Children in Pontrhydfendigaid have been given the go-ahead to design and create a woodland in the grounds of their primary school.
Once completed, the woodland will be used as an outdoor classroom not only by the school, but also local youth groups and the community.
The plan to create the woodland, complete with open green spaces and quiet areas, was given the green light after the Aberystwyth Forest Education Initiative (FEI) cluster group was awarded £4,900 by the GB-wide FEI partnership fund, which is administered by the Forestry Commission.
The children will decide on the key features for their new woodland, which will become a stimulating outdoor learning environment when finished.
FEI operates through a network of local groups which bring a variety of people together to develop and deliver woodland-based learning.
Kim Burnham, Forestry Commission Wales’s education team manager in north and mid Wales, said, “The children have taken the initiative to design an outdoor area which will complement the more confined environment of their classroom, and I’m delighted that this money will enable them to reap the benefits of their vision.”
Through its Woodlands for Learning team, FC Wales contributes £35,000 a year to the FEI partnership fund, which is ring-fenced for projects to increase woodland education in Wales.
Two other cluster groups in Wales who applied for funding were also successful.
The Gwynedd cluster group was awarded £2,500 to design and build a futuristic-looking portable forest shelter which will be used to bring the benefits of outdoor learning to children and young people in Gwynedd.
And the Newport cluster group was awarded £1,787 to develop three tool chests, with bilingual cards describing how the woodland implements can be used, which will be available to all Forest School-trained cluster group members in the area.
Cluster groups can apply for up to 50% funding for projects that meet the FEI’s aims to offer woodland-based learning opportunities which can improve children and young people’s emotional and physical well-being.
