PDF - The Ireland Funds

Photography by Aengus McMahon
The Pushkin Trust
Uniting
children
through nature
and creativity
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23
THE IREL AND FUNDS HAVE SUPPORTED THE WORK OF THE PUSHKIN TRUST FOR
ALMOST 15 YEARS
ESTA BLISHED IN 1987 BY THE DUCHESS OF ABERCORN,
IT IS A UNIQUE PROJECT IN COUNT Y T Y RONE THAT USES THE ARTS AND THE
N AT U RA L E N V I R O N M E N T TO U N I T E C H I L D R E N F R O M D I F F E R E N T R E L I G I O U S
BAC KG R O U N D S
TO DAT E , OV E R 2 5 0 SC H O O LS A N D M O R E T H A N 1 5 ,0 0 0
C H I L D R E N H AV E B E N E F I T T E D F R O M T H I S S P EC I A L P R O G R A M A N D T H E I R
WO R K H A S E X PA N D E D T H R O U G H O U T T H E E N T I R E I S L A N D
C O N N EC T
MAGA ZINE AS KED OUTGOING DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR AL AN BOYD TO SHARE
AN OVERVIEW OF THEIR WORK.
“The Pushkin Programme is about freedom of the
If you would like to learn more about
imagination to create realities that can enr ich our
how you can support The Pushkin Trust,
everyday existence. It is also about integration of
please visit www.irlfunds.org/connect
hear t and head, of thought and feeling; it is about
finding a voice—our own tr ue voice—and of giving it
the oppor tunity to be expressed by creative means.”
— THE DUCHESS OF ABERCORN, FOUNDER OF THE PUSHKIN TRUST
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USING THE NATURAL WORLD TO
INSPIRE CHILDREN
The clear air is filled with birdsong and the unmistakable chatter of children’s voices; enthusiastic,
excited, happy. The venue is Baronscourt Estate,
County Tyrone, Northern Ireland and the beautiful
home of Her Grace The Duchess of Abercorn,
founder of The Pushkin Trust. Here too is the
Trust’s administrative hub. Groups of primary
school children from both jurisdictions are
visiting as part of the Trust’s annual Schools’
Programme, exploring the natural world through
the creative arts, led by teams of professional
facilitators.
The name of Her Grace’s famous Russian
ancestor, Alexander Pushkin, is synonymous with
the realms of creative writing, story-telling and
the imagination that connects with the child in all
of us. In founding this educational charity in 1987
at a dark time in our history, Sacha Abercorn’s
intuitive and visionary idea has benefited children
throughout Ireland and continues to bear much
fruit some 23 years later. The programme utilises a
child’s imagination as a channel to express their
‘voice’ through writing short stories and poems,
developing this through various arts media and
with the natural world as its sensory inspiration.
“I lear ned that I am
very creative...and I
now know I have an
imagination.”
— A STUDENT
AN E XCITING AND SHARED FUTURE
The Pushkin Trust is a catalyst for positive
thinking in our new dispensation here in Ireland
where dark clouds of the past are at last moving
away, letting in the sunlight of hope for an exciting
and shared future. Our optimistic mission statement, ‘to unite children and adults in the common
bond of creativity which transcends all the factors
which might otherwise divide them’ has become a
greater imperative than ever before.
As outgoing Development Director, I feel
privileged to have overseen the extension of the
Trust’s outreach to six regions of Ireland, north
and south. Small groups of schools in each region
have participated in the Pushkin project from
January to May each year, showcasing their
achievements there at a collective Celebration Day.
During this period, we have also provided each
school with environmental and arts facilitators to
work directly with the children in their classrooms
or local environment. Together they have explored
and developed ideas relating to the theme, thereby
stimulating creative endeavour.
SUPPORTING THE INSPIRED EDUCATOR
Another aspect of our Schools’ Programme is the
annual ‘Summer Camp of the Imagination’, held at
Baronscourt in August. This is a residential camp
open to all primary schools in Ireland and is an
accredited summer course for teachers in the area
of professional development. The format is based
on the single Pushkin Day model held in the spring
but with additional social activities to encourage
and cement north-south links. The participants
are accommodated in the cultural setting of the
Ulster-American Folk Park near Omagh and travel
to Baronscourt each day for their activities.
“Pushkin—the best thing I have brought
into my classroom in 22 years!”
— A PA R T I C I PAT I N G T E A C H E R
Apart from books, computers and materials, a
teacher is the most valuable of a school’s
resources. To this end, our Partners in Education
Programme engages with colleges of education
throughout Ireland, supporting and nurturing the
ideal of ‘the inspired educator’. Both student
teachers and lecturers attend a residential
conference at Baronscourt each year to explore
their personal creativity through arts and environmental workshops, supplemented on-campus
when possible. These workshops mirror those we
provide for children and give the young teachers
first-hand experience of approaching the
curriculum in more creative ways. By discussing
the theoretical and practical implications of creativity in the classroom, it is to be hoped they will
inspire children effectively in the future.
The Pushkin Trust has never in its 23 year
history, remained tied to unchanging formats and
programmes. Rather, it has sought, in the words of
our theme for 2010, to ‘Go with the Flow’, and has
always been closely attuned to the needs of both
children and educators as school curricula
have evolved. From its beginnings as a respected
children’s creative writing competition, our
Schools’ Programme—‘Celebrating Inspired
Learning’—has become a cross-curricular,
theme-based project with creative writing and the
natural world at its core.
THANK YOU
In the present global financial climate, the Trust
has had to depend, more than ever before, on the
beneficence of donors from organisations such as
The Ireland Funds. Without your generosity and
passionate interest in the shared prosperity of
Ireland and the education of our young people, we
could achieve little.
Thanks to the ongoing support from The
Ireland Funds, the Pushkin Trust has been enabled
to maintain both its Schools’ Programme and its
Partners in Education Programme in both parts of
Ireland. Even in this last year of financial
uncertainty for many, the ireland funds’
commitment to our essential work with
children and educators has provided
us with a singular endorsement that
we value deeply. we thank you!
— Development Director Alan Boyd, The Pushkin Trust
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