8
Learning to Fly with Red Kites
From the outset, Northern Kites was aware of its responsibility to ensure that
people of all ages and backgrounds had opportunities to learn about and enjoy the
red kites. A ‘lifelong learning’ programme was therefore central to the Project from
the very beginning. The fi rst step was to engage with schools through the country’s
fi rst ever ‘Adopt-a-Kite’ Scheme. Television wildlife presenter Nick Baker launched
the scheme in Rowlands Gill in October 2004. The scheme was free to join and
participating schools received
red kite education packages.
They were also invited to name
their kites. Names were chosen
through classroom competitions
or School Council meetings.
Given the colour of the kites,
obvious names included
‘Scarlet’, ‘Ruby’, ‘Red Philip’
and ‘Flame’, but ‘Fantastic
Flying Fiona’, ‘Jammy Dodger’
and ‘Red Runcie’ illustrated the
imagination fi red by the birds
and the scheme. Northern
Kites provided schools with
regular updates on ‘their’ kites,
and opportunities for school
assemblies and kite viewing.
Since the start of the scheme,
every kite released, or youngster
wing-tagged, was ‘adopted’
by a school in the North East.
By 2008, the appropriately
named ‘Centurion’ (the kite of
Roman Road Primary School,
Wrekendyke) became the
100th bird to be adopted. In
successive years, the Project
built upon its education work,
Nick Baker Launching the Adopt-a-Kite Scheme October 2004,
developing an on-line red kite
at Rowlands Gill School
education programme called
‘KIDS4KITES’,
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