An Orchard

When I ordered the orchard trees from The Tree Council I did ponder my sanity! At that point there were over 400 trees on order from The Woodland Trust that we planned to plant as hedging. The idea was to create a kind of maze that would extend the copse that shelters Forest School Basecamp, a few apple and pear trees dotted at the edges could enhance it and we have the space...

Time is always an issue. The pupils were a big part of planting the hedgerows that will be the maze walls, and whilst the experience is fantastic it doesn't actually speed up the process! Add to that the constant threat of bubbles or staff or the entire school having to isolate and there was a definite time pressure. But finally we reached the last week of this Term, Term 2, Winter Term, the end of 2020 at school. 

Last week was full of celebrations of Forest School and some prep work for getting the saplings into the ground. This week was the graft! The 'Baby Hedge Trees' were just that, twig like entities less than 60cm tall, with a 6cm root ball at most. Getting that deep into the ground was still a bit of a nightmare as our soil is laden with flint, but nothing prepared us for trying to get deep enough for saplings roots! These amazing trees are 5ft tall with roots that require a good half metre hole. A pick-axe would've been appreciated! 

This year has been pretty insane. Every school, every child, every member of staff, every parent, almost every person on the planet has had their life interrupted by the pandemic. Planning around it, planning despite it, planning to pick up the pieces it keeps creating, has been fraught at times, and very time consuming. 

If one positive thing comes out of Forest School 2020 it will be that we took part in the 'Big Climate Fightback', and have committed to the 'Force For Nature' campaign, both of which see planting more trees, and re-wilding as many spaces as we can, as a healthy and happy way forward into the future.

Covid has danced around us during this process, with bubbles needing to isolate, and restrictions fluctuating across the season. In echoes of the March lockdown we found ourselves with term running out and trees awaiting soil! 

Yet somehow we did it! Since November started we've achieved a lot, lots of planting, lots of learning, lots of fun...

The last few days of term are full of those jobs that always need doing and are somehow invisible. Stock check on mallows, and hot chocolate, and biscuits. Replenish wood store. Check and tighten ropes and swings. Put away anything that usually can be left outside term-time. Upload photo's to the school website and print off any phots needed for my portfolio. A basic plan for what we want to aim for next term and some moveable plans to insert as needed if and when the weather allows, for frozen pond or snowfall. Prep some activities. Create a couple of new activities that can be accessed independently...

All this needs to differentiate from Year R to Year 6 and allow for development of skills. Next term  we will probably have to move sites to allow the maze to establish a little, the mud there to ease, the grass a chance to recover, and the children a new space to explore. This takes quite a bit of planning as whatever equipment we use will have to be transported to and from the site. The current basecamp in the Copse is alongside the container which is the Forest School 'shed', holding all equipment and supplies - making reacting to the children's interest pretty instant. Next term will be a little more delayed, with any extension to what the children are doing having to wait until the following week.

Luckily we will still be able to have a celebration week in mid February - something ALL the children look forward to. Last week's 4 day's of campfire was even more of a treat in these restricted times! 

Now I'm preparing to hibernate for as long as possible! Forest School Lite is a non-stop entity with PPA patchworked in and time to maintain and develop Forest School down to a minimum. So somewhere, somehow, there's a lot to try and timetable.

Meanwhile - a quiet Christmas with immediate family and some time NOT thinking about Outdoor Learning is on the agenda.


I hope everyone has a great break, a Merry Christmas, a great Chanukah, and peaceful New Year - here's to a happy and healthy 2021!


Location: Canterbury, UK

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