Community Engagement Officer for England, Aimée Nicholson, talks about her experiences of working with children's author Gill Lewis.
One of the greatest parts of being a Community Engagement Officer for the Hen Harrier LIFE project is being able to go into a school on a morning with children who know nothing about hen harriers and leave the same children, at the end of the day, Skydancing and singing about Harry the Harrier. It is a wonderful thing to behold a future generation of naturalists getting enthused over a very special bird of prey.
Children’s author Gill Lewis has spent the past few years doing the same whilst researching and writing her book Skydancer. This is a story about young people living on the moors and their experiences when they encounter hen harriers on this moorland, which is managed for driven grouse shooting. The tale is told from the perspective of Joe, the son of a gamekeeper, and revolves around his friendship with wealthy landowners daughter Araminta and his ‘towny’ neighbour Ella with whom he shares a big secret!
Sky Dancer book cover
When I was asked by Gill to accompany her on her book tour in autumn, across Northern England and the Borders of Scotland, I jumped at the chance. Gill was visiting schools to tell children all about Sky Dancer and what it is like to be an author. I went along and introduced the children to the birds by presenting an interactive assembly prior to Gill’s talk to explain to the pupils how important and special hen harriers really are, with the aid of our trusty hen harrier puppets!
Aimée and Harry the hen harrier (Thomas Jefferson, Scottish Book Trust)
The first day of the tour was organised by the Scottish Book Trust and took place in the borders of Scotland with four primary schools. We had some very entertaining displays from the school children showing us how food is passed from the male to the female accompanied by some excellent bird calls and lots of laughter! The children were so enthused by the story of Sky Dancer that many went home clasping hold of their very own copy of the book, signed by Gill at their own personal book signing after the talk.
Gill Lewis with pupils from Kingsland Primary School (Aimée Nicholson)
Gill’s book tour continued across England and Scotland in October, where Gill attendedmany events spreading the word about the issues hen harriers are facing in the UK and engaging as many young people as possible. These school visits were an excellent opportunity for the Hen Harrier Life Project to work alongside Gill on her tour and allowed us to engage with over 500 young people, in the Borders of Scotland.
Aimée and Gill preparing to Skydance –(Harriet Bayly, Oxford University Press)
It was so rewarding to see hundreds of pairs of eyes watching our presentations and I would like to think that at the end of the day the pupils Skydanced their way home - I know I did!
Aimée flying for pupils at Tweedbank Primary School (Thomas Jefferson, Scottish Book Trust)
Sky Dancer is published by Oxford University Press and can be found in all good bookshops.