2013 proved to be another good year for our woodland classroom project.
We have been hosting school visits for a number of years now and this year six separate schools enjoyed a day in the woods where the children are able to learn about the benefits of trees for both the environment and for use in construction and as the ultimate sustainable fuel. We hope to expand on this further in September when the schools reopen and have enlisted the help of wildlife experts Dale Treadwell and Natasha Calvas to assist in teaching the kids about how important trees are and how all the many species of birds, insects and mammals depend on them.
We have had great feedback from the school principals and lovely letters from the kids saying how much they enjoy these visits. One mother wrote to us to say that her eight year old son stopped her cutting nettles in their garden saying “Don’t cut them, caterpillars eat them and then they turn in to butterflies”. That’s the kind of reaction we want and our aim is to always make learning fun. We do this by mixing games with quizzes and demonstrations and to date the kids have responded enthusiastically.
Our next project is to construct a woodland classroom for use on wet days. It will be sited down in the woods among the trees and we hope to construct it using only natural materials and with a grass roof. If you feel your local school would like to visit, check it out with the principal and then email us and we will try and fit them in to our schedule.
