Congratulations to Ben Wardle and all our August 2020 Level 3 Forest School Leader participants who will now be venturing out inspiring the next generation and enabling them to have meaningful connections with nature. 

Becoming a Forest School leader is a 9-day practical course followed by course work and delivery of 6 Forest School sessions and usually takes 12-18 months to qualify. Our August cohort were stopped in their flow due to Covid, but undeterred they have bounced back, recognising even more the benefits of spending time outdoors - not only for the young people they will work with but also for  themselves.  

As a Wildlife Trust, we are hugely passionate about connecting young people with nature. We know that spending time in woodlands can have a positive effect on social interaction, confidence, physical activity, stress relief and allows for a more diverse range of play opportunities than found in other settings.

Our Learning team has two highly experienced Forest School  trainers, Jo Atkins and Emma Keeble. Jo and Emma deliver Open College Network West Midlands accredited Level 1, 2 and 3 Forest School courses at Bradfield Woods and Foxburrow Nature Reserve throughout the year. As part of our TeamWilder thinking, we recognise the need to train teachers and outdoor practitioners to enable as many young people as possible in the county to have nature as part of their everyday life.   

‘As a tutor it is so rewarding seeing our trainees progress through their training journey and going on to share their experiences and expertise with the groups they work with’ explains Emma. 'While students have fed back that the course gives them a wealth of ideas and activities to do with the children, they gain a better understanding of how to teach children in the forest and that it’s okay to let children take the lead and assess their own risk.’ 

Emma, who has delivered Forest School since 2006, explains,  ’At Forest School every need is catered for. Working weekly with groups with very diverse abilities and experiences we see them grow from strength-to-strength both collectively as a cohesive community and individually. Their self-esteem skyrockets as they are given the freedom to follow their interests, asses their own risks, learn new skills and take part in shared experiences. Our younger groups have followed their interests in natural history, wanting to know more about plants and animals of the woodland, identifying and naming trees and berries, experimenting with natural dyes and colour mixing, wild foods and foraging.' 

'Whilst the older group have honed their fine and gross motor skills in their woodwork and tool use, experimenting with physics and engineering to build rope ladders, catapults and tree platforms. They also LOVE food so a lot of those sessions focus on fire and cooking and that sense of community and sharing that comes from sitting around a fire together.'

'The benefits of Forest School are huge and so wide-reaching. It’s a pleasure to be part of that journey with our participants, be that on our courses or during the delivery of our Forest School sessions themselves. There is no doubt that we all benefit from it!'

If you would like to find out more about becoming a Forest School trainer, please visit the link below. We also offer training in Wild Beach Leader – Forest School on the beach! - and Outdoor Curriculum Coordination for teaching staff to embrace the outdoors cross curricular. 

Find our more about Forest School Training