Summer Medicine Making & Tree Tending Community day

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Adults £20, children free

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About the course

Join us for a morning of gathering and crafting medicines from the forest, hedgerows and meadows, followed by an afternoon tending the trees and ecosystems of the Children’s Forest. Adults and accompanied children are welcome.
We create a connective learning experience that will enable and inspire you to gather and share skills with your families and the children you work with. Through nature connection practices, practical knowledge and ancestral skills we explore connective ways to engage children with nature.


For most of our evolution, humans have lived in sync with nature.  Our nervous systems are hard-wired to respond to stimuli received from the natural world.  Faced with the over-stimulation of our modern world, our senses have become dulled and our sense of wellbeing affected.
This day offers the opportunity to remember your natural state of being in relationship with nature and to celebrate the gifts of summer.  We will use established nature connection practices to awaken your senses and restore wellbeing, and offer some that you can take with you to practice in your daily life.

Who is this course suitable for?

  • This course is suitable for adults and accompanied children, both beginners level and those with more experience in nature connection.

The course will cover

  • Learn wild medicines to forage for food and medicine for all the family.
  • Nurturing opportunities for adults and children to connect with the natural world together through creative processes.
  • You will learn techniques, which will aid your well-being and provide an opportunity to explore your inner worlds.

About the tutors

Anna Richardson: Anna has been a nature mentor and trained forest school leader for over 20 years, working with children of all ages and mentoring adults in plant lore, foraging, nature connection and bushcraft. The 8 Shields deeply informs Anna’s work and approach.  She is passionate about connecting to nature through creativity and reverence for life and is also a forest school trainer through Circle of Life Rediscovery and has co-authored two books : Learning with Nature and The Children’s Forest and am the founder of the Children’s Forest.

Erica Shorter: Erica has been learning and playing in nature as a Forest School Leader and Nature Connection Mentor for over 10 years. She is happiest wandering barefoot in the forest and brings a flavour of deep nature connection into her work with children and adults. She is informed and inspired by the 8 Shields and is passionate about creating spaces for people to deeply connected with nature and their inner landscapes.

Testimonials

Upcoming courses

April 13 2026, 4-6pm

'Greet the Trees' Spring term (for community)

£10 drop-in per family, £35 block booking.

Weekly outdoor education sessions with games, songs, stories, crafts, food and tree tending as we experience the gifts of the trees.

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October 13-14th 2026, 10-4pm

Forests From Seed: 2-day workshop (for adults)

Standard fee: £120, Supporters fee: £160. Supported fee: £90

Located at our small tree nursery, participants will learn how to set up their own, for a school, forest school, community or even in their garden. We will learn how to respectfully forage, process and germinate tree seeds and also to use the fruits and nuts for food and medicine. We will look at different ways of treating various kinds of seed in order to germinate and grow them into saplings and how to tend the growing trees for optimal health of future forest plantings.

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Oct 15-18th 2026

Three day Facilitator Training Course 2026

Standard: £600, Supported: £750, limited concessionary spaces

This immersive 3-day camp in a beautiful woodland while experiencing the four step journey of the Children’s Forest. Experience deep nature connection practice, practical knowledge and indigenous wisdom.

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