Making dens and cooking on a campfire are just a couple of the activities Brecon school children enjoyed at their Forest School.
The 18 children are the first pupils from Priory Church in Wales School, Brecon to benefit from taking part in a Forest School programme.
They attended six half-day sessions during February and March at the Carno Forest School site, Carno Wood, Libanus near Brecon.
The woodlands provided a stimulating outdoor learning environment for the children, aged between 4 and 5 years old, to explore different activities and learn new skills.
From making imaginary woodland homes out of natural material to constructing bird boxes, they were allowed to be creative and independent.
They had plenty of opportunities to explore, find, select and design as they collected woodland treasure and made woodland crowns and badges.
Other activities focused on the campfire and the way to behave safely around it. They were able to make cooking sticks to melt marshmallows and learnt how to cook popcorn and bread.
The children’s parents were invited to the final session for a Forest School celebration, with the children sharing their favourite Forest School experiences and taking part in an Easter egg hunt.
Lisa Preece, Priory Church in Wales School teacher, said, “The children have had so much fun during the Forest School sessions and experienced freedom whilst learning.
“Many have behaved differently to how they would at school by showing greater confidence and co-operation skills.
“I have seen them in a different light, not just as pupils but as the children they really are out of the school environment.”
The Forest School programme was led by Kate Elias, Powys Education Officer, Forestry Commission Wales’s Woodlands for Learning team. Kate is working towards her OCN Level 3 Forest School Practitioners Award and she ran the sessions as part of her training.
Kate said, “The children loved Forest School so much and it has been great to see them gain confidence, knowledge and skills as the weeks have gone by.
“I’m looking forward to helping the school maintain their link with Carno Wood and supporting them to make full use of it as a learning resource in the future.”
Forestry Commission Wales paid half of the transport costs for the children to get to the woodland by bus and the National Trust, which owns and manages the Forest School site, donated materials and tools for the children to make bird boxes to put up in their school grounds.
Tim Bennett, Woodland Warden, National Trust, said, “As members of our local Forest Education Initiative group, we found there was a need for some real woods that groups could access locally.
“The site we identified in Carno Wood was set up with the help of a volunteer group.”
The children plan to return to the woodland in the summer by taking advantage of the free educational woodland visits offered by Forestry Commission Wales
