A learning environment: educating young people about shooting and conservation

James Aris headed to Caerhays Castle in Cornwall to meet a family passionate about educating young people about shooting and conservation. This article first appeared in My Countryside magazine.

Image credit: Georgina Preston Photography

As I meander around the coastal roads of Cornwall on my way to the famous Caerhays Castle, passing through small towns and villages starting to bustle with life after the long winter, I ponder Malcolm Forbes: 'Education's purpose is to replace an empty mind with an open one'. There is no other sector in the world where this statement rings truer than shooting.
Today I am meeting Serena Cross, daughter of Caerhays Estate owner Charles Williams, who is well seasoned in the field sports world, writes wonderful articles for The Field alongside her husband, Neil, and runs Phoenix Sporting; the aim of which is to get more women and young people into countryside pursuits. As I pull up at the front door I am greeted with open arms by Serena and her 14-month-old daughter, Lamorna. I'm here to discuss the next generation of shooters and conservationists and watch as generational knowledge is passed on from mother to daughter.

After meeting six of the seven Labradors that wander the estate with free rein we visit the day-old chicks, high up on a cliff overlooking the stunning Porthluney Bay. We are joined by Jimmy, the newly appointed Head Keeper who recently took over the running of the estate from his father-in-law. As we walk into the 32-degree rearing shed Lamorna takes a big breath in, shocked by the heat and humidity – a familiar sensation to anybody that has exited an airconditioned airport in foreign climes! The chicks, not yet wily enough to understand the present danger, flock to Lamorna as Serena places her in the pen, straw and sawdust in hand ready to be flung around, much to the birds' amusement. It's incredible to watch how she interacts with the chicks, and how they respond to her. They ebb and flow like a Solent tide with every move that she makes, their feet scurrying on the corrugated cardboard flooring sound like waves crashing on a pebbled shoreline. You can see the cogs turning in her mind, connections being made that will eventually form fond memories and act as building blocks for her future experiences and understanding of the natural world.

Land-based jobs have a really important role to play in the future of our countryside, not only in landscape management, creation, and enhancing biodiversity but also for the contribution they make to the local economy and creating sustainable communities. The towns and villages I drove through on my way to Caerhays were a prime example of this. Reliant so heavily on tourism in the summer months, it is the local shooting estates that ensure a steady flow of people throughout the fiscally harder winter – an income stream that otherwise wouldn't be there.

Broadening young minds

Our next location on the whistlestop tour is 'the kitchen garden' field filled with pre-release pens. As we stroll, Serena and I discuss how important it is that civil servants working in education fully understand the importance of exposing young minds to these environments and building them into future qualifications. Gamekeepers are the true unsung custodians of the countryside and ambassadors for shooting, and that is why the Countryside Alliance developed the new 'Underkeeper Apprenticeship' when we learnt in early 2016 that the framework for apprenticeships was changing, and that the one for gamekeepers would no longer exist in 2020. The apprenticeship has been published by the Institute of Apprenticeships, the Government body for administering vocational training schemes, and funding has been formally agreed. It was also heartening to hear recently that Scotland's rural colleges have been inundated with applications for their gamekeeping and wildlife management courses.

From afar we hear the high revs of a John Deer Gator as it trundles over the hill towards us. Serena's father, Charles, emerges into view at the wheel. We join him on his daily tour of the estate and as we drive through the undulating grounds he explains the finer points of pen management, pointing out the improvements he has made since officially taking over the running of the estate in 2019.

As we explore the newest pen that has only been up for a few weeks, ready for the hatching birds we saw earlier, we speak about Serena's upbringing and how from a young age she was keen on all things wildlife and countryside. She tells me of her first experience with a gun, firing into a thistle in an open field to get her aim in and build confidence in handling a weapon. Her route into the sport was a classic one, beating, picking up then shooting. This route is still favoured today as it teaches people what goes into a day's shooting, and it is similar to my own experience. So how can we ensure more young people get the opportunity?

In a previous article, I wrote on the power of social media, something Serena is focused on with Phoenix Sporting. The rise of Instagram countryside influencers can't be ignored, every day I receive requests to follow new accounts started by young people as personal hunting blogs that showcase the best parts of our sector. Clubs such as The Country Girls UK and the newly formed Fulham Shooting Club are making shooting more accessible by harnessing the power of the collective to receive discounts on days out, but also clothing and accessories, making it easier for young people to afford – it can only be a good thing.

Opening doors

Very few children have access to getting their hands dirty in the countryside, but there are initiatives that can bring parts of our sector to towns and cities. Many estates already open their doors for days out for school children, colleges and universities. However, when schools try to offer these they are lambasted and set upon by animal rights extremists. Only a few months ago the Countryside Alliance received an email from a small independent school that invited their local gamekeeper to show the children a shot pheasant being prepared for cooking. By all accounts the children loved it, the parents loved it and the teachers thought the learning experience was important. A few days later the head teacher was inundated with abuse on social media, her teachers' names were exposed to the public, and the onslaught became like a town square mob, set upon for teaching children how their food is produced. Madness. But that is the reality of today's world – if those that set upon this school understood the benefits that shooting brings to our environment at a young age then maybe they wouldn't be so intent on its destruction.

Perhaps it is, as some suggest, the anthropomorphisation of today's world – children grow up not making the connection between Peppa Pig and their bacon sandwich of a morning, or Donald Duck and their pate. This is what makes the work of the Countryside Alliance, and our campaign to ensure learning outside the educational remit, so important.

I have absolutely no doubt in my mind that when children have access to these environments at a young age, they grow up understanding the true value of what shooting estates like Caerhays add to biodiversity, our national food production, and the wider British landscape.