Summer 2009 - Scottish Natural Heritage

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Experience the wild
The fi rst programme created by Wild
things! involved day trips to Glen Affric,
and it’s still going strong. Primary
school children are introduced to their
local ancient Caledonian pine forest in
Glen Affric National Nature Reserve.
For many of the participants, this is their
fi rst visit to an ancient woodland.
All the activities on these day trips
are based on a physical or imaginary
experience of the forest. Storytelling
is used a lot and each programme
is based on characters from within
these stories. The children play games
that awaken their senses to their
environment. The activities include
collecting objects that are soft, hard or
squidgy for their forest box; imagining
they’re owls and listening out for prey;
working together to build a human
tree; or ‘disappearing’ to their very own
magic spot for 10 minutes.
The second programme is known
as Forest School and is a type of
schooling that originated in Denmark.
It’s now becoming a popular part of the
school curriculum and is successfully
used with children at a time in their lives
when they’re particularly open to new
experiences. It’s also used with young
people who have special needs or are
at risk of exclusion from school.
Children walk, cycle or occasionally
take the bus to their local woodland for
two hours each week. Over a six-week
period they learn to develop a hands-on
appreciation of their local environment.
The children build campfi res and
make pine needle tea, learn about the
importance of wood ants or spiders, the
beauty of dragonfl ies, the clever way a
tree grows or how a fl ower is pollinated.
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Charcoal making in
Glen Moriston.
62 The Nature of Scotland