Summer 2009 - Scottish Natural Heritage

Part of the Forest School ethos is
that it happens in almost all different
types of weather, which can make it an
invigorating time! They’ve been known
to make snow spiders, beetles and
snails on one of the Forest Schools in
February!
Wilderness skills and bushcraft
residential courses make up the
third programme. These offer an
exciting opportunity for teenagers to
be introduced to their local natural
environment. The courses work
well with vulnerable young people
by building their self-esteem and
confi dence. Taking this a step further,
Wild things! expanded their work in
2008 and introduced a wilderness and
bushcraft skills programme for adults
recovering from substance abuse.
The Wild things! courses range from
a two-day introductory training to a
fi ve-day more advanced course, leading
up to a ‘bushcraft’ expedition of four or
fi ve days ‘on the trail’. The skills taught
include activities such as woodland
shelter building, fi re craft skills, tool
making, stalking, reading animal tracks
and signs, and identifying wild foods
and medicinal plants.
The teacher response to the pupil
away-days has been overwhelmingly
positive, as illustrated by a fairly typical
response from a Lossiemouth teacher.
“From a school point of view, the Wild
things! experience has been brilliant
for a group of boys in S2 who have
learning and behavioural diffi culties.
They now have personal experiences
that they can talk about with adults and
peers. They’ve grown in confi dence
from their experiences and the project
is developing their independence.”
4
5
4
Drawing a map of the
camp in the Forest
School Magic Book.
5
Counting the legs on
mini-beasts!
www.snh.org.uk 63