Education

The primary aim of Daws Hall Trust is to deliver outstanding outdoor education experiences. We have a fully equipped field education centre set on a beautiful 25-acre reserve with frontage onto the River Stour, close to the Suffolk border. Our experienced and enthusiastic education team cater for all ages from early years/foundation stage through to higher education students and adults, offering a varied programme of activities to suit your needs, whatever the season.

​​Our reserve has many different habitats to explore including parkland/arboretum, grassland, wildflower meadow, woodland, ponds, brook, river and a private sanctuary with numerous exotic plants and a rare wildfowl breeding area (closed during breeding season).

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In addition to the natural and environmental sciences, the reserve’s location and unique characteristics make it an ideal place to explore a range of other subjects including history, art, maths, English, and design and technology.

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We welcome all ages and abilities and are always happy to put together a bespoke nature experience for you. All of the activity options listed on our primary and secondary/FE education pages can be adapted for adult groups, including disabled visitors and/or SEN schools.

features and facilities

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  • Field classroom – equipped with scientific meters and apparatus for    laboratory and field work, projector, reference materials, displays        including traditional natural history artefacts, mounted specimens

  • Secure coat and boot room

  • Accessible toilet facilities

  • Equipment store – for surveying equipment including nets, quadrats, ranging poles, and waders in a range of sizes

  • Pond-dipping platform

  • Purpose-built wheelchair-friendly bridge across the scrape pond

  • Safe access to river and brook

  • Wheelchair accessible routes to the reserve’s features and facilities

  • Bushcraft/Forest School areas

  • Bee observation hive and viewpoints over the local landscape

  • Geographical features including a river cliff formation overlooking the Stour Valley, and the county border between Essex and Suffolk

  • Canal lock infrastructure visible on the river bed

  • WWII pill box bat hibernaculum - may be explored during the summer term

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