Children’s Forest Journey; a 6-month Online course
About the course
Planting trees in the ground and hope in hearts
Start your journey here to share in the principles and practices of the Children’s Forest and how to bring nature connection into the planting and tending of forests for the future generations.
The Children’s Forest Journey is a 6-month program to offer nature-based education leaders practical, creative tools and a framework to initiate and plant Children’s Forest projects with your groups in your local areas. You will be guided through the Four Step Journey and given guidance, mentorship and resources that will support your nature programs. Learn how planting trees can deepen the journey for the children, as we restore our forests ecosystems and our experience of ourselves a beneficial, caretaking key stone species.
Transform the Vision of a healthy world for the future generations into Reality
Who is this course suitable for?
This course is designed for people with previous experience of working with groups in a nature-connection setting.
What you will gain?
- Wisdom from Guest Speakers, including Jon Young -founder of the 8 Shields model – a nature-connection framework focused on deepening relationships with nature, self, and community, based on from indigenous mentoring techniques. Discover more about Jon’s work here.
- Consider what are the gifts of human beings as a key stone species
- How to plant trees in a meaningful and connective way through a head, heart and hands approach to restore both our culture and our environment.
- How tending our relationship with ourselves, each other and the land restores our world.
- Connect with a global network of Forest School & outdoor educators
- How to uplift and restore heritage knowledge of the trees, plants and animals through skills such as foraging and tracking in the landscape.
- How planting native fruit and nut species is important for food sovereignty, ecological restoration, and biodiversity.
- Tools for developing nature connection practices for yourself and groups.
- Explore how our imagination holds a vital key to responsible action and creative solutions.
- The power of song, story and the creative arts to develop future generational thinking.
- How to work with schools through curriculum objectives within the context of a Children’s Forest project.
- Children’s Forest as a bridge between landowners and nature deprived communities.
- Bring the richness of ecology into Forest School practice and education through the ongoing tending of Children’s Forest.
- Meet guest speakers offering expertise and experience
- The Forest from Seed project – how to gather and plant native tree seeds: developing reciprocal relationship with nature.
6 monthly sessions:
SESSION 1:
Saturday May 2nd 4.30-6pm
Introduction to the core practices and principles of the Children’s forest approach and how the Forest from Seed practices can be woven into a cycle of sacred reciprocity through the gathering of fruits and nuts for food and medicine, saving seed for germination and planting in tree nurseries to later be planted in Children’s Forests.
SESSION 2:
Saturday June 6th 4.30-6pm
Exploring Step 1- FOREST EXPERIENCE: Giving children a sense of belonging to nature through Forest School, ancestral skills and core connection practices to develop heart connection with the forest in support of planting being a direct expression of reciprocal care .
SESSION 3:
Saturday July 11th 4.30-6pm
Explore Step 2: IMAGINATION: Supporting children to dream into a healthy natural world for the future generations. Positive envisioning through the creative arts of story and song, art and poetry.
SESSION 4:
Saturday Aug 1st 4.30-6pm
Explore Step 3- PLANTING: Taking positive, purposeful and practical action towards a bright future, the children plant the trees with their wishes and love for the earth and the children yet to come.
SESSION 5:
Saturday Sept 12th 4.30-6pm
Explore Step 4 – TENDING: Tending the forest over the years to come, children develop a long term relationship to the land and experience what it is to be a beneficial species, a steward of the natural world.
SESSION 6:
Saturday Oct 24th 4.30-6pm
Final debrief session. Practical next steps, guardianship and planning for Children’s forest, sharing of group experience and wrapping the bundle.
Meet your Mentors
Anna Richardson: Founder & Director
Anna founded the Children’s Forest from her deep passion to connect children to nature through creativity and reverence for life. She has 25 years experience as a nature mentor and forest school leader, working with children of all ages and mentoring adults in plant lore, foraging, nature connection and bushcraft. She has co-authored two books: Learning with Nature and The Children’s Forest.
Pippa Johns: Forest from Seed Director and Permaculture Consultant
Pippa runs the Forest From Seed Project and manages the Tree Nursery where she facilitates children to grow native trees from local seed, for planting Children’s Forests. She has taught Permaculture for over 20 years and is passionate about inspiring people to develop their own connection to land. She has been a tutor for the Permaculture Diploma and developed her own courses in ecological gardening and connection gardening.
Erica Shorter: Children’s Forest facilitator guardian, program designer, Nature Connection Mentor
Erica is part of the Heartwood team, communicating about Children’s Forest with the wider world. She has worked with children for many years in the forests. She is a nature mentor facilitating planting projects, courses and events. She is drawn to and inspired by Children’s Forest in answer to her passion for nature connection, reciprocal relationship with the living world, and participating in joyful healthy culture.
Sally Stevens: FSTI Instructor & Children’s Forest Journey Facilitatordesigner, Nature Connection Mentor
A seasoned early childhood educator and advocate, Sally has always prioritized connecting children to nature. In 2016, she founded the first forest school for Deaf children in the USA in Santa Fe, New Mexico, and soon after, SOL Forest School was founded in the mountains east of Albuquerque, NM. Sally has worked as a FSTI course instructor since 2022. She completed her Children’s Forest training in 2024, and alongside her SOL community, two Children’s Forests have been planted in the high mountain desert to date. Sally is looking forward to facilitating this on-line Journey and feels certain others will be inspired to “plant trees in the ground and hope in the heart”!
Course Fees
UK fee’s (to view US fee’s, please visit www.forestteacher.org)
- Seed (supported fee) £175
This fee level will allow us to meet our costs in bringing together this group of presenters that will guide us through this special 6-month Journey.
- Branch (standard fee) £250
This fee level will allow us to pay our presenters more generously and enable more people to join at the “seed” level.
- Tree (supporters): £350
This fee level will allow us to pay our presenters more generously, enable more people to join at the “seed” level, fund special guest speakers, and plant a Children’s Forest in the USA.
Payment is due in full to complete enrollment. We are committed to making this training as accessible and inclusive as possible therefore please pay at the level comfortable to you. Paying the supporters fee enables us to offer concessionary rates to those in need.
If you have questions about Your Journey? Contact [email protected], [email protected] or Sally at [email protected], [email protected].
Questions about Payments? Contact [email protected]
Terms & Conditions
A non refundable deposit of 20% will secure your place on the course. Please read the current version of our terms & conditions.
“The Children’s Forest Facilitator course has been the most inspirational training I’ve ever been on.
…I feel like I have been physically shifted in my heart after these four days. Your knowledge, your love and your organisation of the days have been so gratefully received.”~ Rosie
