The History of Forest School in land

Reshing the background of Forest School was relatively easy when it came to where it comes from and how, but when I came to researching it locally I initially struggled and it wasn't until I went along to a Green TeachMeet that I got talking to other teachers who opened my eyes to local practice.

Nationally:

In 1993 Bridgwater College, Somerset visited Denmark to learn more about their outdoor activities. It was concluded that children who attended the outdoor sessions were more balanced and socially capable. When Bridgwater College returned to the UK they set up ‘Forest School’, this was the first of its kind in the UK. This has now become widely accepted across the country as a valuable mode of learning for all ages.

1993     Nursey Nurse Practitioners (Bridgewater UK) visited the Danish FS for pre-schools

1995     Bridgewater College:

·         established a Forest School

·         UK practitioners visited and spread the concept

·         BTEC in Forest School

·         Some were private and some were local authorities

·         supported by Forestry Commission – who researched the benefits

2000+   Various LAs (Oxfordshire and Worcestershire)

2003     Open College Network qualification

2002     Network – 1st National Conference – UK definitions of Forest School

2011     Definition and principle built on and FSA established Forestry Commission research

Locally In Stockport:

Forest School in Stockport was a little later than many other parts of the UK. The initial focus was through the Behaviour Support Services (BSS). One of the teachers there, who had a love of the outdoors, undertook the training and linked it to his role in support children with behavioural difficulties. This service has now grown to consist of a team of four qualified Level 3 practitioners who go into schools across the borough. Consequently this has raised the profile of Forest School in the area and there are roughly 15 schools within Stockport who run Forest School programmes, with many more training. BSS Forest School run a termly ‘Skills Share’ session for training and practicing leaders to keep up to date with their skills and to network. Alongside this the Manchester Environmental Education Network facilitates meetings of likeminded people and Green Teach Meets.

BSS: 2009

Nursey Schools using FS approach:

·         Lisburn School 2012

·         Pendlebury Centre – multi-agency provision

Network through Stockport Council: organise meet ups and twilights

St Mary’s CE Reddish – 2 years

Dial Park

Lots of schools get BSS to come in. Small amount of school staff qualified.

The Britishness of Woodlands

Why teach children about woodlands?

As part of our understanding of British History and British Values, it is important for children to see how humans have changed our landscape and to the extent that it has been changed over time, and why. Learners can then understand the bigger picture of why we are learning about our woodlands and why it is important for us look after and improve the environment.

Woodlands have diminished from our country, alongside many natural habitats around the world, through a long history of human activity. Around 7000 years ago it is estimated that around 75% of Britain was woodland – compared to 12% today. (Joined-up Forestry – Kevin Watts)

Sharing with children a graph of the number of trees, and then creating their own version using natural found objects in the forest, is a valuable way of showing how in recent time we have begun to replant; as our understanding of the importance of the  natural environment has increased.

Graph: https://wtcampaigns.wordpress.com/2012/10/05/guest-post-dominic-driver-forestry-commission/

If learners are looking at the Industrial Revolution in Britain KS2 or younger children exploring environmental books including, ‘Dinosaurs and all that Rubbish – Michael Foreman’ then they may be able to make the link between the increase in industry and the decrease in the amount of woodland.

There is more than meets the eye in British Woodlands and children are very good at exploring details and observing; once their ‘Forest School vision’ has been switched on!

Initial ideas of sharing the different structures of woodland can be through scavenger hunt type activities, where they can explore and look closely at their surroundings before coming back to share and piece together what they have discovered. Using an action song such as, ‘Ground, field, shrub and canopy’ sung to the tune of ‘Heads, shoulders, knees and toes’ is a good way for all learners to remember the different vertical layers and the actions reinforce the layers too.

Woodland Eco-systems

Woodland Ecosystems

Ecosystem: ˈiːkəʊsɪstəm - a community of living organisms (biotic) in conjunction with the non-living components (abiotic) of their environment, things like air, water and mineral soil, interacting as a system.

At Greave Primary’s Forest School site we have a combination of trees – it would be considered broadleaved woodland. Again using a scavenger hunt type activity children explore and find out the details of what can be found in out forest school area.

The two main British Woodland ecosystems are broad leaved and coniferous. They are useful to explain to children about contrasting ecosystems. The main differences are:

"   Coniferous woodlands contain fewer species of vegetation on the forest floor as, due to them being evergreen, the light levels are similar all year round; therefore not allowing new plants light to grow in springtime.

"   Coniferous woodlands are e up of evergreen trees that don’t lose their needles at a specific time – compared to broadleaved woodlands where they begin to lose their leaves with the seasons in autumn time; this subsequently increases the variety of plants that get an opportunity to grow as it is lighter.

"   In coniferous woodlands the field layer is made up of acid tolerant, whereas in broadleaved woodlands there are flowering plants and ferns.

"   On the ground level there is a difference between rotting leaves in a broadleaved woodland, whereas it is mainly fallen wood that is rotting in a coniferous woodland – beetles are more popular here in comparison to a vast range of mosses, lichen, fungi and ivy thriving on the ground in broadleaved woodlands. Woodlice, millipedes, spiders and earthworms are some of the creatures that live in the ground layer and are found in the rotting leaves on the floor. They break the waste materials of the forest allowing for new plant growth. Link to Sci: Food chains and food webs.

"   Coniferous woodlands are generally planted for timber production and are managed accordingly. Plants are thinned out for best timber production.

Layer	Characteristics	Broadleaved	Coniferous
Canopy	Species	Oak, Ash, Beech, Birch, Sycamore	Scots pine, Yew (native) (Douglas Fir, Sitka Spruce, Norway Spruce, Yew, Juniper)
	Average tree age	100 years	35
	Tree age range	0-600 years (Old oaks)	0-70
	Average distance between trees	2-3 metres	2-3 metres (> 1,000 ha-1 – tree density is high)
Shrub	Tree seeding presence	Lots at different stages of maturity (Beech, Oak, ash, sycamore)	Minimal (Rowan)
	Species	Blackberry, Elder, Hawthorn, Hazel, Field Maple, Holly, Blackthorn, Guilder Rose	Juniper
Herb	Species	Ferns, Lesser Celandine, Dog's Mercury and Wood Anemones in early Spring; Bluebells and Ground Ivy in May; later on shade-tolerant plants, delicate Enchanter's Nightshade, nettle and Yellow Pimpernel. *These appear through the seasons depending on the amount of warmth and light	Chickweed Tormentil Foxglove Heath Bedstraw Heather Bracken                     *These will be found in more natural woodlands or on the paths and edges of a plantation
Ground	Frequency of bare ground (%)	20%	70%
	Average number of species in 0.5m2	5	2
	Description of litter	Rotting leaves, moss, lichen, small twigs, fallen branches	Pine needles, pine cones, fallen dead wood
Soil	Depth of soil	Deep	Deep for roots of tall trees but very dry on top to dig into – appearing shallow
	Texture	Heavy and compact	Loose and quite light / dry- lots of pine needles
	pH	7 (neutral)	5-6 a little acidic
	Invertebrates found in soil	Woodlice, centipedes, millipedes and worms	Ants