Teachers
Working with three Primary schools, the project has enabled children to add their own materials and responses to aspects of the Vanguard Way at three different sites. The methodology used was developed by Dr John Parry and is described in 'The Mediating Role of Creating Storyboards for Multimedia Presentations in Relation to Local Wildlife Sites' in Environmental Education Research, Vol. 8, No. 4, 2002. The benefits have been wide-ranging but perhaps one of the more important consequences of working in such a way is a practical response to the 'serious narrowing of the curriculum' described recently by HMI. A key report states that the reduction in time as a result of the focus on foundation subjects means that schools have, 'cut back on the very aspects of subjects, notably practical and investigative work, that enable pupils to apply and refine what they have learned and that provide vitality and challenge. This represents a serious narrowing of the curriculum.' ('National Literacy Strategy, third year evaluation.' Her Majesty's Inspectorate, 2001. Para 111).

The Vanguard Way project represents one approach to environmental education that goes some way to confronting the criticism by HMI within the context of active citizenship, now being promoted within schools. The material produced by the pupils remains as it was when submitted to River Ocean with minimal editing. The result is a 'draft' website that provides a good starting point for discussion and critique by pupils of a similar age. For example, the written text does not always follow precisely the audio material and intensive listening exercises to spot the difference between the two might be welcomed by some groups of children.