04 Jan

My Bushcraft Journal: Part #1 Building Better Shelters

activities, bushcraft, bushcraft journal, great winter activities, woodland skills activities, bushcraft, bushcraft journal, camping, craft, skills, survival, wildlife, woodland

Hello folks. My name is James and I am an outdoor activity leader at Woodland Classroom, where we pass woodland skills and nature knowledge onto others with our sessions. Bushcraft is an element of what we do, fire-lighting, den building and campfire cooking etc but mostly it’s at a basic level. For a while now I’ve been wanting to improve my bushcraft skills and really go much further in depth not only because I love being out in the woods but also so that I can pass these skills onto others someday and continue to inspire children to fall in love with nature and being outdoors.

So, I’ve taken the plunge and enrolled on a 2 year Bushcraft Instructor training course which is going to really push me to up my game which is not only going to be a lot of fun but will also help me to offer so much more to our customers in the future.

Fire by friction, wild food, whittling, advanced shelter building, natural cordage and plant identification are just some of the skills I’ll be covering over the next two years. I’m quite excited.

Who knows, perhaps I’ll be able to call myself a proper bushcraft instructor when it’s all done. Saying that though, you never stop learning and with any good subject worth getting your teeth into, bushcraft is one of those fields of learning that the more questions you answer, the more questions there are. I imagine I will never stop learning.

Part of my training includes keeping a journal of my time learning bushcraft skills, so I though why not make it a blog and you can share my journey, my successes and my inevitable failures too.

As an old teacher once said to me though, “There are no mistakes. Just learning opportunities.”

So without further ado, here is my account of a day spent shelter building.

Building Better Shelters

Aim of the Day: To construct a one-person shelter using only natural materials, preferably with no cordage, which would be rain-proof.

I had a dry and sunny winter day to do this with no distractions which was good because proper shelter building is a lengthy task. From my training I knew that it took 6 of us a couple of hours to construct an effective shelter from scratch, so I would have my work cut out if I as to get it done all in one day.

There had been some recent tree felling work in the woods, cutting down young hazel stools under the power lines, so this as perfect material with which to construct the frame with as hazel is strong, flexible and being freshly cut it should have a longer life span than using older, more seasoned wood from the forest floor.

I wanted to build a classic kennel shelter, sometimes called the a-frame shelter, which uses just 3 sticks to support the whole structure. The shelter also has little room for movement once you’re inside so that there is less air space to be warmed up.

Above: In Ray Mears’ Outdoor Survival Handbook, he describes the stages of building the kennel shelter.

The first task was to find a piece of ground that is flat, no mean feat in Wales. Another tip I had been given was to get down low to the ground so that you can see the small undulations that make up the lay of the land. This way I could pick out a spot that was not only flat, but would not be a pool for water if the weather turned wet and also was slightly raised from the surrounding land, again to shed ground surface water if needed.

My tutor had told me the importance of of ensuring that the triangular frame is locked together well and that each pole is well supported. The most effective way to do this (without using cordage) is using the method seen in the next picture.

Here, the ridge pole is resting on both forked sticks and these are also interlocked. This should help prevent slippage and ensures that the weight of the shelter is evenly distributed. I don’t want it all coming down on me in the middle of the night. For some additional support, I saw that there was a convenient stump which I could rest the base of the right-hand pole against. This is certainly not essential, but a bit of added piece of mind.

Next up I started placing the uprights on either side of the shelter frame. These were no closer than a good hand span apart as if they were too close then I would have trouble weaving between them later when building up the walls of the shelter.

I had also been advised to not allow the uprights to stick up too much above the ridge pole as this would encourage rainwater to run down poles and then drip through into the shelter – which I imagine could be very annoying at 2am.

For weavers between the uprights I mostly used birch branches that were lying around the woodland, as when green they are still flexible. Any that were too far gone and dry, went in a separate pile for firewood. It was time to start a fire for a well earned brew in my billy can. Think birch is quickly becoming my favourite tree because the more I learn about it, the more uses it seems to have – perhaps that’s the subject of a future journal entry.

Birch’s associations with fire are well known in the outdoor pursuits world and it makes great kindling for getting a blaze going. As soon as the fire was going I felt like I had arrived properly.

Above: Burying the end of the ridge pole into the earth to help prevent it from slipping. Resting one of the forked poles against a convenient stump for added stability. And getting my tea on with my new billy can.

During my Bushcraft Instructor training we had plenty of bracken around us to use as a thatched covering for the weavers on the roof. You can see an example of that in the first picture on this blog page. But at my local woods bracken was not an option so I would have to go with the less effective (so I’m told) leaf litter – which was in abundance at this time of year. There was plenty of beech trees about and their leaves make a carpet on the woodland floor and I know these leaves to last pretty well rather than rot away quickly so this seems a good choice. Using a blanket I could gather up lots of leaves quickly and then drag the full blanket over to the shelter.

This was still much more work than I had anticipated though and I had been advised to have a full arm’s length depth of leaf litter on the shelter to make it effective against the worst the weather could throw at it. This was a real eye opener as it soon became apparent just how much material I would need just for my little one-man shelter.

Above: The complete naked skeleton of my kennel shelter, complete with weavers from fallen birch with some hazel brash too for good measure.

Another thing I noticed when using the leaf litter was that leaves had a habit of tumbling down to the base of the shelter so that I was ending up with a lot of material close to the ground and hardly any on top. Stuffing handfuls of leaves between the weavers seems to help this to an extent as it gave the leaves something to grip to. But I wonder if this is also a common problem when using leaf litter like this and whether with enough depth of material you eventually over come it? I wasn’t going to find out today.

The day was drawing on and I still wasn’t complete. By the time the light was failing I had to accept that the shelter would not be completed today (the luxury of not actually being in a real survival situation) and I would have to return another day. I had got one side of the shelter completely covered with a fair depth of leaves, but by no means enough, and I was satisfied that I could return another day and complete the job, ready for a trial sleep out.

My last job was to put out my small brew fire and scatter the cold ashes to leave no trace – an important philosophy in bushcraft.

So, what were the main learning points for me:

Shelter building takes longer than you think.
It’s important to get the 3 main poles locked together correctly to maximise stability and strength.
Don’t put the uprights too close together.
Don’t let the uprights protrude too far above the ridge pole, so avoiding night time drips.
If using leaf litter – allow for A LOT of material.
Stuff the leaves into the weavers to encourage them to group to the shelter sides.
Get up earlier in the morning and start sooner *laugh*

Above: The end of a day’s work.. well a leisurely days work anyway. I’m looking forward to coming back to complete the job and test it out.

That’s all for now. I hope to keep my Bushcraft Journal up to date with regular posts, so watch this space.

Thanks for reading.

James K

14 Dec

How the Robin Got its Red Breast

activities, children, great winter activities, Uncategorized activities, christmas, forest school, identification, kids, solstice, wildlife, winter, woodland

We love telling stories around the campfire with children at our outdoor activity sessions, especially those tales that are set in the woods and star the creatures that the kids could see for themselves. I think it helps bring the forest alive for their imaginations.

This short story, How The Robin Got Its Red Breast, is a great one to tell on a cold winters day with the campfire crackling away. For me, the story’s message is that no matter how small you are or seem to be, you can achieve great things.

“Long, long ago, when the world was new, as the winter Sun was setting, and the land was locked in ice and snow, all the creatures believed that the warmth they had enjoyed throughout the long summer was lost forever and might never return. They were cold and afraid.”

“As the winter winds blew through the forest, a small brown bird was sheltering in a holly tree and he thought to himself, ‘What could I do?’ Somehow he knew the warmth that had gone belonged to the Sun, so he decided to fly to the Sun and ask for it back. As he took flight the holly twig on which he was standing snapped off, so he took it with him, he thought it would make him feel braver to take a piece of home on his adventure.”

“He flew up, higher and higher he climbed, and as he flew, he felt the heat of the Sun increasing. He flew on, getting hotter and hotter, until he could hardly bear the heat any more and his feathers were scorching, he was so close to the Sun! But still, he was determined to get an audience with the Sun. Then suddenly the holly twig he was carrying burst into flames. He was so shocked that he fainted and fell, down, down, spiralling back to the Earth.”

“When he awoke he realised he still had the burning twig, clutched between his feet. He had done it. He had brought the Sun’s fire back to Earth, and everyone could warm themselves in the heat from the flames. He was a hero! And because he was so brave, and because his feathers had been scorched on his adventure, to this very day, he is still called Robin Redbreast.”

Artwork by Karen Carter at Hedingham Fair

The Robin is probably the UK’s favourite bird. It’s known as the gardner’s friend because it’s often seen perched near to where earth and soil is being dug over, revealing lots of juicy worms. I’ve often had a Robin as my companion when I’m practising my bushcraft skills in the woods. he’s always hoping I’ll turn over some leaves or dead wood in the hope of a easy meal.

To find out more about the Robin, where it lives, what it eats and what it sounds like. You can visit the RSPBs website which should answer all your questions here.

01 Dec

The 12 Days of Forest School

forest school, great winter activities, Uncategorized christmas, forest school, kids, parent & toddler, solstice, toddlers, trees, wildlife, winter, woodland

We’ve taken the classic Christmas song and given it our very own twist. So join us for a good old fashioned sing-along. We love singing this around our campfire with our kids groups throughout the festive season.

Forest School sessions are all about letting children be in charge of their own learning and giving them the chance to explore wild spaces on their own terms so they can grow emotionally and intellectually. We run plenty of outdoor sessions throughout the winter because we believe that children should have access to great outdoor activities all year round.

Enough of all that though, on with the song…..

We’ve made a series of pictures to celebrate each of our 12 Days, which also showcase many of the awesome activities that children get up to at forest school sessions. You can see these images by scrolling through…

We love singing this round the campfire with the kids through December and you’re very welcome to use this song too. Here’s a run down of the lyrics:

“On the first day of forest school I had the chance to see…

A child climbing in an oak tree.

Two muddy boots

Three storytimes

Four crawling bugs

Five golden leaves!

Six kids a whittling

Seven mushrooms sprouting

Eight campfires blazing

Nine shelter builders

Ten monkeys swinging

Eleven axes chopping

Twelve hunters tracking”

Happy Holidays, Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to all.

18 Aug

RAY MEARS CHAMPIONS FOREST SCHOOL

activity leaders, children, forest school, health, woodland skills bushcraft, camping, forest school, health, kids, ray mears, risk, skills, survival, teenagers, woodland

TV presenter, author and bushcraft expert Ray Mears has given forest schools his seal of approval. Having observed a forest school group during a recent canoe trip he described how one boy “… was building his own legend, the person he was going to become. He’d become something more and that’s what it’s about. There’s a chance (in forest schools) for self-discovery and self-empowerment.”

Forest School is a thriving, growing movement worldwide which is getting children of all ages outdoors to learn at their own pace and embrace the natural world around them. As a forest school leader myself and long term follower of Ray’s work I felt really lucky to be able to join in a televised discussion on the merits of learning in the great outdoors.

Above: Ray Mears in his element. Photograph by Goh Iromoto

Ray Mears is a world-renowned champion of bushcraft and wilderness skills, having starred in numerous television series and written books on the subject, which have inspired millions.

During a recent television debate in the UK, the panel, including Ray, was posed the question; would they send their kids to a summer crammer where they could brush up on their academic skills and get ahead of the class, or would they pack their kids off to a forest school where they could learn skills like fire-lighting, den building and woodcraft.

Ray replied, “the child has got to want to be there, they might want to go to a crammer, I think there’s a place for both.” This, to me, underlies a key point that parents and teachers each have a responsibility to fire children’s passions and interests in whatever subject or activity it is that gets them excited about learning.

Ray explained how the forest school camp system works in Canada where this approach to learning is well-established, “…a child goes very young and gets to do activities and then they go back the next year, they’re a little older and get given more responsibility and eventually they’re doing 21 day trips on their own by canoe, boys or girls, through the wilderness and they’re capable.” What an amazing adventure for any young person that would be.

During the debate a recent study was quoted which states, “three quarters of kids who go to a summer crammer will end up at a top university, compared to half of those from similar backgrounds who don’t.” But on the flip side of that argument, “child psychologists say that outdoor exploits aren’t only great for physical health but for mental health as well. The same psychologists also have concerns about ‘tiger parents’ who want to hothouse their kids in some sort of obsessive bid to produce pint-sized prodigies, who could end up stressed, frazzled and burned out by their late-teens and who could actually end up with mental health problems.”

I hadn’t heard of tiger parents, so I looked it up. Tiger parenting is a term which refers to strict or demanding parents who push their children to be successful in education by attaining high levels of scholastic and academic achievement, to the detriment of the child’s social, physical, psychological and emotional well-being. It sounds a world away from the child-led approach of a typical forest school where kids learn resourcefulness, team-work and determination. I feel that forced study risks leading kids toward depression, anxiety and stress.

Above: Ray Mears has seen first hand the positive benefits of forest school teachings. Photograph by Goh Iromoto

Ray spoke about his recent trip to Canada where he got the chance to observe children who attended a forest school camp. “I gave a presentation at a festival and in the audience there were some kids from one of these summer camps. I was watching one of these youngsters because he was carrying a book around with him. The book was written by a naturalist I’m really fond of, Grey Owl, who lived in that area. This was a heavy tome for a youngster to read by today’s standards but I saw that he treasured that book.”

“The next day I’m out on a canoe trip and I could see that same party of youngsters (canoeing) on the other side of the lake. These were boys of about fifteen and they had passed the hardship point, because it’s a hard way to travel.” Seeing that same boy who the day before had been clutching his precious book Ray described the look on the child’s face, “you could actually see that with every paddle stroke he took he was building his own legend, the person he was going to become. He’d become something more and that’s what it’s about. There’s a chance for self-discovery, self-empowerment and it’s no surprise that the youngsters who go to these summer schools very often end up as leaders in that part of the world and it’s a great thing to see.”

The main thrust of the debate was a parent’s choice between a summer crammer or forest school for their kids and during the phone-in I got the chance to add my own observations to bolster Ray’s championing of forest school. “There’s no doubt that academia is important but what forest school does is give an opportunity for child-led learning away from the formal classroom setting. The kids who attend forest school are gaining a nature intelligence and an emotional intelligence, which in the long run, I believe, makes better rounded, more confident people. You give a child a sharp tool and it’s empowering, they get a fantastic experience from that.” Many children today have a disconnection between the natural world and the modern world we live in and forest school projects are providing an antidote for that.

Some cynics might say that today’s kids would rather be in front of their iPad than building dens outdoors, but I don’t think forest school is a hard sell to children. I believe it appeals to their sense of adventure and children should be allowed to have that experience and so much of that is getting lost now with the increasing time that kids spend on screens.

Ray added that, “There are a lot of British parents now sending their children to these camps in Canada and North America.” But for those wanting to keep their kids a bit closer to home you’ll be glad to know that forest school camps are growing in the UK too with providers offering everything from one day activity sessions to week-long wilderness experiences. I believe we will see more of these holiday clubs and camps in the future as more parents take action to combat the dangers of too much indoor screen time for their kids.

Above: Children immersed in nature and learning empowering new skills at one of our own forest school sessions.

Regarding the ongoing fight in many family households to get kids away from their screen and back to the outdoors, Ray saved his best advice to parents for last, “The secret is that the parents need to do these things (outdoor activities) for themselves, that’s the best way, it’s just the normal way of growing up. If you want children to take an interest in nature, don’t just send them somewhere, have an interest yourself and it will be the most natural thing in the world for them to follow on.”

If you want to know more about what exactly a forest school is, check out our short video, appropriately titled “What Is Forest School?” RIGHT HERE

If you’re a parent who wants to find out more about local forest school providers in your area, I’d advise googling it, you’ll soon be heading down a rabbit hole of amazing projects to inspire your kids.

You can watch the full television debate with Ray Mears HERE. Skip ahead to 01:24:44 to see ‘Forest School vs Summer Crammer” You’ll be able to hear me trying not to sound nervous whilst talking to Ray, one of my childhood heroes.

31 Jul

Why Kids Chose to Ditch Their Video Screens To Go Wild Outdoors

activities, activity leaders, children, forest school, wildcraft activities, bear grylls, bushcraft, forest school, kids, minecraft, national trust, survival, video gamers

Children are choosing to leave their screens behind and are opting for a new outdoor game which combines bushcraft & survival skills inspired by their favourite video games which aims to get them reconnected with nature and excited about the great outdoors once more. It’s been so successful that activity leaders across the globe are now signing up to run this game, Wildcraft Adventure, for themselves at their venues and joining the mission to get kids off-screen and outdoors.

Kids make their favourite video games come alive in the outdoors.

Wildcraft, borrows themes from popular video games like Minecraft and is giving kids an outdoor experience they won’t forget. Though barely a year old, it’s been a huge hit with parents and children.

Contact us to find out more.

Taking Video Games to Our Wild Spaces

It was over a year ago, we were sat in our garden and asked the question; “For those kids who are spending too much time glued to their screens and have little interest in getting out into nature, how do we engage them in a way so that they choose to go outside? Simple, we take their video games outdoors!”

But this is not Pokemon GO, we’re not getting kids to take their mobile devices out into the woods and calling it ‘quality time outdoors’, they’re leaving those at home to play a video game style adventure for real in the woods which includes all the challenges they’ll be familiar with whilst at the same time engaging them in the natural world. Yes, there’s lots of hidden nature-learning woven into the game and they have to use their new knowledge and skills to gain points and experience throughout the day.

When creating Wildcraft Adventure, we did some serious research. We watched and spoke with children playing games like Minecraft and Terraria, and talked to parents about their experience of their children’s love of video games. It soon became very clear that although the children do get a lot of pleasure from the games, it’s become a real problem for parents, as they want to put a reasonable restriction on their child’s screen time. Parents told us that they faced an uphill struggle as there’s such an addictive quality to these games that restricting screen time can cause arguments in the family home. Many children do not seem to be able to easily drag themselves away from their screens. The more parents we spoke with, the more we heard about this recurring problem in the home.

We remembered back when Super Mario & Sonic the Hedgehog first came out. There are many common themes in video games such as collecting resources, protecting yourself from monsters, beating the boss, making potions and building your world, which all fit really well with the outdoor adventure we were creating. Our game requires players to use team building, problem-solving and lots of imagination.

Kids sometimes come dressed as their favourite video game characters. They use new skills and their imaginations to build their camp.

Opening Up A Natural World of Adventures

Wildcraft is also proving to be a great gateway activity for kids who are coming along to our days and then wanting to know more about bushcraft, forest school and associated outdoor activities that are out there.

“Before coming I had tried to get (my son) to join in a forest school day but he said ‘it wasn’t his thing’. However ‘would you like to go on a Minecraft style bushcraft day?’ And he couldn’t sign up fast enough, he was so excited he couldn’t sleep the night before and you certainly didn’t disappoint on the day. Thank you.” Parent

We’ve heard so much about the growing concerns that so many parents have about the increasing amount of time that children spend in front of screens. And our Wildcraft Adventures are providing an antidote for that. We believe it’s really making a difference in inspiring children to get outdoors more.

“They were so inspired that they will be joining a local bushcraft group, so thank you.” Another Happy Parent

We’ve hosted over 35 of these events across Wales now, reaching hundreds of children. We’ve massed up over 4,200 hours of outdoor playtime for kids, when they might otherwise have been indoors playing computer games. So to us, that’s a really positive thing. Don’t get us wrong, we agree video games can be great fun, but what kids today need is a healthy balance in how they spend their time. Nature Deficit Disorder is a growing problem in our young people today.

Going Global

Woodland Classroom have teamed up with the National Trust and other venues across Wales to bring these events to as many children as possible. But they’re ambition to get more kids off-screen doesn’t stop there and now they have made Wildcraft Adventure available internationally to anyone who runs their own outdoor activity programmes so that they can run the event at their own venue. Activity Leaders in both in the UK and the US have already signed up to join the mission.

You Could Run Your Own Wildcraft Events

If you’re an activity leader who would be interested in hosting Wildcraft Adventure at your venue, then you can find out more HERE.

Wildcraft sets the players a number of challenges based in a whole day of activities. There are elements of forest school and bushcraft involved which combine with the video game theme to make a stand-alone lesson plan for experienced outdoor activity leaders to deliver.

“We’re really excited about the Wildcraft Adventure… I was really inspired by what you guys are doing. We’re looking for ways to get our kids out of the classroom, playing together. Your game gives us the perfect vehicle for mixed-age, cooperative, outdoor fun.” Brenda Sutter – Laurel Tree Charter School, California US.

In popular video games like Minecraft and Terraria, players have to survive in a hostile environment, build their own house, hunt for their food, search for materials and fend off wandering monsters. You can tell parents that their child may be able to survive in the wilderness on the computer screen, but can they do it out in the woods? Wildcraft slams down the gauntlet and kids are taking up the challenge.

What Parents Are Saying About Wildcraft

“Such a fantastic antidote to the ever increasing creep of the screen! Highly recommended and ever grateful.”

“My son had a fabulous time in a caring and safe environment. As an avid computer gamer, to spend all day outside living as a survivor was an amazing experience for him.”

“What an amazing experience for my son. Like many parents I worry about the time he spends on electronic games and the fact that I have to beg and bribe to get him outdoors. Not so with this genius idea to use popular computer games to tempt him into activities that I knew he would love if he would only give them a chance. When asked if he wanted to go again, my son’s reply was “no, Mum. I HAVE to go again.”

Parents who want to find out when and where the next Wildcraft Adventure is being run by Woodland Classroom can check out their upcoming events page HERE. We have also developed a version of the Wildcraft game that you can play in your own back garden with the kids. It’s called the Wildcraft: Home Edition. You can find out more about that RIGHT HERE.

If you want to find out about Wildcraft Adventures running outside of Wales then drop us a line to find out where you can sign up for a game near you.

04 Mar

LETTING YOUR CHILD PLAY WITH FIRE

activities, children, forest school activities, bushcraft, forest school, kids, skills, woodland, young rangers

Would you let your child play with fire? It seems to be wired into us from a young age that fire is not something to mess around with, but where’s the fun in that? Of course, fire can be dangerous but if we introduce our children to it using safe methods we can nurture a healthy respect for the hazards of fire alongside their natural wonder for it.

Here’s the thing, children LOVE playing with fire – so we might as well teach them how to play with it safely and how to be responsible when lighting their own fires out in the woods. We’ve never had a burn injury at our Forest School sessions. We have established boundaries for the main campfire and clear rules on what kids can and cannot do with their own fires.

In this episode of our vlog Rewild My Child you can see our regular Young Rangers lighting their own fires and passing on some of what they’ve learned.

YOU CAN WATCH THIS EPISODE OF OUR VLOG RIGHT HERE…

I find it so encouraging to see how far these children have come with their firelighting skills and knowledge of camp craft. It’s very satisfying (as a teacher) to see them gathering enough kindling to start their fire, picking out dry sticks rather than wet, soggy ones and to see how they can rekindle a struggling fire using the right techniques. These children love lighting fires and are happy simply to let them blaze away – I’ve never seen a child trying to burn the woods down. They might make smoke signals, make charcoals for drawing or simply poke away at the embers with burning sticks. The fire acts as a warming and comforting focal point for the group to be together, enjoying nature. This has been the role of campfires for generations and long may it continue.

If you liked this and want to see more – check out our YouTube Channel, where we have a whole host of videos from How To Make Wild Teas to How To Use An Axe With Kids.

27 Feb

REWILD MY CHILD – OUR NEW VLOG

children, forest school activities, forest school, kids, rewild my child, vlog, young rangers

We have started our very own video blog (or vlog) which aims to give inspiration to parents, teachers and activity leaders who want to get their kids out into the great outdoors. We will be showcasing activity ideas which are easy, fun and that your kids will love.

Each week you’ll be able to follow us on our journey as Forest School leaders during our regular woodland activity sessions. Camp cooking, den building, simple woodcraft, outdoor games and nature learning are just a few examples of the kinds of things we’ll be diving into.

We will also be hearing from the kids themselves too and seeing their successes and failures as they learn new skills and have new experiences out in the woods. We hope you’ll be inspired to get your own children hooked on adventures in nature.

YOU CAN WATCH EPISODE 1 RIGHT HERE.

If you liked this and want to see more – check out our YouTube Channel, where we have a whole host of videos from How To Make Wild Teas to How To Use An Axe With Kids.

10 Feb

WE DID A PODCAST

activity leaders, forest school, podcast forest kindergarten, forest school, health, kids, parents, podcast, woodland

We were recently invited to be interviewed for The DIY Learner podcast hosted by Laura Armer all the way from Texas, USA. She had been inspired by our story of empowering children to get outdoors and learn for themselves through child-led play.

In the podcast, Laura asks us about how we got to where we are today, our approach to outdoor learning and where we’re heading next.

The DIY Learner podcast, features interviews with leaders in nextGen education and stories from successful DIY Learners. Each week the podcast will inspire you to take learning into your own hands, with how-to’s for getting skills and credentials without a formal degree, advice on self-directed learning, mentorships, internships, apprenticeships, and creating portfolios and other ways to show your work.

LISTEN TO OUR PODCAST HERE

So what is DIY Learning? The show’s host Laura Armer explains, “Well, it doesn’t mean learning alone, but rather taking charge of your own personal lifelong learning path using next generation learning options and strategies.”

“There’s never been a better time in history to learn whatever you want or need to take your life or career to the next level! Join Laura and her guests on this wave of change in learning, and you can help push over the tipping point at which unconventional learning one day becomes conventional. Let the learning begin!”

nibbled nuts found on winter scavenger hunt

09 Jan

Awesome Winter Scavenger Hunt

activities, children, forest school, great winter activities activities, forest kindergarten, forest school, identification, kids, parent & toddler, parents, solstice, trees, wildlife, winter, woodland

So… it’s winter. The days are cold and short, but it’s still a great time to be out and about and see a host of things in the woods that you’d not see at other times of the year. Winter leaves our countryside bare, open to deeper exploration and let’s you poke your nose into all sorts of nooks and crannies that would be walled off with greenery come summertime.

Kenneth Grahame, author of the popular children’s novel The Wind In The Willows, painted an evocative picture of the countryside in winter, which hints at the secrets that are waiting to be discovered;

“The country lay bare and entirely leafless around him, and he thought that he had never seen so far and intimately into the insides of things as on that winter day when Nature was deep in her annual slumber and seemed to have kicked the clothes off… He was glad that he liked the country undecorated, hard, and stripped of its finery. He had got down to the bare bones of it, and they were fine and strong and simple.”

There were plenty of winter adventures for Mole, Ratty and Badger, so in order to inspire you to make your outdoor experience one that the kids will love too we have devised an awesome Winter Scavenger Hunt that will stimulate all the senses of your child. The only sense we haven’t got covered is taste – but we’re sure a nice hot chocolate at home after the walk will tick that box. We hope our scavenger hunt will make going outside in winter a memorable and exciting experience for the whole family. Give it a go and let us know how you got on.

DOWNLOAD OUR AWESOME WINTER SCAVENGER HUNT HERE

You can share pics of your scavenging adventures on our facebook page, we’d love to see them.

We always host a great range of activity days right through the Autumn and Winter months, because we believe it’s important for kids and adults to get outside more than ever during these times when many people shut themselves away indoors. You can check out our upcoming events HERE.

09 Jan

Got the Winter Blues? Nature Has the Answer

great winter activities, health health, parent & toddler, parents, trees, wildlife, winter, woodland

We NEED To Get Outdoors, even though it’s wet & cold. It’s essential for our health and happiness, here’s why…

Winter is a time of year when many people hide away indoors, mirroring the hibernation of some animals and with all this wind and rain we’ve had for what feels like forever, who can blame them?

Christmas and New Year are behind us and there doesn’t seem much to look forward to. Many of us feel like cuddling up on the sofa and watching a movie when it’s cold, wet and going dark so early. Spring feels like a lifetime away, doesn’t it? When we do have to go out to work or get the kids to school, we dive out of the car and straight indoors, then it’s back out into the car, dive in and out of shops and back home, back to the world of central heating and electric lighting. Although this might make us feel more comfortable, it’s no compensation for the benefits of fresh air and sunlight. Without direct sunlight our bodies cannot produce vitamin D, which is important for maintaining normal blood levels of phosphorus and calcium, and helps keep our bones healthy and strong.

The amount of daylight we get each day has a dramatic effect on our mood too. Without this daylight our body produces substances that make us feel lethargic and lacking in energy. Idun Haugan of the Norwegian University of Science and Technology says that when sunlight hits our retinas at the back of our eyes, light sensitive nerve cells are activated which stimulates the production of serotonin and cortisol;

“These substances are important in determining our physical and mental health. Insufficient levels of serotonin can result in depression, lack of energy, sleep problems, mood swings and poor impulse control.” (Haugan 2013)

It is not always easy to get motivated to go outside in the middle of winter but remember this lack of motivation is caused by our lack of sunlight and the over production of melatonin (our body’s sleep hormone). So in the winter months with so little daylight available it’s even more important to get outside and feel the sun on your face, in fact, I guarantee you will feel more energised and invigorated for making the effort.

Check out our Winter Scavenger Hunt as a great excuse for a walk in nature with your kids. There’s plenty of other ideas on our Pinterest page too.

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