Mama Beech

Last week I pondered how bad campfires actually are for our health. The effect on both the Forest School Leaders spending a lot of time alongside them breathing in heated air, smoke, particles, and any number of possible unknown toxins, and on the developing lungs of children in our care. There are ways to mitigate risks, and a good risk/benefit analysis should make how we practice as safe as we can. There is no way to totally eliminate the pollution of our bodies without saying no to fires completely. The decision has to be up to the individual - but I do think we are heading towards participation being something we need informed parental agreement for. We also need to consider the effect on both our immediate environment and how it affects our carbon footprint. I have a love of woodland... and hills... and mountains... and the coast... and nature... being outside in general! It's one of the reasons I do my job. At home, I try to be as environmentally friendly as I can, in what I

A campfire is a treat at Chartham.  We don't have one every session even when the weather is cold. There are a few reasons for this, the main one being ratios! when we have a campfire I cannot leave the fire pit area, which has at times meant one TA left to supervise 20+ children! Then there's the time constraint. Often I have two classes in a morning, each session lasting approximately 60 minutes. This may mean keeping a fire going constantly as dampening it down after session one will make setting one for session two difficult! There is also the cost. With 16 classes a week we would need to buy in a minimum of £10 of logs a week, plus kindling... it adds up quickly. Yes, we have some trees and some woodland, but not enough to sustain campfires all week, all term, all year. Importantly, there are other considerations. To the environment for one, and to the participants also. There is a lot of study surrounding the negative effects of smoke inhalation. This US article by Kurt R

I'm spending a lot of time supporting student Forest School Leaders. Well, nowhere near as much as a full-time trainer does, but a lot more than I've ever needed to before! This ranges from phone calls with questions, to emails for confirmation, to me choosing to share articles and information that I come across with people who may find it helpful. The first thing to notice is that their enthusiasm is infectious. A great session with the children, one where there are too many 'wow' moments and great questions from the children to list, so many discoveries and connections you see them make, and even the wildlife seems to have got the memo and showed up on cue, doesn't fill me full or enthusiasm or excitement. Sometimes it's relief! Usually it's a sense of... validation...? That Forest School has proved its worth yet again? I don't know what to call it when everything falls into place perfectly, I feel happy that everything aligned! Satisfaction that what

Chatting to student Forest School Leaders over the last couple of weeks reminded me just how flexible we have to be as practitioners. Supporting the delivery of training meant describing how Forest School should be according to the six principles , and brought home how much compromise many of us make when we work in schools. Some students have been tasked with setting up a Forest School in their educational setting, some will be taking over existing provision, some will be joining a Forest School 'team', and some lucky folk are setting up independently and can offer full-blown sessions as they see fit! For most of us, squeezing sessions into a school timetable, ensuring staff have breaks, fitting around staggered lunchtimes, the length of a school afternoon regardless of activity, and not interfering with Maths and English... AND considering the size of the school, one form entry may allow for all classes to have some kind of long session a week, but two or three (or more) form

I spend a lot of time talking about the benefits of Forest School for children and how effective any and all Outdoor Learning is. In the same way that some people choose to teach Primary and not Secondary, or volunteer with the Scouts or Guides, what makes us as adults choose to provide Forest School?  In a week when student Forest School Leaders were welcomed to our school, it's something I've given some thought to. Were they all willing volunteers? Had any been asked to do the course? Was anyone reluctant to start this journey? Who had experienced this before as a volunteer or participant somehow? Who was walking in blind!? We have two staff members on the course. One has spent almost three school years supporting me outside and for a lot of that time it's been weekly. They have seen Forest School in snow, rain, hail, and sleet. They've sweltered in 30oC plus heat. They've accompanied classes that throw themselves into Forest School exploration, and classes that n