“James took full charge of our forest school activities during our charity fun day and was very organised. The forest school was full at all times with the children and parents exploring the various activities provided from bug hunting and making magic wands to making apple crumble on the stove, which was delicious! Everyone thoroughly enjoyed their experience in the forest school and it was lovely to see so many smiling faces, particularly when James started playing his mandolin having a little sing along.”

“Forest School is an inspirational process, that offers all learners regular opportunities to achieve and develop confidence and self-esteem through hands-on learning experiences in a woodland or natural environment with trees. Forest School is a specialised learning approach that sits within and complements the wider context of outdoor and woodland education. The ethos is shared by thousands of trained practitioners across the UK and beyond. Its roots reach back to early years pioneers in outdoor learning and across the sea to Scandinavia.”
Forest School Association

“Since we have last spoken; we have registered the business so it’s official, we have booked our level 3 Forest School Leaders training for March and we have a queue for birthday parties! We have also explored the realm of opening the Forest School up as a day care/nursery 3 days a week which has been met with great interest. Our website is being constructed and we have graphic designer working on the brand designs and associated media. Through several connections we have 3 schools interested in our Forest Schools program. It’s all Go! Go! Go!”

“This is wonderful and very helpful. Many thanks to you for the mentoring session yesterday. I gained a lot from the experience. I appreciate the support and lesson examples. I will be in touch and let you know how the program develops.”

“We got in touch with James and Lea during the planning stages for our Forest School. Talking to these two was like a breath of fresh air. They were so helpful, so positive and really motivating. They helped us work around the niggles that had been delaying our launch with invaluable insight based on experience. It was just what we needed to hear to take the leap and we couldn’t be more grateful for the gentle shove! We were fully booked within two weeks of running the club and are now looking at running the session on another day. The kids love it, we love it and even some of the parents can’t resist getting stuck in! Thank you guys so much for sharing your knowledge with us.”

James and Lea were magnificent Celts on Moel y Gaer during Halkyn Heritage Week last year. They had the pupils from Ysgol Rhos Helyg eating out of their hands and they were a lively bunch of children. The letters we received afterwards showed how much they had enjoyed themselves and how much they had learned.

The hour workshop you delivered where you encouraged us to take off our shoes to ground ourselves, and take time to see and appreciate things in their natural environment has had a huge impact on my personal wellbeing. I left the session feeling calmer and more relaxed than I had in a long time. In the weeks that followed, I began to take off my shoes and walk slowly across the grass before and after school, and felt that it was enabling me to start the day in a better way.

The strategies you shared reminded me very much of my own childhood and the upbringing that I was fortunate enough to have. It reinforced how crucial these experiences are to share with the children we teach.

I am very much looking forward to developing outdoor learning experiences this year, and would like to thank you and James for the time you spent, and the many strategies and ideas you shared.

Thank you once again!

“Thank you James, you have been amazing and have helped me learn new skills and gain new knowledge and for that I now have a better understanding.

James was knowledgeable, helpful and always boosting our self confidence. A high quality trainer.

James is a conscientious hard working enthusiastic conservationist with a particular set of skills which include project management, working with volunteers and community groups amongst others. My experience of working with James has been a positive one, creating a feeling of that I could work with him going forward on other ventures in the future.

Well done for inspiring the next generation… please carry on the excellent work.

GROW highly recommend Woodland Classroom as trainers. Lea and James delivered a training day for GROW-Wellbeing CIC staff and volunteers, incorporating a tailored mindfulness and bushcraft programme. Both trainers generously shared their knowledge and skills with us throughout the day, engaging each participant to reach a deeper level of understanding of the areas covered. They are extremely professional, bringing all equipment required to our site, and have been great communicators during planning and on the day. We have no hesitation in recommending Woodland Classroom as trainers in mindfulness and bushcraft!

We had a really lovely few hours today and learnt such a lot in a very short space of time. Elliott was so pleased he lit his cotton wool with his flint and Orla keeps talking about the death triangle, Good skills as well as good fun in a beautiful setting. Highly recommended.

Mud, campfires, sandwiches and adventure… no it’s not a famous five book! It was the wonderful wildcraft day! What a fantastic experience for my son! He hasn’t stopped talking about it since! What a fantastic way to get children outside and having the sort of childhood experiences we may take for granted. Thank you and we will be coming back in the new year! What a great day.

We had our 9year old’s birthday party with Woodland classroom and each one of the 13 invited children said it was the best party they had ever been to. It was so much fun from beginning to end and we were all so well looked after by James and Lea. The 3 hours flew by and nobody wanted to leave the party. I highly recommend this as a fantastic party option and my son has said he wants the same again for next year. Thank you so much James and Lea.

Super knowledgeable, down to earth and all round awesome! I always learn so much from these guys, whether it’s attending their home-ed forest school sessions with the kids, or one of their adult events which are fab! I can highly recommend their mindfulness and bushcraft days ? Spend a day outside, reconnect with nature, re-energise… you won’t be disappointed!

I recently attended my second Mindfulness in the Woods course with Lea. Lea is just fantastic, and I felt instantly at ease with her and the group. I would highly recommend these sessions as a way to connect with nature and as an antidote to the pressures of modern life. I will definitely be back! Thank you, Lea.

A massive thank you for an awesome weekend. Had it been billed as a pure ‘mindfulness’ weekend I probably would never have signed up but I’m so glad I did. I got so much out of both sides of the weekend. It’s obvious that you love what you do and care about the content of your courses and that’s very evident in the delivery. You provided such a lovely atmosphere to learn and take in the information and skills on offer. I’ll definitely be back again.

James’ positivity, knowledge and enthusiasm for the environment come across to others, and make him an inspiring and motivational leader to both adults and children. James is an excellent teacher and is particularly skilled at training others in practical woodland techniques – I would fully recommend him.

I loved sitting in the mouth of the den we built, eating lunch by the fire I helped to make. Simple pleasures that just bring joy and a sense of achievement.

I was a little sceptical and got up this morning mumbling and muttering about going but… I LOVED it!! Came away with much food for thought after a lovely informative, friendly few hours with friends and family. Lea was excellent and I would certainly recommend and look forward to further courses x

Thank you James for the brilliant Trees In Winter walk you did with the mindfulness in nature group on Saturday.

I found zoning in on the trees to work out what they are (even if i am still rubbish at it) really helpful in terms of getting into a mindful state of mind as it gives a focus that then can be expanded.

I suffer from GAD and although my meds make a huge difference (and i would never advocate people coming off anything, any more than i would advocate an insulin dependent person come of insulin), in terms of dealing with anxiety attacks and feeling generally better, It helps me get off the “thought carousel “. If only for a while. It seems to work better than some other techniques i stuggled with, due to difficulty in maintaining concentration, although lots of Lea’s visualisations work well too.

Plus it is awesome to investigate and know what is around you!

The Mindfulness in Nature Course has been superb and i have already learnt so much. For anyone who wants to explore this or just curious about the natural world, this couple offer the perfect balance of skills to give the best experience possible!

I an currently in a Park in Amsterdam before an important meeting and what am i doing? Identifying trees!

Thanks both , see you soon!

Enjoyed a lot and learned a great deal at the recent Mindfulness and Bushcraft weekend these guys ran. i met some really lovely and interesting people. I was so impressed by the knowledgeable, professional yet super welcoming dynamic. I’ll be back for more as soon as I can.

We’ve spent a wonderful day today on the Wild Cooking course at Erddig. Lea and James are both great teachers and their different areas of expertise complement each other really well. We feel like we have learned so much but are also totally relaxed after a day in the woods! Hope to come on another course soon.