Forest School Adventure (Part 3)

I spend a lot of time pointing out how varied Forest School can be. The length of sessions, the quantity of support, the setting, the clients, and the environment you are in.

It's something we're exploiting at Chartham with Three Basecamps being set up to offer different types of opportunities. One focusing on wildlife and growing, one on games and physical activity, and one on tree climbing and independence. All sessions will have much more in common than they do in difference. All these aspects are available at each, the children will always have the choice to join in or devise their own pursuits, and resillience, teamwork, respect, independence, observation, and curiosity will be fostered in them all, but each has an environmental situation that makes offering specific activities possible.

Here on St. Mary's the environment will also influence how Forest School works. Just looking around the island shows many similarities, like bracken, sycamores, brambles, ground ivy, clover, and even heather, but many more plants have thrived in this temperate climate. Escapees from gardens have made their way into the wildlife areas

Here I've watched sparrows, en masse, pecking at a legion of sand fleas in the tide line, ducks huddled together to sleep on the sand, starlings pecking at ants climbing ancient walls, and a thrush looking out to see from atop a rocky peninsula.

The environment entices certain types of wildlife, forces adaptations in others, and in this case, as here be islands, determines what has reached here, what has been introduced here, and what is indigenous!

Before Forest School commences, there is time to explore the island, coastal, wooded, and in town. This has been both relaxing and it's own adventure. Revealing signs of the nature of the Scillies as well as proving even this small space has as much variation as the UK has elsewhere.

This is an adventure on many levels. 

It's an opportunity to explore a part of the country that is different to Chartham. The privilege to observe other Forest School Leaders and helpers in a way that general running of sessions doesn't usually allow. The chance to participate in sessions that follow different structure to those Mama Beech watches over. The learning curve that all this will provide that can feed back into Chartham's provision.

So as Sunday's sun sinks into the sea the next stage of this adventure is beckoning, tomorrow is a Wildlife Induction, and a solidifying of plans over the next 10 days. 

Here's to the adventure ahead.