Forest school has arrived in Llangollen

Wild forest school launched at Plas Newydd, Llangollen this summer with two fantastic holiday club sessions offering a holistic approach to education outdoors, combining structured activities with free time to explore.

The links between our health and wellbeing and the environment are well documented, along with the need for children to have time outdoors involved in free play. Children have an inherent wonder of the natural world, and the key driver behind forest school is to turn this wonder into wisdom so children grow up educated, excited and understanding how to protect and enhance our natural environment.

Before the formal concept of forest school was developed in the UK in the 90s there were a number of outdoor learning approaches going back as far as the 1800s emphasising the importance of creative freedom, childhood innocence and the importance of nature.  In today’s digital age it’s even more important and beneficial to engage our younger generations with the natural world and outdoor play.

Forest school session activities usually include:  

• Wildlife discovery and habitat management
• Games and opportunities for creative and imaginative play
• Den and shelter building
• Fires and cooking
• Tool use
• Natural crafts
• Seasonal celebration
• Themed activities (story book/topics/characters)
• Free play and child directed learning

Following on from the summer events,  our preschool group ‘Habitots’ started at Plas Newydd and  will run in 6 week blocks to allow children to develop their skills with the sessions. For more information about our sessions email wildforestschool@outlook.com or check out our Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/wildforestschool/