29 Sep

FREE Autumn Tree Guide

activity leaders, bushcraft, forest school, trees, woodland skills adult learners, autumn, identification, skills, trees, wildlife, woodland

We all know that tree leaves change colour in autumn, that acorns grow on oak and conkers grow on horse chestnut, but can you tell me what the autumn fruit of the hornbeam looks like? For anyone looking to improve their tree identification skills autumn provides us with many distinctive signs such as fruits, nuts, berries and leaf colour that we can use to recognise our native and common tree species. In this blog I’ll introduce you to some of clues to look out for in autumn and break down the differences between common trees which often get confused. You can get outdoors and spot these clues for yourself with a free download I’ve created; Autumn Tree Guide, which you can get your hands on just below.

By the way, if you love trees, but struggle to tell one species from another, then you could enroll in my FREE Tree Identification Course online. More details can be found at the end of the article.

3 Common Maple Trees

Maple leaves are quite a distinctive shape, just think of the Canadian flag. But we have several maple species commonly growing in our countryside and when it comes to including formal planting and gardens that numbers goes sky high. We shall steer clear of those for now. Let’s just look at the differences between our 3 most common maple trees which you’re most likely to see on a country walk. We will look at the difference in their leaves in autumn and also their fruits.

Left: Field Maple (Acer campestre), Middle: Sycamore (Acer pseudoplatanus), Right: Norway Maple (Acer platanoides)

So, we have 3 different maples each with their characteristic 5-lobed leaf shape. But they are also clearly quite different, especially as autumn reveals it’s colours. Let’s break that down…

Field Maple (Acer campestre) – our only native maple in the UK. Firstly, the leaves are much smaller than the other two species here and the tree itself is smaller when mature also. The lobes are more rounded than the others. But a key difference to look out for is the leaf colour in autumn, which across the whole tree will be a bright yellow. The best example is the leaf seen in the extreme left. Once they fall, they will turn brown.

Sycamore (Acer pseudoplatanus) – a commonly planted non-native maple. We’ve got a much larger leaf here than the field maple, but also the presence of Tar Spot Fungus – have you noticed those black spots? You don’t get these spots on our other two maples here, so it’s a dead giveaway. There’s something interesting about the autumn leaf colour too, in that there isn’t much to shout about. Typically you won’t see a great display of colour from our sycamores, they generally just turn a dirty/patchy brown. This is in contrast to our other two species here. Take caution though; sometimes we do get yellow leaves across the tree, but this is less common. Natures loves not conforming to simple rules 🙂

Norway Maple (Acer platanoides) – next to sycamore this is probably the most commonly planted non-native maple in the UK, particularly in urban areas and roadsides. We have a larger leaf, like sycamore, but the lobes are much more jagged and dramatic in their form. We also can’t ignore the amazing display of colours we get from norway maple, which is a world away from sycamore at this time of year. Just look at those reds, oranges and yellows.

In summer, all these leaves are green, of course. But come the autumn you can clearly see the differences. Let’s not forget the fruits of the maples either, what many people call “helicopters.” These winged seed cases are a favourite of children who love throwing them in the air and watching them spin to the earth. Let’s take a look at the differences between our 3 maples when it comes to these “helicopters.”

Left: Field Maple (Acer campestre), Middle: Sycamore (Acer pseudoplatanus), Right: Norway Maple (Acer platanoides), Inset: Sycamore seeds in autumn

You can see the clear difference in not only the typical size of the winged seeds but also their shape. Field maple seeds typically have their wings at 180 degrees to each other, whereas sycamore wings are generally at a more down-swept 45 degrees. The norway maple wings are larger again. By the way, this picture is of the seeds in summer, when they are not fully mature so be aware that in autumn the mature wings will all be brown in colour, as seen in the inset picture.

I hope that’s cleared up any confusion between these 3 common maples. Now, let’s look at some autumn berries which can be the cause of confusion.

Red Berries Everywhere

To someone starting out in tree identification, it can be easy to get confused between tree species which have similar berries, especially when they’re the same colour. Just take a look at these below…

Top Left: Hawthorn (Crataegus monogyna), Top Right: Guelder-rose (Viburnum opulus), Bottom Left: Rowan (Sorbus aucuparia), Bottom Right: Whitebeam (Sorbus aria)

Here we have four different native trees, each with red berries. So, how can we easily tell between them? Well although this may seem confusing at first glance there are differences to see once we slow down and look closer. Here’s my handy hints for telling these trees apart in autumn:

Hawthorn (Crataegus monogyna) – this is the 3rd display of colour we’ve had from this tree over the year. The first being the flush of spring green leaves which fill our hedgerows and roadsides. The second comes in May with the white blossom, smelling of sweet almonds. This third display are the berries themselves, known as haws. They are round to oval in shape, with a matt finish. Inside you’ll find the flesh is a yellow/green colour which surrounds a large stone. You will see less fruits per bunch than you will with the other species here. Also, look out for the thorns on the branch, which these other species don’t have.

Guelder-rose (Viburnum opulus) – a common shrub of hedgerows. Firstly these striking red berries grow in umbels (a cluster of stalks), unlike the hawthorn. Also, these berries are really glossy. They have a real shine to them. The flesh inside is red, with the whole berry being much less firm than the others here. Lastly, their shape is important, which is more difficult to see from the above picture, but they are partially flattened, as if their round shape has been squashed.

Rowan (Sorbus aucuparia) – you may know this tree as the mountain ash. These berries grow from an umbel, with many berries per cluster. The seed inside is much smaller than that of hawthorn. The month you’re seeing these berries is also important too because they can appear on the tree as early as July and can persist after the leaves have fallen in autumn. So, they have a long season on the branch. Beware that there are many cultivars of rowan which are planted in urban spaces. You can even get orange or yellow berry varieties. But in the countryside, you’re unlikely to see these.

Whitebeam (Sorbus aria) – These are the largest berry of the four seen here. A feature which is difficult t pick up from this image is that the berries are peppered with white/grey spots called lenticels. Notice the latin family name ‘Sorbus’, this species is related to our rowan. So, it’s no surprise there are some similarities in how the berries look. Like the rowan, there are several cultivars of whitebeam which you might well see in urban areas and gardens, so we’re just talking about the wild native here.

We’re missing a key piece of the puzzle here though, the leaves. We need to widen our view of these trees because if we just look at the berries we’re not using all of the information available to us. Take a look at the images below and you’ll see that we have four very different leaf shapes with their respective autumn colours.

Top Left: Hawthorn (Crataegus monogyna), Top Right: Guelder-rose (Viburnum opulus), Bottom Left: Rowan (Sorbus aucuparia), Bottom Right: Whitebeam (Sorbus aria)

So, as we can now see, with the full picture things become a little easier. This is one of the big things I ask my students to practise when they’re out identifying trees. I ask them to “Tune In” so they look at the bigger picture before concentrating on the details. Clues like leaf shape, bark, or even the place where the tree is growing can tell us a lot about what we’re looking at.

Get Your FREE Autumn Tree Guide

I’ve created a handy guide you can use when you’re out and about looking at trees during autumn. The guide features 18 native and common British trees which have fruits, berries or nuts that you might already be familiar with but also there’s other signs here that you’ve probably never noticed before. I’ve laid out similar looking berries side by side so that you can easily distinguish between them.

You’ll also see smaller images featuring typical autumn leaf colour for each species. Notice which ones turn a distinct colour and also which ones, like alder and sycamore, don’t tend to have a display of colour at all. This too can be a useful identifying feature, once you get your eye in.

I hope you find it useful on your journey to understanding the trees around us.

Discover more About Trees

It can be so interesting to really look in to the details of our native trees and notice the changes that they undergo throughout the four seasons. That’s just what I’ve created for my FREE introductory online course called Kickstart Your Tree ID Skills. Here you will find a whole host of resources to take you from clueless to confident on your way to really knowing your trees.

REGISTER FOR THE FREE COURSE HERE

When you sign up to this free mini-course you’ll be identifying common trees with video tutorials and photo galleries at your fingertips. Start your journey to becoming a fully fledged Tree Expert today. The course includes Tree ID Cheat Sheets which you can download and take outdoors with you.

“I’ve been frustrated for so long trying to learn my trees myself and haven’t gotten far. This course answered everything and has seriously upped my game.” Dr. Patrick Alexander

Happy tree hunting folks.

James

26 Jul

Mindfulness & Bushcraft: Perfect Partners

Want to be healthier and happier? I’d say you need more wildness in your life!

by Lea Kendall (Counsellor, Mindfulness in the Woods Practitioner and Outdoor Activity Leader)

We, as a species, need to rewild ourselves. Practising bushcraft and taking time out for ourselves in nature can be our vehicle to honouring our ancient, wild selves. It’s an approach that we teach during our Woodland Wellbeing & Bushcraft Weekend which is one of our favourite events of the year. You may have seen plenty of stories doing the rounds about landowners who are letting wildlife do its thing as farms, forestry plantations and gardens are allowed to go back to nature. Whether it’s called rewilding, natural regeneration or non-intervention, the aim is usually the same; to benefit wildlife by increasing biodiversity. The results in many of these projects have seen a huge increase in the variety of animal and plant life, as well as the joy and happiness that comes to those who get to watch wildlife thriving around them. Species of insects and wildflowers have exploded and following them, all the birds and mammals that come with them. All because humans have withdrawn their input. Let’s take a step back and understand just what rewilding is…

“Rewilding is a progressive approach to conservation. It’s about letting nature take care of itself, enabling natural processes to shape land and sea, repair damaged ecosystems and restore degraded landscapes. Through rewilding, wildlife’s natural rhythms create wilder, more biodiverse habitats.” Rewidling Europe

So, can we also apply this approach to how we live our own lives? Absolutely!

Rewilding Your Soul

The health benefits of being outdoors is one topic I find fascinating. As well as being the co-owner of an Outdoor Education & 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.

Society has changed in the blink of an evolutionary eye, and our brain wiring is nowhere near caught up yet. It’s still happier picking berries, whittling spoons and bonding with each other whilst sat round the campfire under the canopy of the trees and stars.

Research by Mark Berman at the University of Chicago says that if you add 10 trees to any given urban block, residents report a 1% increase in wellness, if you wanted to give the same effect using money for increasing happiness you’d have to pay each household $10,000 or make the residents 7 years younger. Trees, nature, wildness, they all increase our happiness and well-being. So, why don’t we choose to spend more time immersed in nature if it’s so good for us?

I believe that positive mental and physical health can be achieved through the art of bushcraft and being mindful in nature. Here we are doing two very simple things; we are honouring our inner hunter-gatherer and living in the present moment. We are also surrounding ourselves amongst trees in a beautiful forest. Those trees have been scientifically proven to have their own natural healing powers, but that’s a story for another time.

Bushcraft – Just What the Doctor Ordered

So, how do we start to rewild our spirit? We need to make time to nurture our emotional, cognitive and social selves.

Our good friend Nick Hulley at in2thewildwood is a fellow Bushcraft Instructor based in Staffordshire and a previous tutor on our Woodland Wellbeing & Bushcraft Weekend in North Wales. He brings mindfulness into the very core of his life. Let’s let Nick explain in his own words…

“After my ‘safety-rounds’ along the rides, the trails and the woodland fringes; I ease into the fire circle glade. I lower my rucksack, remove the kindling from home along with the tinder, heft my axe into a couple of logs, light the fire and boil the kettle – wood smoke, tea, crackling billets, fresh cut logs, the fire light flicker, the outer focus stillness and yet the inner calmness continues to enrich my wellbeing. I ground myself, cross-legged and centred. The following fifteen minutes of the breath, the inner sight, the acknowledgement and the continued return to the breath sets me up for the day: this marriage works, forest environments, Bushcraft and Mindfulness: even if it is just a short centre and pause whilst doing.”

When hosting a woodland skills session, mindfulness informs how he moves about the woods, how he uses all his senses to feel the forest, how the trees nourish him, how he pauses and calmly absorbs all about him: likewise for his learners on the courses he delivers for them. Nick continues…

“It is wonderful to now be aware that for all these years, working as I do in a forest setting, that research has been going on with the intent to establish positive links between woodlands & improved health. Shinrin-yoku (forest bathing in Japan) and its beneficial outcomes is one of the many researched avenues involving forested settings; which provide a life enhancing backdrop to the union of Bushcraft activities and primitive skills learning complimented by Mindfulness, with its slowed, peaceful and thoughtful considerations of the natural world and our impact on it.”

Rewilding Your Body

Many of us already know how to rewild our back gardens, letting nature take over or by planting native plants and bee-friendly flowers. But we can also increase the ‘wildness’ of our gut by eating healthy, fermented and ‘dirty’ wild food.

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.

The average body contains around 39 trillion microbes & bacteria in the intestines. Our lack of exposure to dirt and animals along with the cleaning and disinfecting of our crops and environment with chemicals, has reduced the biodiversity in our guts, and like the health of the earth, our own overall health has declined as a result. We are our own ecosystems, and some scientists are suggesting we even need to rewild our intestines with bacteria from indigenous people – its sounds crazy but it’s already happening. Want to know more about this subject? Check out Mary Beth Nawor’s Ted Talk.

We can also take positive action when out in nature by getting into the right mindset. I’ve put together a bunch of simple nature-based exercises that you can try for yourself to rewild your body and soul. Take a look at my video which demonstrates 9 techniques you can use.

Immerse Yourself in Nature

So, what have we learned? Practising bushcraft doesn’t have to mean taking on extreme survival skills, pushing yourself to the edge of your endurance or eating up a dish of witchetty grubs, ala Bear Grylls. For me, bushcraft skills are about slowing down, tuning into nature, connecting with our ancient past and being present in our natural environment. Through bushcraft skills such as tracking, carving, nature awareness and plant identification we can become extremely mindful and train our brain to leave the fast-paced, modern world behind even if just for a few hours. bushcraft and mindfulness are the perfect partners to leading a healthier, happier lifestyle, enriched by nature, sharing time with like minds and learning some very old, new skills.

Woodland Classroom are hosting a whole weekend of Woodland Wellbeing & Bushcraft at the National Trust’s Chirk Castle estate in North Wales this summer. You can give some time to your inner hunter-gatherer for a weekend of mindfulness in the woods accompanied by a range of bushcraft activities aimed at focusing the mind and increasing awareness & appreciation of the natural world. If you’d like to know more about this event, just follow THIS LINK.

“In wildness is the salvation of the world” Henry David Thorough

08 Mar

FREE Spring Tree Flower Guide

activity leaders, bushcraft, forest school, trees, woodland skills adult learners, identification, skills, spring, trees, wildlife, woodland

Ask someone “what grows on oak trees” and most people will say “acorns” but have you ever noticed the beautiful pink flowers growing on oak? There’s a hidden world of wonderful tree flowers that many of us walk right by without giving them a glance. In this blog I’ll introduce you to some of the best tree flowers to look out for in spring. You can find them yourself with a free download I’ve created Spring Trees: Flower Guide UK, which you can get your hands on just below.

spring tree flower guide - free download

Get a FREE Spring Trees Flower Guide. Print it out or download it to your phone.

Which Trees Have Flowers?

The simple answer to this is that all our native and common broadleaf trees have flowers. When you get to conifers (evergreens) things get a little more tricky so let’s set those aside for now.

Most of our trees show their flowers in spring but some, like the elder, wait until early summer. Knowing what order the flowers emerge in spring can be a good skill to help you identify which tree species you’re looking at. Male flowers will become laden with yellow pollen whilst the (usually) more colourful female flowers will eventually mature into the seed, fruit, nut or berry.

The majority of our trees have both their male and female flowers on the same branch, sometimes right next to each other, but others have separate male and female trees, relying on their being a member of the opposite sex in the near vicinity for pollination to occur. I wrote a whole article about which trees are male and female, if you want to know more just follow this link.

Trees like willow and poplar don’t have flowers as we usually know them, with petals, but rather they have catkins, which fill the early spring canopy with whites and yellows. As spring comes to a close the female catkins have gone to seed and you can have sunny May days with masses of fluffy willow and poplar seeds gently floating through the breeze. If you want to find out more about catkins, I’ve written a whole article about them. You can check that out here.

3 Tiny, But Beautiful Tree Flowers To Look Out For

3 Beautiful Native Tree Flowers To Hunt Down; English Oak (Quercus robur), Hornbeam (Carpinus betulus) and Alder (Alnus glutinosa).

They may be small but that doesn’t mean these tree flowers don’t pack a visual punch when you do spot them. Earlier in the season (late winter) we have the tiny flowers of the hazel (Corylus avellana) looking like red tentacled sea-anemones. They are one of the first signs that spring is on its way.

But there’s three more crimson beauties I want to draw your attention to. First we have the female flowers of our native oaks. The green male catkins are also found growing on the same branch. You will find these tiny pink flowers appearing with the young leaves in late April to early May. Look out for them as they won’t be there for long.

Hornbeam, often mistaken for beech (Fagus sylvatica), is another native which produces two very different male and female flowers, the males being catkins. The females resemble the flowers of hazel, with pink tendrils spread out to catch pollen. You will find these on the tree in April.

Lastly, the alder, a tree which favours wet ground and riverbanks. It has not only vividly purple buds and male catkins, but in early spring you might well spot the young female flowers before they turn green and begin their journey to maturing into cones. When young they resemble bright pink cotton buds, a real splash of colour in February and March. Keep your eyes peeled!

Know Your Tree Flowers

To someone starting out in tree identification, it can be easy to get confused between tree species which have similar flowers, especially when they’re the same colour. Just take a look at these below…

Top Left: Blackthorn (Prunus spinosa), Top Right: Crab Apple (Malus sylvestris), Bottom Left: Wild Cherry (Prunus avium), Bottom Right: Hawthorn (Crataegus monogyna)

Here we have four different native trees, each with white flowers, with 5 petals each. So how can we easily tell between them? Well although this may seem confusing at first glance and each of these species could be found growing next door to one another, what we don’t have here is context. What I mean here is specifically the time of year we would find these flowers. The other thing we need to consider is other identifying signs away from the flowers themselves. Here’s my handy hints for telling these trees apart in spring:

Blackthorn (Prunus spinosa) – this is the first tree to come into flower en masse in our hedgerows. We see this in March when everything else still has closed buds. Also, look out for the wicked thorns on the twig and trunk.

Crab Apple (Malus sylvestris) – this is the largest of the four flowers shown here. Notice how the petals are really opened out. They resemble an apple core when it’s sliced crossways, looking like a 5 pointed star. These flowers are typically out in May. Also, you will probably find rotten apples on the ground below the tree, so look out for those.

Wild Cherry (Prunus avium) – these flowers can closely resemble the hawthorn, however the flowers of wild cherry emerge before the leaves in April whereas with hawthorn the flowers come out after the leaves. Also, you will not find any thorns on a wild cherry.

Hawthorn (Crataegus monogyna) – one of the key features for these flowers is their smell. The have a sickly-sweet (though I think it’s pleasant) aroma of almond or marzipan. You will find these flower in late-April to May. An old country name for this tree is the maythorn because it traditionally flowers at this time of the year. Remember, the tree has thorns, so look for those too.

Get Your FREE Spring Tree Flower Guide

I’ve created a handy guide you can use when you’re out and about looking at trees during spring. The guide features 18 native and common British trees which have flowers that you might already be familiar with and flowers that you’ve probably never noticed before. The trees are laid out in the order which they come into flower so you know not only what to look for but when to look for it.

I hope you find it useful on your journey to understanding the trees around us.

DOWNLOAD YOUR GUIDE HERE

Discover more About Trees

REGISTER FOR THE FREE COURSE HERE

“I’ve been frustrated for so long trying to learn my trees myself and haven’t gotten far. This course answered everything and has seriously upped my game.” Dr. Patrick Alexander

Happy tree hunting folks.

James

trees versus shrubs what's the difference

02 Jan

Is It A Tree Or A Shrub?

bushcraft, trees, woodland skills adult learners, bushcraft, forest school, identification, skills, trees, wildlife, woodland

Have you ever wondered what the difference is between a tree and a shrub? The answer does not always seem clear. Is an ancient oak, growing small and stunted on a mountainside classed as a shrub or a tree? In this article you’re going to learn the difference between trees and shrubs. It’s a question that many of the students on my FREE Tree Identification Course have asked me, so I thought I’d tackle it here.

When we think of a tree, usually the image of a majestic oak comes to mind. Standing tall, proud and ancient with a wide crown of leaves. But a low-growing mountain-side juniper with it’s spreading habit is just as much a tree as the mighty oak. Let’s find out why…

Left: a stunted hawthorn growing on a mountainside. Right: Juniper, low-growing & spreading. Are they both trees?

WHAT MAKES IT A TREE?

Firstly, what differentiates trees from other plants? Well, a tree puts on woody growth which is permanent, where as with annual or perennial plants the shoots or whole plant dies back each year. Many of our wildflowers have to start from scratch, reproducing from seed each Spring. Whereas our trees will sit out the winter waiting for the warm weather to return.

It is the cambium layer, which lies under the bark of a tree which produces new permanent cells. As well as performing a bunch of important jobs for the tree these cells also form the woody trunk and structure of the tree. With all trees the thickness of their stems increases year on year (when healthy) which means that the diameter of the trunk and branches gradually increases. It is this annual growth which gives a tree its rings by which we can count its age.

WHAT IS A SHRUB?

The word “shrub” isn’t a botanical classification, but rather catch-all term for a plant which has more than one main stem, is generally less than 5 metres tall, and grows with a spreading habit.

So, the term “shrub” can refer just as much to a perennial garden bush like a hydrangea as it can to a woodland tree such as a hazel.

One of the most common examples of trees in shrub form is the hedgerow. Here hawthorn, blackthorn, hazel, holly and others are clipped back annually to form the dense, linear hedges we’re so familiar with. Hidden amongst all this there can often be species which we think of as trees such as oak, ash and sycamore, which too have been clipped back. So, does this make them shrubs or trees? I’ll let you ponder that one.

3 Common Trees in Shrub Form; hazel as a coppice stool with 1 year regrowth, blackthorn with it’s early spring white blossom and elder with it’s summer flowers.

Here’s a great quote from the Reader’s Digest Field Guide to Tree & Shrubs of Britain which sums it all up;

“The difference between trees and shrubs is simple. Trees have a single woody stem, from which branches grow to form a crown. The branches of shrubs arise at ground level, forming a crown without a stem.”

But what’s truly going on here? To understand this we need to look deeper at the natural and human forces affecting whether a woody plant grows as a tree or shrub.

HOW SHRUBS THRIVE IN THE WOODS

In the woodland, the smaller trees which live happily in the shadow of their taller brothers (the oaks and ash of the forest) occupy the understorey. This is sometimes referred to as the ‘shrub layer’ of the woodland. These trees typically won’t grow taller than 5 metres, having found their niche in the habitat here.

Think of a woodland understorey made up of holly. Being an evergreen it sits very happily in the shade of taller trees through the summer. This is because once the leaves of oak and beech have fallen the holly can photosynthesise to its hearts content and take advantage of all that available light.

Meanwhile many shrubby trees come into flower or leaf earlier than the trees species in the high canopy. Blackthorn puts out its blossom before any other tree, ensuring that the pollinating insects give it their full attention before there’s too much competition. Meanwhile, the tiny red flowers of hazel can appear as early as December. The elder is our first native tree to come into leaf, as early as January, catching that winter sun. It’s amazing how our woods have evolved so that everyone gets their moment in the sun. There’s a beautiful interconnected poetry to it.

WHEN A SHRUB BECOMES A TREE & VICE-VERSA

So, can a shrub become a tree? Well, usually if a tree has been continually cut back then the result is a whole lot of stems. These will continue to grow in this shrubby form, though there will be some stems which die back naturally as the healthiest ones grow on, but it will always be a shrub.

In a woodland setting a hawthorn will often be in shrub form as part of the understorey. However, out in a field, where it has seeded with sufficient light and space it can grow with just one or two main stems and be very much a tree.

There are only a couple of ways a shrub can become a tree. First, when it is either deliberately pruned by us to take back its tree form, though it will always want to put out new shoots from the stool. The other route to true tree-dom is if you have a tall tree species such as oak, sycamore or beech which have been cut back in the past but then neglected for many years. These will usually form into trees, however they often still have more than one main stem. We see this in neglected coppice woodland and in over-stood hedgerows.

On the flip side through traditional woodland management like coppicing, some tree species are encouraged to grow multiple stems growing from their base (known as the stool). The regrowth of rods put out by the tree can then be harvested on an ongoing cycle. These can be made into coppice products such as charcoal, wooden furniture, firewood and turnery.

Even normally tall-growing trees like oak, ash and sweet chestnut respond well to coppicing. They can be encouraged into this shrub-like form so their multiple stems can be harvested on a 15-30 year cycle.

Trees can be coppiced to produce multiple stems. Left: hazel, a common coppice tree. Right: despite having multiple stems the height & girth of this large coppiced tree is way past the point being a shrub.

SHRUBS: A DEFINITIVE LIST

Here’s a list of our common native trees that can often be seen growing in shrub form, many of which are found in hedgerows and waysides across the UK;

hazel, elder, juniper, sea buckthorn, crab apple, hawthorn, blackthorn, buckthorn, alder buckthorn, box, dogwood, guelder-rose, field maple, spindle, holly, rowan, wayfaring tree, wild privet and any of the willows.

REGISTER FOR THE FREE COURSE HERE

When you sign up to this free mini-course you’ll be identifying common trees with video tutorials and photo galleries at your fingertips. Start your journey to becoming a fully fledged Tree Expert today. The course includes Tree ID Cheat Sheets which you can download to your device and take outdoors with you.

“I’ve been frustrated for so long trying to learn my trees myself and haven’t gotten far. This course answered everything and has seriously upped my game.” Dr. Patrick Alexander

GET TO KNOW YOUR TREES

I’ve also created some videos on how to recognise one of our most common shrubby trees, the hazel. You can follow me in either winter or summer and learn the key features you should be looking out for so that you can recognise this species whatever the time of year. Check out the videos below.

Happy tree hunting folks.

James

13 Nov

3 TOP TRICKS TO IDENTIFY ANY TREE

bushcraft, forest school, trees, woodland skills activities, adult learners, forest school, identification, skills, trees, woodland

Ever get frustrated that you don’t know what tree it is you’re looking at? Don’t sweat it, I’m going to share with you my top 3 techniques for identifying any tree out in the countryside.

I call these techniques, my 3 Key Principles of Tree Identification. Have a look at the video below and I’ll explain what they are and how you can use them yourself.

When practising tree identification (and this goes for wildflowers too) I like to play a game of elimination, whittling down what the tree isn’t to help me work out what it is. Using these techniques helps me do that. So, let’s elaborate some more on these 3 Key Principles…

TECHNIQUE 1: TUNE IN

Think about your surroundings. Ask yourself, “where am I?” Are you in farmland, a town park, an old country estate or a retail centre car park?

This is important because the setting of where you’re looking at a tree can tell you a lot about which species you might expect or not expect to see.

For instance, if we’re out in farmland or a natural woodland then it’s most likely we shall see a range of our common native tree species; oak, hawthorn, ash, willow and so on. The trees that make up the majority of our countryside.

However, if we’re somewhere like a National Trust property, an old country estate, the likelihood of exotic tree species having been planted here becomes much greater. You could be seeing rhododendron, eucalyptus or even giant sequoia.

The same goes for looking at trees in somebody’s garden – they could have planted anything! There are hundreds of Acers (from the maple family) and a whole host of ornamental birches for a start, many of which are common place in gardens up and down the country.

This principle also applies to the wider environment. For instance you’re going to see a different variety of species down in Devon than you will up in the Highlands of Scotland. Certain tree species prefer certain soil types, or micro-climates, and some species will tolerate more extreme conditions, such as a mountain-side, more than others will.

So, a good habit to get into when you start practising tree identification, is when you arrive at a location to start tree hunting, take a moment to stop and ask yourself:

“Where am I?”

“What is the history of this environment?”

“Which species do I expect to see here?”

The more you practise tree identification, the more experience you will build up and the better you’ll be able to predict the range of species you could see when visiting a new place.

TECHNIQUE 2: BEGIN WITH THE BRANCH

Study a young, healthy branch first.

With most tree species, you can find everything you need to know to identify it in any season simply by looking at a healthy, young branch from the tree.

Depending on the season, a young healthy twig is going to include one or more of the following distinctive features:

Buds, leaves, flowers, fruit, nuts and of course the young bark itself.

Think of a young healthy branch as the tree in microcosm. Often, everything you need to know is right here.

Everything you need to know to identify the tree can usually be found at the tip of a branch.

One word of warning, make sure that the branch you’re looking at is actually attached to the trunk of the tree you’re investigating. When you’re in a woodland or looking at a hedgerow branches tend to cross over from other trees in their race to reach sunlight and it can be easy to grab hold of a branch from the neighbouring tree.

This may sound obvious but I’ve seen it plenty of times on courses and even done it myself and it can cause a lot of confusion.

So, once you’ve selected your branch to study. Just take a moment to follow it back with your eye and check it’s attached to the right tree.

TECHNIQUE 3: IS IT ALTERNATE OR OPPOSITE?

Study the bud or leaf arrangement.

Depending on the time of year, the twig is either going to include buds or leaves. These features are going to be laid out in one of two forms:

1. Alternately along the branch.

2. Growing in opposite pairs.

This is absolutely key to nailing the species of tree as once you’ve answered that question it allows you to eliminate a whole bunch of species from your enquiry.

So I like to ask the tree this question when I first approach it. “Are your buds arranged alternately or in opposite pairs?”

The majority of native tree species in Britain have their buds or leaves arranged alternately along the branch.

One last thing to remember; it’s important to select a young healthy twig to answer this question because as a branch matures it will often self-select the healthiest of the twigs to grow on and will drop it’s near partner. So, you can be looking at an older branch and thinking that they definitely don’t grow in opposite pairs, but then on closer inspection you might well notice the old scar left over from where it’s opposite equivalent was self-selected to be dropped by the tree in favour of it’s partner.

When you become practised at this you will begin to start noticing the bud arrangement from a distance, as you look at the form of tree. This is when tree identification can become very satisfying and you can really start showing off.

IN CONCLUSION

In conclusion, keep these three principles in mind when you’re out and about looking at trees. They will give you a solid grounding from which to build your skills up from.

If you found this interesting and want to know more, you can start building your tree ID skills right now by signing up to my FREE introductory course Kickstart Your Tree ID Skills.

REGISTER FOR THE FREE COURSE HERE

Happy tree hunting folks.

James

13 Nov

Identify Autumn Trees Like a Pro

bushcraft, forest school, trees, woodland skills adult learners, autumn, identification, skills, trees, wildlife, woodland

Autumn is a beautiful time to be out in the woods, with all the fantastic colours our trees give us. But many people struggle to really know what they’re looking at. Can you tell your beech from your birch, or your alder from your elder? I’ve been on a mission over the past few years to build my tree ID skills and I’ve brought all that experience together in an online training course, which will take you from clueless to confident in your own tree knowledge. In this blog I want to share with you some of my top tips for really getting to know your trees in autumn.

Autumn is a season where many of the leaves we could be familiar with are changing, so we need to look closely at what’s going on and also start relying on some other features to make a positive ID.

I’ve made a video showing you how to recognise our native field maple (Acer campestre) in the season of autumn. Its a tree that many folks get confused with sycamore or the many other non-native maples which can be found across the UK.

If you liked this video and would like more good stuff then you can sign up to my new online training programme, The Complete Tree ID Course. It’s totally FREE to enroll on the introductory course Kickstart Your Tree ID Skills

ENROLL ON THE COURSE NOW

When you join the free course you will also get tree ID videos for ash and hazel in autumn.

Join the online course and get seasonal Tree ID Cheat Sheets for many British tree species. Download them to your mobile device or print them off.

So, let’s talk about a few things to look out for at this time of year with my top tips for identifying trees in autumn…

Look for consistent colour when the leaves change.

Although many trees show a range of golds, yellows and reds at this time of year, some tree species give an even display of a dominant colour in autumn. Once you’re familiar with that, it can be recognised from a distance before you even get anywhere near the tree. In the video on field maple here you will have seen how that tree produces an even display of bright yellow across all the leaves. This is in contrast to sycamore which typically doesn’t give a show like this.

Let’s play ‘Spot the Hornbeam.’ The tree gives a reliably even display of yellow at this time of year.

Hornbeam (Carpinus betulus) is another native tree which gives an even display of yellow across the whole tree. This can be really useful when differentiating it from beech (Fagus sylvatica), which is a tree is shares a lot of similarities with. Lucky for us, beech leaves don’t turn a bright yellow anywhere as evenly. Look out for consistently yellow leaves on Birch trees also.

Red is a colour associated with leaves in autumn but in reality there are very few native tree species out in our countryside that give us a good show of red. So if you’re seeing this colour strongly across a tree or shrub it can only be one of a few species; Guelder-rose (Viburnum opulus), Dogwood (Cornus sanguinea) and Spindle (Euonymus europaeus).

There are few native trees in the UK which give a show of red, Guelder-rose is one of them.

Look at WHEN Leaves Fall

Certain tree species drop their leaves much earlier than others. Ash (Fraxinus excelsior) is a great example of this. Strangely, it’s also one of the last trees to come into leaf in late Spring, so they don’t hang about long. Once you look, you might notice ash looking pretty bare as early as late September. So, if we take that feature and use it when we’re looking at a bunch of trees from a distance in autumn, if you’re seeing a tree with bare branches when others around it are still well leaved then you could well be looking at an ash.

The ash tree here clearly stands out from the crowd as most of its leaves have already fallen.

Also, it’s worth knowing that young beech and oak (Quercus spp.) trees often hold onto their brown leaves right through winter. So at the back end of autumn, if a broadleaf tree still has its leaves, it’s probably one of those two.

Know Your Fruits, Nuts , Seeds & Berries

Autumn is, of course, the time for an abundance of fruit and nuts in our hedgerows. For many of our natives this can be the season where they really shine and become visible to us, standing out from the crowd. A great show of berries or fruit can take centre stage, such as with the crab apple (Malus sylvestris) with it’s branches heavy with small, green/yellow apples.

When it comes to the hazel (Corylus avellana) you might think that the familiar hazelnut would be the thing to look out for in autumn, however these nuts can be pretty unreliable and by mid-autumn they’ve usually already all been snaffled by the squirrels, birds and mice. The good news is that there is another key feature you can look for on the hazel at this time of year which is much more reliable. But rather than tell you here, I’ll show you….

I’ve made a video all about Identifying Hazel in Autumn as part of the free course Kickstart Your Tree ID Skills, so if you want to check that out just follow the links in this blog. You’ll also see my top hazelnut foraging tips in that video too.

If you found this interesting and want to know more, you can learn my 3 Key Principles of Tree ID which you can apply to any tree, and lots more top tips and techniques by signing up to my FREE introductory course Kickstart Your Tree ID Skills.

REGISTER FOR THE FREE COURSE HERE

Happy tree hunting folks.

covid-19 method statement for bushcraft and forests school activities with woodland classroom

23 Jul

HOW WE’RE RETURNING TO THE WOODS WHILST MANAGING COVID-19

activities, bushcraft, forest school activities, adult learners, bushcraft, forest school, health, kids, risk

OUR COVID-19 METHOD STATEMENT by WOODLAND CLASSROOM LTD.

Statement updated 22rd Sept 2020

After a break from outdoor activities during lockdown we are now beginning to return to the woods with our exciting range of courses for adults and families, and looking 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 the new year.
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 October, 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 September 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

01 Apr

Want To Be a Tree Expert? Our Online Course is Coming Soon!

activities, activity leaders, bushcraft, forest school, woodland skills activities, adult learners, bushcraft, forest school, identification, north wales, skills, trees, woodland

Calling all tree lovers. Do you ever get overwhelmed by the amount of tree species out there and can’t tell one from the other? Would you love to expand your tree knowledge further and deepen your connection to the natural world? Well, I’m really excited to finally reveal what I’ve been working on for the past year…

THE COMPLETE TREE ID COURSE: An exclusive online course to take you from Tree Beginner to Tree Expert. All led by James Kendall from Woodland Classroom.

I’ve released a sneak preview of the full online course which you can watch here…

As I said, I’ve been filming videos for this course for over two years now, visiting trees in all four seasons, and taking hundreds of photographs. With coronavirus having cancelled or postponed all our outdoor activity work I now have the time to put the whole thing together for you.

SIGN UP TO OUR FREE ONLINE TREE ID COURSE NOW

I’d love to have your feedback, comments and constructive criticism on the video, as it will really help me highlight what works well and what could be improved for you. Simply drop me an email at hey@woodlandclassroom.com

Here’s what I hope to include in the full online course:

Approx 50 species of trees, both native and common to Britain and Ireland.
Videos of each tree species in winter, spring, summer and autumn – so you can see how the tree changes throughout the year and what to look out for.
Downloadable identification guide ‘cheat sheets’ which you can take out into the woods with you.
Hundreds of photographs, both on location and in-studio, which highlight the distinctive features in each tree.
Regular live webinars/chats with course students so you can get direct contact with me and other learners to help you on your progression from tree novice to expert.
An exclusive facebook group with all students so you can share questions, pictures and experiences.
You will get a certification of completion.

Excuse the pun but… I’ll help you see the wood for the trees 😉

There will be lots more information coming soon but if you’re interested in being one of the first to know when more details are released, drop us an email at hey@woodlandclassroom.com and I’ll sign you up to our Tree I.D. Course Mailing List.

Business Update – Coronavirus

Updated: Monday 23rd March 2020

Woodland Classroom would like to issue the following statement to provide our customers with an update on our precautions and preparations in light of the Coronavirus (CORVID-19) pandemic.

In-line with the escalating situation and Government guidelines, we have taken the hard decision that we will be postponing ALL our courses and events, for both kids and adults, throughout March, April and May. We will continue to review the situation and advice on a weekly basis looking to June and onwards.

This is an incredibly tough time for us as a small business but it’s important to do the right thing for everyone’s safety. Over the last week, we tried to roll with the punches and keep some of our events going but things have changed so fast in just a few days and it would be irresponsible for us to now host our sessions in the current climate.

Our policy is to re-schedule all courses and events to a point where it is more appropriate. Every client who is booked on to our courses/events in March, April & May will be contacted personally over the next few days outlining our schedule, please be patient with us and respect the fact we are fighting for our livelihoods.

If you have booked onto an event or course that has been affected and you cannot attend the rescheduled date then we will issue you with an 18-month voucher to use on any Woodland Classroom course, event or product.

If you have any concerns or questions, please call us on 07876 794 098 or send an email to hey@woodlandclassroom.com

Stay safe, stay active and remember that self-isolation doesn’t mean you have to stay indoors, but remember that the current advice is to keep 2 metres apart from others. So it’s best to avoid travelling to access nature. Use your garden, local park or green space and please avoid “honeypot” nature spots such as popular tourist destinations. Nature is a healer and strengthener of the immune system and you don’t have to go far to find it.

Lastly, we’d like to say thank you to everyone who has already reached out to us with messages of support, we really appreciate it.

Together we can beat this pandemic.

James & Lea Kendall

Woodland Classroom Ltd.

29 Jul

Woodland Classroom on the BBC

bushcraft, mindfulness, nature therapy adult learners, bushcraft, chester, eco therapy, health, mindfulness, national trust, nature therapy, north wales, weekend, woodland, wrexham

We were recently interviewed and filmed by the BBC for the popular documentary series ‘The Why Factor.’ The programme asks the question’ “Why does nature calm anxiety?” The crew came to the ancient woods at the National Trust’s Chirk Castle estate in North Wales where Lea and James, of Woodland Classroom, run their Mindfulness & Bushcraft sessions, engaging all ages in nature connection. Here they experienced a Nature Therapy session, lead by Lea, a qualified Counsellor and Mindfulness in the Woods Practitioner. Next up, the crew got stuck into some practical bushcraft skills to bring to life their inner cave-people. We had a lot of fun during the recording.

Watch the short video on the BBC News website RIGHT HERE or via the link below.

You can listen to the programme RIGHT HERE.

Lea described her experience, “It felt great to be a part of the programme. There’s so much research coming out about the power of nature to heal us, with professionals and projects from all over the world reconnecting their clients with the wild places, I’m excited to be part of this movement. It truly feels like nature therapy’s time has come.” Lea believes that the antidote to stress is found through our connection to nature and that through this we can connect with others and with ourselves, building emotional resilience and community.

The official description of the BBC documentary reads;

“As the world grows more urban, humanity moves further away from nature. Could this be the reason anxiety has become the most diagnosed mental illness in the west? The idea of mindfulness is becoming more popular as the mainstream grows more aware of how panicked we all are. How are we tackling this issue? Jordan Dunbar dives into a niche of researchers and therapists who are learning about and treating the negative symptoms of urban life with a dose of nature.”

In the programme Lea takes the show’s presenter, Jordan Dunbar, on a taster Nature Therapy session where she convinces him on the power of walking barefoot on the earth. Later, James gives Jordan a crash-course in ancient bushcraft skills including firelighting by friction. This awakened Jordan’s inner cave-man as he learned how to make fire using only the natural materials he could find around him.

The programme’s presenter and producer, Jordan, has this to say, “The video was listed in the top 5 on the BBC News website over the weekend, making the front page of the BBC website and we had over half a million views on the BBC News Instagram! We’ve had great feedback on the radio doc already and it wouldn’t have been half as good without the sounds of the woodland and bushcraft!”

Lea is interviewed about the power of nature for improving mental health and well-being by the BBC.

SO, WANT TO JOIN US FOR A ‘MINDFULNESS & BUSHCRAFT’ EXPERIENCE?

If you like what you hear in the programme and the idea of not just getting away from it all for a weekend but actually coming away with real skills and techniques appeals to you then you’ll be happy to hear that Lea and James host immersive weekend workshops in Woodland Mindfulness & Bushcraft for adults which features activities such as: spoon carving, awakening your animal senses, crafting your own woodland getaway (mindful shelter building), breathing space meditations, natural navigation techniques, fox walking, traditonal fire-lighting techniques, foraging, wildflower identifcation and more.

The aim is not just to give you a couple of days from the rat race but to enable you to come away with new skills and techniques which you can use to be more mindful going forward and bring nature deeper into your life.

Our next Woodland Mindfulness & Bushcraft Weekend is taking place in September 2020. You can find full details RIGHT HERE. Book your place now for what promises to be a fantastic weekend. To find out more about our upcoming courses and events for all ages, check out our Events page.

We also take bookings from organisations and for events to deliver our nature connection workshops to groups. Get in touch if you’d like to know more.

We’d like to say a big thanks to Jordan Dunbar and the BBC crew for visiting us all the way up in North Wales, and for spreading our message that nature is a positive force for improved mental health and well-being. Also, we could not have had this opportunity without the kind permission of the staff at the National Trust’s Chirk Castle who we work in partnership with to deliver our programme of courses and workshops.

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WHAT IS A SHRUB?

HOW SHRUBS THRIVE IN THE WOODS

WHEN A SHRUB BECOMES A TREE & VICE-VERSA

SHRUBS: A DEFINITIVE LIST

GET TO KNOW YOUR TREES

TECHNIQUE 1: TUNE IN

TECHNIQUE 2: BEGIN WITH THE BRANCH

TECHNIQUE 3: IS IT ALTERNATE OR OPPOSITE?

IN CONCLUSION

Look for consistent colour when the leaves change.

Look at WHEN Leaves Fall

Know Your Fruits, Nuts , Seeds & Berries

OUR COVID-19 METHOD STATEMENT by WOODLAND CLASSROOM LTD.

In Summary

Customer Statement

Upcoming Courses

Courses Specific COVID-19 Methodology Statement

LINK TO WALES COVID-19 ADVICE:

MORE ABOUT YOUR TUTOR

Business Update – Coronavirus

SO, WANT TO JOIN US FOR A ‘MINDFULNESS & BUSHCRAFT’ EXPERIENCE?