EDUCATION
School visits and projects
We are happy
to provide advice and support in the development of school grounds and
improving your area for wildlife and biodiversity.
Recent School Grounds Projects Include
Hillside
School, Cumnock
Auchinleck
Nursery Wildlife Garden
We
can also arrange visits to schools and local woodlands to provide activities
and projects in accordance with the curriculum, on a range of topics.
Some examples of topics include
Enchanted
Forest - Letting the imagination wander and creating
a world usually hidden from view!
Bird songs and calls - Join an experienced member
of staff in identifying bird songs and calls with cd player / mp3 & natural
sounds
Spring bulb planting - Have a planting session
to enhance our local woodlands
Tree and leaf identification - Join us to find
out more about trees, uses & folklore, in any season
Wildflowers and folklore - Come into the fascinating
world of wildflowers and their uses and folklore
How good is your wood? - Is your area good for
wildlife? lets survey it and find out
Autumn harvest - Become a bird or a mammal for
the day and find out the riches to be found in hedgerows & woods
Minibeast hunt - Simple but enjoyable, discover
the creatures that live below the soil or under the water
Butterfly survey - An enjoyable introduction
to surveying and good exercise too!
Animal tracks & signs - Find ways to see
what has been foraging around during the day or through the night
Mysterious creatures - Only limited by the imagination................
Nest box survey - Designing, building, installing,
monitoring, the whole range
such as
rushlight / candle making, ash and hazel fencing, willow and hazel hurdle
making,
shelter building or basic bushcraft techniques.
Specific curriculum topics can also be covered in your local woodland in;
Maths
Literacy
Art & Design
Environment
For
information on willow structures such as domes, tunnels, fences or archways
we can supply or install, please visit our willow
resources page.
or contact us for further information.
***** Please note *****
Simple educational
woodland visits are free of charge but we have to charge for school grounds
development work,
living willow structures and some craft activities if extra materials are
required.
Traditional Woodland Skills
We actively
seek to promote traditional crafts and skills, both through the Forest Cluster
and as East Ayrshire
Woodlands and this allows small taster projects or larger scale work to be
very hands on with a group.
In addition
to general environmental education, we can offer 'woodland school' type activities
which can either
follow more formal curriculum subjects in a woodland setting or involve traditional
woodland skills and practices
Projects can include;
Traditional
candle making and rushlights
Willow hurdle making
Wattle and Daub
Ash and Hazel fences and Gates
Living willow structures, domes, tunnels, fences, archways, seats
Chinese Moongates
Shelter Building
Basic Bushcraft
East Ayrshire
Woodlands and the Ayrshire Forest Cluster are actively looking to progress
forest
schools within Ayrshire.
If you have
a good woodland within walking distance from your school and would like to
discuss
opportunities to develop this as an outdoor teaching resource for general
curriculum topics or
as a woodland / forest school please get
in touch to discuss and arrange a visit.