Lessons from Forest School

Abi Haidenemos

Lederman Trainee Ranger

Earlier in the summer, myself and my fellow Trainee Pip (Newby) had the opportunity to train in the beautiful Tilgate Park as Forest School assistants with the brilliant Sussex Wildlife Trust Wilder Learning Team; who coached, modelled, and inspired us every step of the way.

We learned that true Forest School is about much more than learning to safely light fires in the woods (though it can’t be denied this is a great skill!), and instead is a philosophy of communal learning to empower children and nurture their connections to each other and the world around them. The training honed our abilities to support children’s holistic learning with skills like sawing wood, whittling, and knot making to create shelters; but more importantly it fostered a sense of creativity and play within our group. When you are instructed to build ‘a Mini Beast Playground’ and you lose all sense of time constructing detailed zip wires and ball pits fit for invertebrates, suddenly the world feels full of opportunity to imagine and play again.

On our final day of training we hosted 40 primary age children and 60 head teachers from Crawley and beyond. What could have been an intimidating experience was instead a lesson in the deep care, compassion, and willingness to learn that humans of all ages will show to each other if you provide a place where they are free to do so.

There were many gifts provided by this training, but for me a big one was a much needed reminder that imagination, play, and creativity are as necessary for meaningful environmental work as discussions on DEFRA legislation or learning the Latin names for 1,850 UK micro moths. I cannot recommend enough the power of messing around in the woods. Worm charming, moulding clay soils, making music with sticks, and simply looking up in wonder are often where our first love of the natural world is born, so keep up the good work and go outside and play!