I found, while searching one of my first teacher/mentors’s website Jon Young’s 8 Shields, a link to the Children & Nature website. It’s been a while since I looked down this amazing online rabbit hole and the contents really are magic.
Check out this amazing school, the Watershed School, in the US and the resources to connect to nature at home they have made available to their kids during Covid times, truly inspiring:
For all sorts of ideas and fun ways to engage yourself and kids in the outdoors check out Children & Nature’s resource hub.
The Forest Schooled blog by Caylin Gans explores many aspects of the Forest School journey including her observations on Emotional Intelligence, Risk, Play, Well-being, Environment, Behaviour…the real meat of the Forest School experience. Enjoy her Forest School funnies (the things kids say at Forest School!).
I started to look for resources closer to home and here are some of my favourites but I bet I’m missing loads so please post below to share where you get your inspiration from…
LEAF Ireland have wonderful resources aimed at reconnecting students with our forests with plenty of resources to do with planting trees. I especially love their Choill Bheag initiative. Choill Bheag is a small, dense, biodiverse native woodland habitat on the school grounds. Choill Bheags are outdoor living classrooms, with space created for seating for classes to spend time learning outside.
The Woodland Trust has some great resources and activities for Children and Families, Trees for Schools for teachers.
The Outdoor Teacher has a free mini course with online teaching videos great for the coming Spring for all ages.
Notice Nature has links to activities for kids and youth of all ages focusing on learning about and helping biodiversity in Ireland.
I’m especially grateful for a link to resources with ways to approach anti-racism in the outdoors and outdoor learning in the Children & Nature site. These barriers to connection include to black, indigenous and people of colour (BIPOC) and LGBTQ+ communities in the US. Anti-racism in the Outdoors: Resources related to inclusion, diversity, equity and access of black, indigenous and people of color in parks and greenspaces
As going on this journey into equity, inclusion and diversity in access to outdoor learning in Ireland I will share information I am gathering in it’s own post in due course.
If you have any links to great resources that can help us all go outside and enjoy time in nature please share with us!
Forest School Ireland 