Lessons from Forest School

admin
, 17 August 2024
Lessons from Forest School
Forest School © Abi Haidemenos

Abi Haidenemos

Lederman Trainee Ranger

Earlier in the summer, myself and my fellow Trainee Pip (Newby) had the opportunity to train in the beautiful Tilgate Park as Forest School assistants with the brilliant Sussex Wildlife Trust Wilder Learning Team; who coached, modelled, and inspired us every step of the way.

We learned that true Forest School is about much more than learning to safely light fires in the woods (though it can’t be denied this is a great skill!), and instead is a philosophy of communal learning to empower children and nurture their connections to each other and the world around them. The training honed our abilities to support children’s holistic learning with skills like sawing wood, whittling, and knot making to create shelters; but more importantly it fostered a sense of creativity and play within our group. When you are instructed to build ‘a Mini Beast Playground’ and you lose all sense of time constructing detailed zip wires and ball pits fit for invertebrates, suddenly the world feels full of opportunity to imagine and play again.

Forest School © Abi Haidemenos
Forest School © Abi Haidemenos

On our final day of training we hosted 40 primary age children and 60 head teachers from Crawley and beyond. What could have been an intimidating experience was instead a lesson in the deep care, compassion, and willingness to learn that humans of all ages will show to each other if you provide a place where they are free to do so.

There were many gifts provided by this training, but for me a big one was a much needed reminder that imagination, play, and creativity are as necessary for meaningful environmental work as discussions on DEFRA legislation or learning the Latin names for 1,850 UK micro moths. I cannot recommend enough the power of messing around in the woods. Worm charming, moulding clay soils, making music with sticks, and simply looking up in wonder are often where our first love of the natural world is born, so keep up the good work and go outside and play!

Leave a comment
Time Δ Debug Message - Perch Runway 3.2
1782666530.23510 [906] SELECT p.pagePath, pr.routePattern, pr.routeRegExp, p.pageTemplate, pr.routeOrder, s.settingValue AS siteOffline FROM swt_pages_staging p LEFT JOIN swt_page_routes pr ON p.pageID=pr.pageID LEFT JOIN swt_settings s ON s.settingID='siteOffline' UNION SELECT NULL AS pagePath, pr2.routePattern, pr2.routeRegExp, pr2.templatePath AS pageTemplate, pr2.routeOrder, NULL AS siteOffline FROM swt_page_routes pr2 WHERE templateID!=0 ORDER BY routeOrder ASC, pagePath ASC
1782666530.26120.0261Matched route: news/[slug:s]
1782666530.26140.0002Server address: 216.73.216.31
1782666530.26150.0001Using master page: /templates/pages/blog/post.php
1782666530.26150Page arguments: 
Array
(
    [0] => /news/lessons-from-forest-school
    [s] => lessons-from-forest-school
    [1] => lessons-from-forest-school
)
1782666530.26170.0003 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1782666530.26280.001 [86] SELECT DISTINCT settingID, settingValue FROM swt_settings WHERE userID=0
1782666530.26450.0017 [1] SELECT locationID FROM swt_shop_tax_locations WHERE locationIsHome=1 LIMIT 1
1782666530.2650.0006INSERT INTO swt_shop_cart(memberID,locationID,currencyID,cartPricing,cartProperties) VALUES(NULL,'1',47,'standard','[]')
1782666530.2670.0019 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_shop_cart WHERE cartID=22389294
1782666530.26750.0006 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_shop_cart WHERE cartID=22389294
1782666530.26810.0006 [nil] SELECT * FROM swt_shop_sales WHERE saleFrom<='2026-06-28 17:08:00' AND saleTo>'2026-06-28 17:08:00' AND saleActive=1 AND saleDeleted IS NULL ORDER BY saleOrder ASC
1782666530.26920.0011 [1] SELECT SQL_CALC_FOUND_ROWS DISTINCT tbl.* FROM ( SELECT idx.itemID, main.*, idx2.indexValue as sortval FROM swt_blog_index idx JOIN swt_blog_posts main ON idx.itemID=main.postID AND idx.itemKey='postID' JOIN swt_blog_index idx2 ON idx.itemID=idx2.itemID AND idx.itemKey='postID' AND idx2.indexKey='_id' WHERE 1=1 AND ((idx.indexKey='postSlug' AND idx.indexValue='lessons-from-forest-school')) AND idx.itemID=idx2.itemID AND idx.itemKey=idx2.itemKey GROUP BY idx.itemID, idx2.indexValue, postID ) as tbl WHERE (postStatus='Published' AND postDateTime<='2026-06-28 17:08:00' ) GROUP BY itemID, sortval ORDER BY sortval ASC LIMIT 0, 10
1782666530.2720.0028 [1] SELECT FOUND_ROWS() AS `count`
1782666530.27250.0005 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_blog_posts WHERE postID=3483 AND postStatus='Published' AND postDateTime<='2026-06-28 17:08:00'
1782666530.27350.001 [13] SELECT * FROM swt_blog_sections ORDER BY sectionTitle ASC
1782666530.27430.0008 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_blogs ORDER BY blogTitle ASC
1782666530.27490.0006 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_categories WHERE catID=73 LIMIT 1
1782666530.27540.0005 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_categories WHERE catID=52 LIMIT 1
1782666530.27570.0004 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_categories WHERE catID=274 LIMIT 1
1782666530.27610.0004 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_categories WHERE catID=275 LIMIT 1
1782666530.27670.0006Using template: /templates/blog/post.html
1782666530.2770.0002 [162] SELECT catID, catPath FROM swt_categories
1782666530.27780.0009 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_blog_posts WHERE postStatus='Published' AND postDateTime<='2026-06-28 17:08:00' AND postSlug='lessons-from-forest-school'
1782666530.30120.0234Using template: /templates/blog/post.html
1782666530.30190.0007 [250] SELECT country, countryID FROM swt_shop_countries WHERE countryActive=1 ORDER BY country ASC
1782666530.30360.0017Using template: /templates/pages/attributes/seo.html
1782666530.30390.0003 [1] SELECT regionID, regionTemplate, regionPage, regionRev AS rev FROM swt_content_regions WHERE regionKey='Banner image' AND (regionPage='/news/post' OR regionPage='*')
1782666530.30480.0009 [nil] SELECT * FROM ( SELECT idx.itemID, c.regionID, idx.pageID, c.itemJSON, idx2.indexValue as sortval FROM swt_content_index idx JOIN swt_content_items c ON idx.itemID=c.itemID AND idx.itemRev=c.itemRev AND idx.regionID=c.regionID JOIN swt_content_index idx2 ON idx.itemID=idx2.itemID AND idx.itemRev=idx2.itemRev AND idx2.indexKey='_order' WHERE ((idx.regionID=104 AND idx.itemRev=0)) AND idx.itemID=idx2.itemID AND idx.itemRev=idx2.itemRev ) as tbl GROUP BY itemID, pageID, itemJSON, sortval, regionID ORDER BY sortval ASC
1782666530.30650.0017 [82] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageNew=0 AND pageHidden=0 AND pageDepth >=0 AND pageDepth<=2 ORDER BY pageTreePosition ASC
1782666530.30960.0031 [1] SELECT pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1782666530.31020.0007 [2] SELECT pageID FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition IN ('000-006-001', '000-006', '000') ORDER BY pageTreePosition DESC
1782666530.31230.0021Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template.html
1782666530.31230 [6] Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template_children.html
1782666530.31310.0008 [4] Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template_children.html
1782666530.31370.0006 [29] Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template_children.html
1782666530.31710.0034 [10] Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template_children.html
1782666530.31850.0013 [7] Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template_children.html
1782666530.31920.0008 [9] Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template_children.html
1782666530.32230.0031 [1] SELECT pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' OR pageSortPath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1782666530.32320.0008 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageHidden=0 AND pageNew=0 AND pageTreePosition IN ('000-006-001', '000-006', '000') ORDER BY pageTreePosition
1782666530.32530.0022 [1] Using template: /templates/navigation/breadcrumbs.html
1782666530.32580.0004Using template: /templates/blog/post.html
1782666530.3260.0003 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_blog_authors WHERE authorID='1' LIMIT 1
1782666530.32670.0007Using template: /templates/blog/author.html
1782666530.32710.0004 [1] SELECT SQL_CALC_FOUND_ROWS DISTINCT tbl.* FROM ( SELECT idx.itemID, main.*, idx2.indexValue as sortval FROM swt_blog_index idx JOIN swt_blog_posts main ON idx.itemID=main.postID AND idx.itemKey='postID' JOIN swt_blog_index idx2 ON idx.itemID=idx2.itemID AND idx.itemKey='postID' AND idx2.indexKey='_id' WHERE 1=1 AND ((idx.indexKey='postSlug' AND idx.indexValue='lessons-from-forest-school')) AND idx.itemID=idx2.itemID AND idx.itemKey=idx2.itemKey GROUP BY idx.itemID, idx2.indexValue, postID ) as tbl WHERE (postStatus='Published' AND postDateTime<='2026-06-28 17:08:00' ) GROUP BY itemID, sortval ORDER BY sortval ASC LIMIT 0, 1
1782666530.3290.0019 [1] SELECT FOUND_ROWS() AS `count`
1782666530.32950.0005 [1] Using template: /templates/blog/post.html
1782666530.3320.0026Using template: /templates/blog/comment_form.html
1782666530.3330.001 [nil] SELECT * FROM swt_blog_comments WHERE 1=1 AND postID=3483 AND commentStatus='LIVE' ORDER BY FIELD(webmentionType, 'like', 'repost', 'comment', NULL) ASC, commentDateTime ASC
1782666530.38730.0543 [0] Using template: /templates/blog/comment.html
1782666530.38760.0003Using template: /templates/blog/post.html
1782666530.38790.0003 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_blog_authors WHERE authorID='1' LIMIT 1
1782666530.38880.0009 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/what-we-do' OR pageSortPath='/what-we-do' LIMIT 1
1782666530.38950.0007 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition='000-002' LIMIT 1
1782666530.39010.0006 [7] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageNew=0 AND pageHidden=0 AND pageTreePosition LIKE '000-002%' AND pageDepth >=1 AND pageDepth<=2 ORDER BY pageTreePosition ASC
1782666530.39240.0023 [1] SELECT pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1782666530.39290.0005 [2] SELECT pageID FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition IN ('000-006-001', '000-006', '000') ORDER BY pageTreePosition DESC
1782666530.39530.0025 [6] Using template: /templates/navigation/footer-nav.html
1782666530.39640.0011 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/make-a-difference' OR pageSortPath='/make-a-difference' LIMIT 1
1782666530.39710.0007 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition='000-005' LIMIT 1
1782666530.39760.0005 [38] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageNew=0 AND pageHidden=0 AND pageTreePosition LIKE '000-005%' ORDER BY pageTreePosition ASC
1782666530.40020.0026 [1] SELECT pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1782666530.40080.0006 [2] SELECT pageID FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition IN ('000-006-001', '000-006', '000') ORDER BY pageTreePosition DESC
1782666530.40290.0021 [10] Using template: /templates/navigation/footer-nav.html
1782666530.40670.0038 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/visit' OR pageSortPath='/visit' LIMIT 1
1782666530.40760.0009 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition='000-004' LIMIT 1
1782666530.40820.0006 [30] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageNew=0 AND pageHidden=0 AND pageTreePosition LIKE '000-004%' AND pageDepth >=1 AND pageDepth<=2 ORDER BY pageTreePosition ASC
1782666530.41060.0024 [1] SELECT pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1782666530.41120.0006 [2] SELECT pageID FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition IN ('000-006-001', '000-006', '000') ORDER BY pageTreePosition DESC
1782666530.41340.0022 [29] Using template: /templates/navigation/footer-nav.html
1782666530.41650.0031 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/make-a-difference' OR pageSortPath='/make-a-difference' LIMIT 1
1782666530.41740.0009 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition='000-005' LIMIT 1
1782666530.41810.0007 [11] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageNew=0 AND pageHidden=0 AND pageTreePosition LIKE '000-005%' AND pageDepth >=1 AND pageDepth<=2 ORDER BY pageTreePosition ASC
1782666530.42040.0023 [1] SELECT pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1782666530.4210.0007 [2] SELECT pageID FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition IN ('000-006-001', '000-006', '000') ORDER BY pageTreePosition DESC
1782666530.4230.002 [10] Using template: /templates/navigation/footer-nav.html
1782666530.42450.0015Request time: 0.1918
1782666530.42450Process time: 0.1916
1782666530.42450Memory: 1.6238