Small Alpkit Foundation grants fund the leader training, tools and outreach that bring forest school within reach of children who need it most.
Forest school works on a simple idea: take a child outdoors, hand them real tools and a bit of real risk, and watch their confidence grow. Running it well needs surprisingly little: a patch of woodland, a qualified leader, some basic kit. Getting those three things in place is where most small schools and charities get stuck.
Grants from the Alpkit Foundation have gone toward each part of that puzzle: the training that lets a school run sessions itself, the tools and shelter that make a woodland usable, and the outreach that gets the children who need it most through the gate.
Training a school to run it themselves
Forest School has to be led by a qualified practitioner, so for many schools the real barrier isn't land, it's training. Bamford Primary School in the Peak District wanted to send two staff through Forest School leader training. "Although we live in a rural environment, many of our children do not have the opportunities to explore their local environment," says Kate. "As a school in the heart of the Peak District, this seems to be a great waste." St Peters RC Primary School in Middleton, Manchester, had the same problem: a grant covered leader training and the equipment to set up a Forest School area within the school grounds. "It will build self confidence and team building skills," says Joanne. "It will encourage children to persevere and try new things and develop life-long skills."
Building somewhere to hold it
Once a school has a trained leader, it needs somewhere to take the children. Sylva Wood Centre in Oxfordshire built a new outdoor learning site in its Future Forest, with hurdles to protect young trees while more than 600 children from 20 schools got their hands dirty planting them, many trying outdoor learning for the first time. Noah's Ark Children's Venture put its grant toward timber and tools to build a hide and open up more of its woodland to visiting groups. "We are not big and glossy, just grassroots, doing a job that's needed, offering simple taster experiences for kids who generally have no access to the countryside," says Richard.
Reaching the children who need it most
Branches Out CIC in Bristol runs free after-school Forest School clubs for children struggling with their mental health, in one of the country's most deprived areas. A grant let them run a session totally free for 11 children aged 5 to 10: tree climbing, den building, fire lighting and yoga included. "One child suffering with life changing anxiety even climbed a tree, lit the fire and roasted marshmallows," the team wrote afterwards. "It was so rewarding to see him smile after hanging his head all morning."
In Cornwall, TIDE Forest School runs sessions for girls aged 6 to 11, building self-esteem and a sense of belonging in nature. A grant funded an extra forest school leader to support a growing group that includes five Syrian refugee girls. "It is helping them to improve their English and space to process the complex emotions of arriving in a new country," says Naomi Hannam. "These young people do not have easy access to nature, so it is allowing them to build community and get outside in new ways."
Further along the coast in Bodmin, Miss Elvy's Curious School of the Wild uses time in the wild to support wellbeing and learning in children, young people and adults. A grant funded a set of bivvy bags for a microadventure project, so that anyone without their own kit could still sleep out under the stars. "It begins with a workshop to support sleeping out in the wild," says Nik Elvy, describing camp-outs that ran through the year for families and a Stone Soup outdoor cooking group.
What it adds up to
At Weaver Primary School in Cheshire, a class of 30 children spent a year working toward their John Muir Award at Wybunbury Moss National Nature Reserve: pond dipping, bug hunting and moth trapping their way through a rare conservation area not normally open to the public. "Our project was extremely successful," says teacher Claire Greaves. "The children loved it and the response from their parents was overwhelming. They developed team work skills, endurance and resilience, and grew in confidence." It's a small, ordinary sort of result, and exactly what a patch of woodland and a trained leader are for.
The Alpkit Foundation supports the training, tools and access that bring forest school within reach of more children. If you run a project doing this kind of work, find out how to apply.