The Meadow Barns
The barns and sheds of this unique centre sit at the heart of a small hamlet, called Penpell. The name dates back to 1196 and is Cornish for ‘Distant Height’ … a quick glance at the slider photos will instantly show what an apt title this is, given those coastal views that take your breath away.
2026 – A Milestone Year
It’s hard to believe, but almost 10 years have flown by here at the Barns, during which time we have been dedicated to growing and refining ideas and materials for explaining Climate Hope and seeking out solutions. Finally, this year our results are coming together as a scheme to support families and small groups in demanding yet always playful STEM outdoor learning.
What we are testing, through this summer is the first part of our Learn 2 Tread Lightly programme. As you can see it is a series of activities with a focus on discovering how climate change was caused, back through many centuries, followed by answering the question “what can humans do to live free of fossil fuels?”
Mid Cornwall is our base, and therefore we have the best chance of running pilot activities with partners locally. The first 3 sessions are very much related to mining and bookable right here at Meadow Barns Centre. The 4th set of activities (water play as shown below, plus making wheels and a follow-on Hydro Walk) are all available when you book in at the Village Shop at Luxulyan.
By the time of the 5th session families are encouraged to branch out into their own research and written responses, which means we can propose a wider variety of suitable other locations for them to explore and then they are asked to submit work for approval, leading to the final Celebration of achievement event. It’s early days but the model is likely to be very similar to our Ceremonies of Climate Hope from the past (see below). We expect to organise and deliver the first one in July 2027.
How Learn 2 Tread Lightly works
The learning experience is ‘self-directed’. A family pays their £20 cash deposit, borrows the Learning Kit and if returned in perfect condition then a £10 refund can be claimed. However, and this is a big caveat, the hope is that they will prefer to put that £10 note into registering and receiving a pack that tests and confirms their knowledge and signs them into pursuit of the whole scheme.
Or another alternative is simply to donate the £10 for our future development programme. Either way, if you have paid £20 in total, for your first session, you may opt to join a ‘Club’ with its own monthly Newsletter and events.
Penpell was first a centre for tin streaming, then iron excavation and later housed workers for one of the most productive copper mines in the world. This heritage of Local Industries underpins the whole programme of STEM (Science Technology Engineering and Maths) plus the Creative Arts, Music and Stories, which enrich Caroline’s unique style. The industry partnerships add a further dimension of checking viability on the journey, searching for solutions to the challenges faced today by people and the planet.
Pressure on the Government
A very important element of the Learn 2 Tread Lightly scheme is lobbying for change, at all levels of government. And in this also the best route is working with industry partners. Here are 2 examples:-
On January 21st Caroline was up at Westminster, meeting a minister at the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero. This has come to fruition after years of patient partner-working with the bio-fuels provider, Mitchell and Webber. It sums up what Meadow Barns offers = a style of learning closely linked with today’s innovative industries for renewables, storage and metals.
More recently we have begun helping with a pro-active movement in support of ‘micro-hydro’ power, that renews old water and/or tidal mills. This is in conjunction with Free Flow 69, manufacturers of replacement wheels and new Archimedes Screw turbines. More on this will be posted very soon.
But for now, if you have questions and/or are keen to be an early participant in the scheme please send an email to Caroline Stephenson cjs@themeadowbarns.co.uk.
And a last word! When we get there the Celebration event will surely be developed from our previous Ceremonies of Climate Hope as described in the end section below.
Ceremony of Climate Hope for Chinese NY, February Half Term, 2024
2 years ago we were able to collaborate to deliver a slightly different model of inter-generational study of climate issues, in a broader more international context, linking with another religion and culture. As with Lanlivery and Lostwithiel Ceremonies in 2023 and Bodmin 2025, we only could deliver such a big day by linking up with the enthusiasm and energy of many groups of all different ages and backgrounds. So, we were able to produce a really heart-warming Ceremony 4 Climate Hope at the centre of the Truro community, thanks to numerous volunteers and talented staff, including Jason Thomas and his amazing youth dance company, funding from the councillor, Rob Nolan, and support of Truro BID team & Salt Projects at the Pydar PopUp building.
If you are inspired by what you have seen here, please take this link to our YouTube channel for further films. As you see, we have a number of playlists, dating all the way back to the Covid Tapestry of Heroes in 2020 to 21.
