‘Our Picturesque Landscape’ is a National Lottery Heritage Funded Project that has been working in the landscape of the Dee Valley and the Pontcysyllte Aqueduct and Canal World Heritage Site since 2018. Over the six years the project has delivered 28 school projects, and engaged over 2,400 pupils with the heritage and environment of this very special place.

As part of the legacy of the project, the Our Picturesque Landscape team have developed an exciting new suite of digital education resources which are free for schools to request from the Clwydian Range and Dee Valley National Landscape.

The new educational resources have been developed by working alongside artists, writers and historians, as well as teachers and pupils from the school sessions delivered by the project team over the years. The resources are most suitable for Key Stage 2 learners, and are linked to the Curriculum for Wales framework. They will enable young people to discover the heritage of the landscape and stories of the influential characters and events which have shaped the area over the last 400 years. Supporting teachers to confidently lead outdoor learning sessions and opportunities to discover the Dee Valley in a plethora of ways including through the medium of dance, art, creative writing, natural history, science and physical education. There are exciting films, virtual reality, a board game to learn about an underappreciated habitat that is rarer than rainforest, and a new Top Trumps game to discover the people that have shaped the area in the past and present.

Any educators or school staff interested in the resources can email our.picturesque.landscape@denbighshire.gov.uk to request digital copies.

Sallyanne Hall, Our Picturesque Landscape Community Engagement Officer, said: “Although the end of the Our Picturesque Landscape project in November will mean that the team are no longer available to go into schools and lead activities we hope that these exciting new resources will support teachers to deliver high quality outdoor learning opportunities themselves and enable pupils to continue to discover the fascinating stories of the Dee Valley in the future”.

Councillor Alan James, the Council's Cabinet Lead Member for Local Development and Planning, said: “These resources are fantastic for helping pupils learn about the rich history that the Dee Valley has to offer and for keeping the stories of the area alive for generations to come.”