Biology teacher Barbara Cummins is swapping the classroom for the countryside after winning an environmental award.

Mrs Cummins will be travelling from Sussex to the Brecon Beacons in Wales this summer to take part in a conservation project.

The teacher at Varndean College in Brighton was given an award by the Amerada Hess corporation.

The awards were launched by the energy company in partnership with environmental charity Earthwatch.

Earthwatch's aim is to promote the sustainable conservation of natural resources and cultural heritage by supporting scientific field research and education.

The awards give secondary school teachers the chance to join conservation projects and get practical hands-on experience of environmental research.

When teachers return home they are given a £250 grant to design and implement a community action plan for their area.

Mrs Cummins, from Lewes, will be part of a team looking at ways to regenerate land scarred by open-cast mining in the Brecon Beacons.

She said: "I am delighted as I can now be directly involved in an Earthwatch programme.

"The scientific projects are invaluable for research, education and conservation both in the UK and worldwide.

"Our industrial heritage has left an environmental debt that must be repaid by future generations.

"I will use the grant to continue working at a chalk stream in Lewes.

"It will become a new town walk and the increased access will help its conservation."

Sharon Williams, community programmes manager at Earthwatch, said: "The awards are important because they give teachers the chance to look at environmental issues in a way that is exciting and immediate.

"This enables them to go back to their classroom and communities with increased awareness about conservation and with new ideas."

Last year Mrs Cummins travelled to the Bahamas to study a coral reef with a team from Earthwatch after winning a Millennium Award from the National Lottery.