Going from Strength to Strength
Young Rangers is a weekly after-school club for 6-11 year olds which has been running at Denmark Farm Conservation Centre, Ceredigion since summer 2014 with great success. We’ve been welcoming local children to the group where they get the opportunity to learn about nature, gain new camp-craft skills and let off some steam in the woods.
Our motto is “play, explore and discover.” Sessions are inspired by the Forest School model, with the aim of learning through play. So far the group have done target archery, painting using colours from nature, splitting firewood with an axe, whittling skills, minibeast hunting and night-time awareness.
Having run an initial pilot scheme for 10 weeks, we’re pleased to say that the club has been a success with most sessions filling up and many children coming back to us week after week, which has been rewarding for us as leaders. We’d also like to make an honourable mention to Tracey Reynolds who has taken great photos of the sessions, some of which you can see across this website.
So what happens when it rains? Well, we do run sessions in wet weather, it’s all part of the outdoor experience and we don’t feel that children should be sheltered from the wetter side of outdoor life, but we are thankful for the roundhouse which we can dive into for relief from the rain when needed. Now that the days are shorter with the nights closing in, we’re having a campfire to bring some light and warmth to the woods, which the kids love gathering round.
The club will be running up to Christmas, including a special full day of festive fun on Monday 22nd Dec called Winter in the Woods. Then we’ll be taking a break through January (there’s only so many activities we can run in the dark) before returning as usual in February. Thanks to everyone who has supported us this far.
