HOW WE’RE RETURNING TO THE WOODS WHILST MANAGING COVID-19
OUR COVID-19 METHOD STATEMENT by WOODLAND CLASSROOM LTD.
This statement is effective from 23rd July 2020
We haven’t run an outdoor course or event since lockdown began in March and we are now (hopefully) approaching the time when we can begin our return to the woods with our exciting range of courses for adults and families, and further ahead for children.
Below we have set out how we are going to do this so that our clients have confidence that we have considered the current situation and are acting responsibly. We will continue to monitor the Welsh Government guidance as and when it changes.
We would like to take this opportunity to thank our good friends at Woodland Ways Ltd. for their support in helping us prepare this method statement.
In Summary
Here’s the essentials of what our customers need to know about how we are currently operating within the government guidance:
- All organised children’s outdoor activity days including holiday clubs, birthday parties and outdoor education are currently on hold. We hope to be back with holiday clubs in October half term.
- Adult outdoor courses are going ahead with restricted group sizes and social distancing & increased hygiene in place. An additional risk assessment has been written to make us more COVID-19 secure.
- We will not be hosting events at National Trust properties until at least 1st September in accordance with the Trust’s own risk assessment. In the meantime, alternative venues are being arranged as appropriate.
- We are continuing to expand our offering of online learning covering wild food, tree identification, bushcraft and nature connection.
- Our monthly Home Education group, Pathfinders, is planned to start up again from September, but with certain restrictions in place. Contact us to find out more.
- We are taking bookings from schools, event organisers and groups for the future, please get in touch to discuss what we can offer you.
Customer Statement
All the precautions and measures put in place that we have listed below are subject to change according to the government guidance. If you have a question, please get in touch. Detailed below is what you can expect from us when undertaking courses and events in Wales.
The safety of our customers and our staff is a primary concern for us.
If you have made a booking for an upcoming course or event and you cannot attend as you are ill or shielding, then we will issue you with a 2 year voucher to use on any Woodland Classroom course, event or product to the equal value of your booking.
We have taken on the Welsh Government’s guidance given: “Sport, Recreation and Leisure; guidance for a phased return” and we have also consulted with our piers in the industry and the Institute for Outdoor Learning, for best practise, of which we are an active member.
You can read the government’s advice here: https://gov.wales/sport-recreation-and-leisure-guidance-phased-return-html
Upcoming Courses
As of 23rd July all our adults and family courses will operate with a maximum of 16 participants, using a ratio of 1 instructor to 8 students.
All courses and events will operate with government approved numbers.Note: The current advice in Wales is that groups of no more than 30 can meet for an organised outdoor activity.
Courses Specific COVID-19 Methodology Statement
Activity: Running of all education course activities and events at our established outdoor venues with adherence to Welsh Government specific advice.
Venues included:
Erddig estate, Wrexham
Chirk Castle estate, Wrexham
Aberduna Nature Reserve, Flintshire
Hawarden Estate Farm Shop, Flintshire
Attendance on the course
It is important for all clients that should you, or a member of your household, become or are already unwell with symptoms of coronavirus you should inform Woodland Classroom Ltd. immediately and should not travel to or attend your course. If you are at our venue already then you should cease activity immediately and alert a member of staff whilst taking steps to isolate and remove yourself.
If you are self-isolating as a result of Covid 19, Woodland Classroom Ltd. will forfeit its rights under our terms and conditions to deeming this a cancelation by the client and instead will provide you with a 2 year voucher to undertake that course, or a similar course, within that time frame from your original booking. We recognise these are unusual times, and we want you to book with the assurance that you will not lose your money.
What we expect of you, and what you can expect of us
Prior to the course
- Please ensure you have read the kit list and have all items with you. FAILURE TO BRING ANTI BAC HAND GEL AND A PERSONAL FIRST AID KIT WILL RESULT IN YOU NOT BE ABLE TO ATTEND THE COURSE. Clients will be informed of what makes up a Personal First Aid Kit in advance of attending.
- Your instructors will have changed into their uniform at the venue to minimise any risk of cross contamination, you may wish to consider doing the same if you are visiting shops/public spaces before the course
- Clients must complete a premedical questionnaire and registration form prior to arriving at the course and have this printed out to bring with them.
Meet and greet
- Effective from 23rd July until further notice all courses will have no more than 8 clients per 1 instructor, with a maximum of 16 customers in attendance. Ratios will be reviewed increase at the time the government guidance allows.
- From the moment of stepping out of the car, we would request that all employees, sub-contractors, apprentices and clients at all times remain 2 metres apart (unless you are from the same household) there should be no hand shaking or other contact with people from outside your household.
- Clients will place their signed copy of their registration forms and premedical questionnaire into the plastic wallet provided at the meeting point, confirming to the instructor that you have answered no to all medical questions and understand your responsibilities. Employees will not handle this paperwork for at least 72 hours and therefore we are asking you to be open to the fact that you have read it and have signed the document.
- You will be welcomed by the instructor and will be expected to have read the following safety brief:
Safety Brief
- The weekend is designed to be fun and no one will be forced to do anything they do not wish to do.
- Please respect everyone’s wish to practise social distancing, beyond the recommended 2m guidance, and their choice to wear a mask if they wish to.
- Any rubbish that can be burnt should be burnt. If the rubbish cannot be burnt, e.g. metal or glass and plastics, this will need to be taken home with you.
- For small cuts you should have a simple first aid kit with you; containing at least plasters and antiseptic wipes. For more serious injuries we have a first aid kit in basecamp and an accident book to record injuries in. All Instructors are first aid qualified. Please note due to covid 19 our instructors have been told NOT to provide mouth to mouth resuscitation in case of collapse, but to undertake chest compressions only unless directed otherwise by the emergency services, further first aid treatments will be at the discretion of the instructor but may involve them telling you and guiding you how to treat the wound yourself.
- If any medical information has changed since making your booking could you please advise an Instructor, all information will be kept confidential and we are interested in where your medication may be.
- If lifting heavy items tat require 2 people, please follow good manual handling practise and share your lifting only with some from your own household. If this is not an option, the item(s) cannot be moved.
- Due to Covid 19 No activity should take place that involves exertion within a 5-metre space of anyone else (e.g. fire bow)
- A pegged out display of 2 metres and 5 metres will be demonstrated
Once it has been agreed everyone is aware of the safety brief, you will then be directed to basecamp with the instructor.
On arrival in camp & for the remainder of your course
- You will be provided with a demonstration on handwashing with no running/piped water, everyone will be requested to wash their hands.
- For everyone there is a compulsory handwash every 2 hours (using your own anti-bac gel) during the teaching day, water is available for those who wish to handwash more. Handwashing must comply with our handwashing instructions which comply with UNICEF guidelines, a jug should be used to pour the water over the hands of the client into a collecting bowl underneath and then disposed of in a dedicated hole at the edge of camp.
- Please note we have provided face guards for any member of staff who wishes to use them, please respect this if an instructor puts one on. This is in no detriment to how we view you; it is the instructor’s personal choice. We are however of the understanding that the outdoors is very low risk.
- Each client will be issued with their own equipment (as appropriate) as well as a water supply for the duration of the course – these should not be handled by anyone else outside of your household. This equipment will have been left fallow for 72 hours prior to your course commencing, or if a course has been held within this time frame the equipment will have been disinfected thoroughly.
- Any further tools and or equipment that are used through the course (e.g. fire bow kit) should be picked up from the unused pile and placed in the used pile when you have finished with them. These will then either be left fallow for 72 hours or cleaned thoroughly before the next use. Hands should also be washed after each session.
- In camps where there is a rustic table, we would request that clients do not use this area. The area will be disinfected after each use by an instructor.
- All shared handheld equipment will be disinfected every two hours with the dedicated disinfectant spray, e.g. storage boxes and kettle
- If cleaning needs to take place following a known COVID potential case then the following guidelines will be followed by an instructor: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-decontamination-in-non-healthcare-settings/covid-19-decontamination-in-non-healthcare-settings
- All staff & clients should avoid touching their face and if there is a cough or sneeze this should be done into a tissue and disposed of in the fire. If no tissue is available, it should be done into your arm
- It is not practical to put up signage within the woodlands however the key messages of social distancing and cleaning will be enforced by the team if necessary. If there is a failure to adhere to social distancing measures, then we will have no choice but to remove you from the course.
- In the toilet there is a blue roll and some spray disinfectant, before and after each use we would ask you to wipe down any contactable surface and burn the blue paper with the lighter provided, and then request that you wash your hands.
- In times of inclement weather paper towels/blue roll should be used for drying hands when weather does not allow for drying, and then disposed of, ideally in the fire.
- You may notice that if there is a rare event where an item has to be passed to you, it may be placed on the ground for you to pick up, this is to ensure social distancing. All instructors are washing their hands within a 2-hour time frame also.
- If you are within the clinically vulnerable, or extremely clinically vulnerable category, or if you live with anyone who is in either of these two groups, please consider whether you wish to take advantage of our 2 year postponement offer, we will of course welcome you to this course, or one in the future.
- Our risk assessment is relating to COVID-19 is available to view upon request.
- In case of emergency evacuation people do not have to stay 2 metres apart if it is unsafe to do so.
- Any personal litter should be burnt or removed at the end of the day and taken home.
- The evidence suggests that wearing a face covering does not protect you, but it may protect others if you are infected but have not developed symptoms- however the risk is deemed to be extremely low when operating in an outdoor environment. We will leave it at your discretion should you decide to wear a facemask. If you decide that you would like to wear a face covering, we would ask you to follow the below recommendations:
- wash your hands thoroughly with soap and water for 20 seconds or use hand sanitiser before putting a face covering on, and after removing it
- when wearing a face covering, avoid touching your face or face covering, as you could contaminate them with germs from your hands
- change your face covering if it becomes damp or if you’ve touched it
- continue to wash your hands regularly
- change and wash your face covering daily
- if the material is washable, wash in line with manufacturer’s instructions. If it’s not washable, dispose of it carefully in your usual waste
- practise social distancing wherever possible
- The above is about protecting our team, as well as yourself and your other course participants
- Where numbers of participants and activities dictate the need, then a number of fireplaces will be established to maintain social distancing.
- Clients will be refused entry on the instructor’s discretion based on appearance of potential symptoms.
Social distancing should take place during ALL sessions. Each session has been re-designed to ensure you have the safest possible experience. If you are at all unsure about how something will operate please contact us prior to the course, or ask the question directly to the instructor during the course.
Last reviewed on 23rd July 2020, using the Welsh Government guidelines updated 20th July 2020.
LINK TO WALES COVID-19 ADVICE:
If you have question concerning what the current government guidance is concerning COVID-19 in Wales, then please see the following webpage: https://gov.wales/coronavirus-regulations-guidance
More information on Test, Trace, Protect in Wales: https://gov.wales/test-trace-protect-html
The health benefits of being outdoors is one topic I find fascinating. As well as being the co-owner of a Forest School & Bushcraft company, I also work in mental health as a counsellor. In my work I have always been interested in the idea of our inner hunter-gatherer. Studies have shown that our brains are still wired up to a live in the world of our ancestors where our priorities were to hunt and gather for food, build shelter, connect with our families and communities and use plants to heal ourselves. Occasionally we’d experience the stress response to run away from danger or fight to protect ourselves from harm. In the world of the hunter-gatherer these stressful instances would have normally been short lived and with the immediate danger passed we’d soon return to the safety of our tribe, an ongoing cycle of relaxation to stress to relaxation, completed and no harm done. Fast forward to today however, and our modern, fast-paced lifestyles mean we spend much of our lives in this stress state. Cortisol (your body’s main stress hormone) is racing through our systems steadily and rarely do we get much of a break from this to reconnect with our tribe and loved ones and complete the cycle, allowing the brain to get it’s much needed rest.
I’ve recently discovered the process of fermenting wild greens. This is an ancient technique to preserve foods and to increase the nutritional value which greatly benefits the overall health of the body. This further led me to develop my understanding of how the gut plays a major role in our mental health too. It was fascinating to discover that 90% of serotonin is produced in the gut, it’s like the body’s second brain. Eating fermented food is incredibly good for us and up until very recently in western history we have been preserving food in this way.
Woodland Classroom are hosting a whole weekend of 
So, who are we? Well… James and Lea have been running Woodland Classroom in Lampeter, Ceredigion since 2014 where they have hosted schools, organisations, adult learners, after-school clubs and kids birthday parties with a range of outdoor activities including; bushcraft, forest school, traditional woodland crafts, mindfulness and CPD training. All of this and more will now be offered at our new home.
James Kendall
Lea Kendall
Whilst cooling off my toes in the river, I spotted what looked like a water scorpion, with pincers just large enough to give my little toe a nip. Ting grinned, saying “they could give you a nasty bite” but with the look on his face I think he was having me on. Best to play it safe though, time to move on. We came across a tree that Ting cut a small slice from, telling us that the bark is used locally as a medicine, boiled in a tea. Or you could chew the bark to release the medicine. It tasted bitter and reminded me of how willow was used in our past for similar purposes. Willow bark contains a chemical similar to aspirin. Whilst walking I’d noticed Djoe heading off trail here and there to inspect dead bamboo trees, he was clearly searching for the right one. After a few non-starters he hacked into one and selected a length to take with him. The reason for this would become clear later.
After some hopping from boulder to boulder and crossing precarious fallen logs over the rushing river water we reached a little patch of paradise… a small waterfall, complete with natural swimming pool. This is the stuff that old Bounty chocolate commercials were made of. We stripped off and enjoyed the cool water, trying our best to ignore the large spiders suspended in webs not far above us – I never saw them on a Bounty advert. Seriously though, it doesn’t get much better than this, being able to enjoy this special place, with river water just the right temperature. Exactly what you need after half a day’s hike in the tropical heat.
Split sticks were then bundled together and these bundles were tied together using natural cordage. This was more bamboo, but fresh and green this time, which had been soaked in the river. I imagine the soaking served one or both of these jobs; to make the cordage flexible for us and/or to help prevent the flames from burning through the cordage once it was holding the torch together.
We made our way around another rocky bend, then we could see the light at the other end of the tunnel, which revealed a huge cave opening bigger than my house. The bamboo torches were brought together and placed in an old fire pit which gave us some more light to see by. We sat down for a rest on a large ledge within the cave mouth. As we took in the scenery around us it struck me how people from ages past must have used this place as shelter and refuge. The ledge was large enough to accommodate many people and the fireplace our torches flickered away in sat on a raised bowl of earth, and I wondered whether this was a recent addition or something that had been formed by our guides ancestors generations before. Between the fresh water supply, the fish that were abundant in the river, the bamboo growing all round us and the shelter the cave provided I thought this must have been a place where native peoples had lived in the past. I should have asked our guides, but I was too caught up in the moment.
It was time to say farewell to Djoe and Dham, whilst Ting would lead us up the final hill toward our waiting vehicle. Our guides for the day waved farewell and took their bamboo torches back into the depths of the cave. The image of the flicker of red flame against the natural rock will stay with me for a long time.
It was 2 hour drive from Chang Mai to get to our dropping off point and if the craziness of the driver was anything to go by, the next couple of days would be filled with unpredictability. I’m not sure whether he thought his minivan was in fact a race car but he certainly drove like it was, weaving in and out of traffic and over-taking on blind corners. Our guide (Ting) seemed to take it all in his stride, so I assumed this driving was business as usual. As we climbed through the mountains to ever higher ground I noticed the broadleaf jungle gave way to scatterings of pine trees as our altitude increased. Then as we came down into valleys again, the number of pines would decrease again. I hadn’t expected to see such trees here at all. Despite our unpredictable driver, we got there in one piece, if a little shaken.
We hopped into a pick up truck to take us down a bumpy track to a village which would mark the start of our jungle trek proper. Here we saw timeless Karen hill tribe crafts in action as a lady demonstrated the weaving of traditional Karen dress for women. The skirt she was weaving would take 2 weeks of constant work to complete. The colours in the cloth were almost garishly bright, reds, blues and yellows, which in Britain would look well out of place, but here they were beautiful.
Their simple house had a central fireplace, the hub of the home. I noticed hanging on the wall a fine collection of machetes, which any bushcrafter would be envious of. Smoke drifted out of smoke-holes in the roof and as we rested before being served dinner I enjoyed how quiet everything was. No traffic noise here.
WHAT YOU NEED
