The Ernest Cook Trust is one of the UK’s leading outdoor learning charities. Rooted in the conservation and management of the countryside, the Trust actively encourages children and young people to learn from the land through hands-on outdoor learning opportunities on its estates and by offering grants.

The Trust was founded by the philanthropist Ernest Cook in 1952 and each year, as a result of his foresight and passion for the countryside and the arts, the current Trustees are able to distribute around £1.8m in educational grants to benefit children and young people.

The Ernest Cook Trust gives grants to registered charities, schools and not-for-profit organisations wishing to encourage young people’s interest either in the countryside and the environment, the arts (in the broadest sense), or in science, or aiming to raise levels of literacy and numeracy.