lanjeth Nursery received a TEP Environment Grant to help improve access to the organisation's restored pond habitats in Cornwall.
October 6, 2026
TEP's Environment Grant was established to support projects that inspire environmental learning, raise awareness of environmental issues and encourage positive action. Since launching in 2020, the grant has supported 17 projects across the UK, helping individuals, community groups and organisations bring environmental ideas to life. Now in its seventh year, the grant received a record 102 applications from across the UK. Following a detailed review process, funding has been awarded to two projects that stood out for their innovative approaches to community engagement, environmental awareness and learning.