Lack of woodland access is a national tragedy for younger generations

'The Rat left the house, and carefully examined the muddy surface of the ground outside, hoping to find the Mole’s tracks. There they were, sure enough. The galoshes were new, just bought for the winter, and the pimples on their soles were fresh and sharp. He could see the imprints of them in the mud, running along straight and purposeful, leading direct to the Wild Wood.'

In the famous ‘Wild Wood’ chapter from The Wind in the Willows, Kenneth Grahame captures the desire to explore those dense and unseen parts of the landscape that are so tantalising to the imagination, and prove powerful enough to see Moley overcome his trepidation for what lurks within those glades.

From ancient folklore through to modern children’s classics, our storytelling heritage is enriched by the strength of this link between the imagination and woodland, but for children growing up today the reality is that wooded areas are often inaccessible. A recent Woodland Trust survey, for example, estimates that only 15 per cent of the population have access to woodland within 500m of their home.

This loss of time spent in woodland has proven a key inspiration to the creation and growth of Forest Schools, based on a Scandinavian model of education that is taken for granted in the forest-rich countries of northern Europe but not as easy to secure in the deforested regions of the UK.

Forest Schools Education chairman Sarah Blackwell established the company’s philosophy based on “using nature as the teacher, as opposed to it being adult led.”

Commenting further on why “a long-term sustained approach to outdoor learning” is essential for each child’s future prospects, she says: “It’s about providing children with holistic development, so it’s looking at every area in terms of their physical development, their intellectual development and their cognitive skills.”

She continues: “It looks at their linguistic development – both verbal and non-verbal. Forest School also looks at their emotional development, it looks at their social development and it also looks at their spiritual development.

“Forest Schools are very much about giving children back that opportunity to learn in and from nature. Forest Schools is also about free play; it’s about self-directed learning, but it’s also about allowing children to develop freedom and choice in order to be able to become competent and effective adults.

“Forest Schools is an inspirational process that allows children to access the outdoor space in order to grow and develop into successful, happy, rounded individuals.”

In practice

Berkhampstead Day Nursery, Pittville Circus, in Cheltenham, is a recent addition to the Forest Schools project. Opened in April last year, marketing head Angela Cross is delighted to see children’s creative abilities thrive in the new facility.

She comments: “In premises chosen specifically for the masses of outdoor space, directly accessible from the Nursery rooms, being outside is a real priority for us. We know the benefits that all children gain from fresh air, so from the very youngest age we make sure that there’s opportunity to get outdoors each day – wellies or suncream being applied as needed!

“A real priority for us has been to develop the outdoor space and to establish a Forest School area. Logs and tree trunks have been moved into place – the grass is wild – staff and children are raring to go and discover the delights of grubs and bugs, campfires and confidence-building activities. Part of Berkhampstead School, where a ‘can-do’ attitude is key, our little ones are starting young and honing their skills in the outdoor environment, doing real things, learning and getting dirty while they are about it!”

Partou Whalley Meadows Day Nursery & Forest School is another nursery to take up the Forest Schools philosophy. Nursery manager, Sue Chappell, after holding a tea party to showcase the school’s potential, reflects on parents’ surprise at the versatile range of activities and learning that children can experience in a more natural setting.

She comments: “We held the tea party to give parents a taster of what the children have been doing at the Forest School.

“Amy Wilson, our Forest School leader, explained to the parents what her new role entailed and how the Forest School has shown recent changes in the children’s behaviour.

“Everyone thought it was a wonderful idea. They were extremely impressed with how the children’s confidence and social skills had developed from working together in the outdoors.”

A parent who visited the Forest School, said: “I didn’t realise just how beneficial the forest school would be to my child’s learning.

“It was so nice to see all of the children playing and enjoying their natural environment. I loved sharing the afternoon with them and I know the nursery will keep up the good work.”

Training requirements

Tim Roynon, manager of Daisychain Nursery, Clifton, shares with us this insight into the process of becoming a Forest School:

“As part of the decision to undergo Forest School training, the needs of the individual children and setting were evaluated. A number of reasons for carrying out Forest School training were identified. The first reason was the mutual interest of the pre-school children at the setting. An example of this is a physical education session that the children take part in on a weekly basis throughout the year. As the weather improves around springtime the sessions are held outdoors. It has been recorded through the use of observations that during this time the children’s interest for the sessions increases.”

Having completed a quality-controlled self-assessment, My Roynon was able to begin Forest School training in a chosen area of local woodland.

He continues: “During the first training session, based at Radcliffe Children’s Centre in their Forest School classroom, I was hesitant that the deliverance of the Forest School sessions would be restricting, following endless health and safety guidelines that would hamper any flexibility to meet the individual needs of the children. After the second training session, in which tool-use was introduced to the group. I soon realised that there were fundamental safety guidelines to follow but as long these were followed that there was a lot of scope to meet the individual interests of the children.”

On the challenges of persevering throughout difficult weather conditions, Mr Roynon comments:

“One problem that may arise during our future Forest School sessions could be the weather when carrying them out. In general terms when you have bad weather during the sessions you would shorten the length to avoid the children getting too cold. In heavy rain, one of the ways you would ensure you would be able to continue would be to construct a shelter for the children. Two weather types that would prevent the Forest School sessions from happening due to health and safety reasons is thunder and lightning and high wind, due to the risk of falling branches.”

As ever, when working with children, earning parents’ confidence is an important part of proceedings. My Roynon says that: “A few parents and carers of the pre-school children have seemed slightly apprehensive at the idea of taking the children to a woodland area and using tools for whittling and carving. One of the ways I can inform parents and carers of the benefits of the Forest School sessions, as well as assuring them of the health and safety measures in place, is through an information booklet. The booklet gives some background information on general Forest School practice as well as answering some frequently asked questions.”

National situation

In 2012 the Independent Panel on Forestry, looking at the future of England’s woods and forests, advised the Government that planting more woodland is essential ‘not only for recreation, but also clean air, clean water, habitats for wildlife, locking up carbon, shading in cities – even helping in flood reduction’.

Speaking on behalf of the Panel members, The Right Reverend James Jones, Bishop of Liverpool, said: “There is untapped potential within England’s woodlands to create jobs, to sustain skills and livelihoods, to improve the health and well-being of people and to provide better and more connected places for nature. Most importantly, the public forest estate needs to be free from the electoral cycle, for trees have long lifecycles – decisions taken now are looking to a future that is 50, or even 100, years down the line.”

Though not critical of the Government’s position on forestry, Woodland Trust policy director Hillary Allison does criticise the lack of Government action on the issue, saying: “The Trust, along with many others, has made a significant contribution to advancing the recommendations in England’s Forestry Policy but it is increasingly hard to continue this without Government support on the areas which only it can progress.”

He continues: “The lack of a Forestry Bill by Defra overshadows any progress the Government has made on its forestry policy for England over the past year. If it is absolutely serious about safeguarding the future of the public forest estate along with all the benefits it offers for people and wildlife, legislation is the best way of confirming that once and for all. It is also one of the most tangible ways the Government could begin to mend its broken ‘greenest government ever’ mantle.”

In Scotland, forestry projects have been successful after several decades of looking to expand on the country’s percentage of woodland cover, now estimated at 17 per cent, after being as low as 5 per cent in 1900.

A joint survey by the Forestry Commission and Native Woodland Survey of Scotland (NWSS), published this week, sets out the direction for further expansion.

At the launch event, Paul Wheelhouse, Minister for Environment and Climate Change, said: “The survey found that over 22.5 per cent of Scotland’s forests are native woodland – with 42 per cent of these being in the Highlands – and that 46 per cent of native woodland is in satisfactory condition for biodiversity. While we have no comparable historic data to compare with the survey, the survey findings suggest that over the past 40 years we have lost a significant amount of ancient woodland in the uplands.

“Much has been done over the past 30 years to reverse centuries’ worth of damage but – clearly – there is still much to do. With the NWSS, we now have an invaluable tool to assist local authorities, NGOs, land owners and managers to work independently – and together – to more effectively focus resources on managing, maintaining, enhancing and expanding native woodlands across Scotland and we know that already, since the data were collected, a further 7,800 ha of native trees have been planted.”