Students creating their own site for learning with nature

Students choose a site to plant willow in a circle to create a future den for storytelling with young children. Ross, Education Officer with Forestry Commission Wales, provided the expertise in how to plant the saplings.

Forestry Commission Wales provided oak, ash and hazel saplings, all species native to Wales. Students worked in groups, practising their negotiation, team work and physical skills to create a future windbreak.

Owen Thurgate explains that with a simple shelter like this, even on a rainy day children can take part in physical outdoor activities (such as going on a treasure hunt to find camouflaged pipe cleaner caterpillars.

After a hard day's work everyone back to the shelter for a rest and warm cocoa.

He taught students the safety precautions related to safe fire lighting and maintenance –students were mesmerized by the flames.

Grateful thanks to Forestry Commission Wales for explaining the role of Education Officers working with the Forestry Commission, supplying the saplings and guiding us through this project.

Some students are so inspired by this method of helping children to learn that they intend to train as forest school leaders themselves and hope to participate in a study visit to Sweden in March 2010 to learn further good practice.

Designs in Nature

Students in BA Early Years Education degree experiment with ideas  for activities using nature with children as part of their 'Stepping Out- Learning in the Outdoor Environment' module. These are some of their creations:

A mud house

Mixing soil with water to paint names and patterns

Shari, Yasmin, Tanya and Adelle working together to make mobiles from autumn leaves

A shelter of twigs and branches constucted by Jessica, Rebecca, Kirstin and Joseph