A very special local bear has been busy writing books about his adventures! The Eden Bear project is capturing the everyday stories of children's lives and their aspirations and dreams for the future of Morecambe Bay. These adventures have now been translated into a series of books set across the Bay, with the support of the University of Cumbria, and Lancashire County Council.

Jenny Knowles, EYFS Team Leader and a coordinator of the Eden Bear Project tells us about the event:

On 1^st March 2023 we held a very exciting event at the conference centre at Lancaster and Morecambe College. We invited all practitioners who work in Early Years Settings in the Lancaster and Morecambe District to an Eden Bear book launch event. Each setting who attended received FREE copies of the Eden Bear books that have been created by Chris Barlow and his Geography students from University of Cumbria, Jenny Knowles from Ryelands Primary and Nursery School, Helen O’Hagan from Sandcastles Nursery and the children from various settings around the bay area. These books show Eden Bear visiting 12 different locations around the Bay area and what the bear experienced in each location for children to talk about and then compare to their immediate environment outside their setting and hopefully produce their own books to share with others too.

The event was a lovely chance for Early Years staff to network, share ideas for activities linked to the Morecambe Bay curriculum. Chris Barlow gave a fantastic talk on how to create your own Eden Bear book and Professor Robert Barratt updated the audience on developments linked to Eden Project Morecambe. It was a great opportunity to look at photos of where Eden Bear has already been, read stories that young people have recounted about their experiences around the Bay area, record their own stories about life in the bay area, taste Morecambe Bay potted shrimps and sample the teddy biscuits! People were also able to find out more about other projects linked to the Morecambe Bay Curriculum e.g. Beach school, the work of Morecambe Bay Partnership, Made by the moon project and to sign up for another visit from Eden Bear to their setting. It was a very successful event, which is hopefully just the first of many more to come!

Educators admiring the Eden Bear's new series of books