By RACHEL SPENCER

A FORMER Lymm High School teacher is looking forward to taking a walk on the wild side after winning an Earthwatch millennium award.

Jan Cooper, who is 53 and lives on Danebank Road, Lymm, will camp out in the rainforest and spend two weeks bushwhacking and tracking bears in the Appalachian Mountains in North Carolina.

She will work with experts from the charity Earthwatch to monitor the habitat quality of the beasts, weighing and measuring the bears and extracting a pre-molar tooth to estimate age, then fitting them with a radio device to locate their habitat.

Keen horsewoman Jan won a place on the scheme after she designed a community action plan which will put her experience of the black bears to use when she comes home.

She hopes to discover if any species of wild birds are disappearing from Warrington and will monitor this when she returns from her trip in May.

In the meantime, Jan is planning a climb of the Sierra Nevada mountains in Southern Spain to prepare her for the expedition.

Jan said: "I've been told that the black bears are between four and seven feet tall when standing and weigh on average 21 to 30 stone. They can climb trees, and eat meat, plants and vegetables and run up to 30 mph.

"Apparently, the best way to scare them off is by making a noise - the worst thing to do is run away or play dead!

"It's a great challenge, both physically and mentally, and I am really looking forward to it."

Jan is hoping to use the trip to extend her experience of conservation, and enjoy sleeping rough in the great outdoors.

"It will be a trip of a lifetime," she said.

"I am a bit apprehensive about meeting the bears but I am working with experts and scientists so I am sure we will be safe."