The Nature of Scotland â Autumn 2011 â Issue 13

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7 8 If you go down to the woods Nature play in schools doesn’t always need big changes to the playground. Several hundred Scottish schools have areas of woodland either in or directly next to the playground. Schools are increasingly using woodland for curriculum-based learning in class time, but in most cases the woods are out of bounds to children for play in break times. With funding from Forestry Commission Scotland and Inspiring Scotland, GfL are helping six of these schools to open up their woodland for break time play. It’s a remarkably low cost route to providing incredible play experiences. In most cases, there’s been no need for any big woodland operations. All that’s usually required is a bit of tree safety work, some time to create suitable access points and a chance to clear litter. Some simple features have been introduced, such as tarpaulins for den building or ropes for swinging, but mostly it’s about using what nature has provided. Watching the children at play is fascinating. Fairy gardens are created, a log becomes a seesaw, someone’s found a froglet and a group of boys is figuring out how to move that log. In some cases, teachers have been so impressed by the creativity and co-operation that they’ve allocated class time to play in the wood. They’re also using the experiences in the wood as the basis for some of their classroom work, such as how could we measure the height of that tree or the volume of that log? What’s that bug we found? Write a story about the fairies who created the garden… Providing these enriching experiences for children has challenged existing school culture, policy and practice. Playground supervisors are used to being able to see most of the children from one or two vantage points, and the prospect of children disappearing out of sight has raised all sorts of questions and anxieties. Schools have needed a lot of support with training and the development of play guidelines, management systems and risk benefit assessments. It’s not always been comfortable or easy. But 10 minutes in the wood at break time will convince anyone that it’s worth it. If you’re interested in finding out more about this approach, then look out for two short online films about GfL’s nature play and woodland play projects due out later in the autumn. If you’d like to be notified about the films, or to find out more about these projects, contact gfl@ltl.org.uk or visit www.gflscotland.org. You can also keep in touch with GfL on Twitter @gflscotland 7 How many games can you invent using cones? 8 and 9 Getting close to nature through play. 10 Once out of bounds, but now an extension to the school playground. 12 The Nature of Scotland
9 10 www.snh.gov.uk 13
Page 1: Scottish Natural Heritage Autumn 20
Page 4 and 5: Credits The Nature of Scotland The
Page 6 and 7: Autumn 4 The Nature of Scotland
Page 8 and 9: 2 The art of love In autumn, it's n
Page 10 and 11: 1 The power of natural play 8 The N
Page 12 and 13: value of smaller scale, loose, natu
Page 16 and 17: People of all backgrounds and circu
Page 18 and 19: Personal stories On the edge of Dun
Page 20 and 21: NEWS Dolly scientist working on clo
Page 22 and 23: NEWS Greater protection for shark,
Page 24 and 25: NEWS Extra rangers help capercailli
Page 26 and 27: Inspired by nature 1 As usual, we r
Page 28 and 29: In our third article to mark the 20
Page 30 and 31: 3 Floating homes Office workers wel
Page 32 and 33: Dualchas coitcheann Common heritage
Page 34 and 35: Supporting sporting interests 32 Th
Page 36 and 37: 2 Bad press Promoting country sport
Page 38 and 39: Reserve focus Visit the Clyde Valle
Page 40 and 41: 24 2 1 Cartland Bridge Start from t
Page 42 and 43: 7 7 There are good numbers of badge
Page 44 and 45: SNH Area News Northern Isles and No
Page 46 and 47: SNH Area News Strathclyde and Ayrsh
Page 48 and 49: Events diary 2011 October Friday 7
Page 50 and 51: Hare’s-tail cotton grass, Uath Lo
Page 52 and 53: Bruce Percy 1 Coming from an arts b
Page 54 and 55: Lorne Gill Lorne is the full-time p
Page 56: Sandra Bartocha Sandra is a German
Page 59 and 60: 1 interested to learn about some of
Page 61 and 62: 1 Red kites are good for business.
Page 63 and 64: “The project to reintroduce red k
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The Nature of Scotland â Autumn 2011 â Issue 13

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The Nature of Scotland â Autumn 2011 â Issue 13