Summer Medicine Making & Tree Tending Community day

Course dates July 23rd 2023, 10-2pm Pickeridge Farm, Ardingly RH17 6ST

Price Options

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

Slide 1

“I love everything about Children’s Forest's courses. These immersive nature days are filled with so much enchantment and joy that leave me feeling deeply connected to the more than human world and to my true self as an inseparable part of nature. I particularly adore singing tree songs together, which feels like a beautiful way of reciprocating the many gifts the trees offer us. I've shared with my children and they are now Children's Forests biggest fans!"

Rachel P
Slide 2

"A really wonderful day connecting with trees and learning more about our own indigenous traditions too. I'd highly recommend these workshop for anyone looking for a couple of hours escape - I arrived exhausted and left energised and rejuvenated!"

Lucy R
Slide 3

"I've attended numerous Children’s Forest short courses and each time I leave brimming with inspiration and new knowledge that I can't wait to share with my family and the groups I teach. I've learned so much from the wealth of wisdom they share on tree lore, responsible foraging and some truly connective nature crafts, games and songs that will really enrich my educational groups!"

Sally B
Slide 1

“Thank you so much Children’s Forest, the days you bring feel very special, like a forest school for adults. Beautiful beloved songs sung from the heart, weaving and connecting hearts together, hands on experience with nature from source to creation, gathering in circle and being truly human and releasing all the bliss you have inside can be shared.”

Jo P
Slide 1

"I loved learning how to process and eat the nourishing acorns on the acorn workshop. The Children's Forest course was fun and left me with skills that I will be using for the rest of my life!"

Millie D
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Upcoming courses

April 27th 2024, 10-2pm

Tree Nursery Community Volunteer day

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Join us to tend the tree nursery and learn about growing trees. These are volunteer work days for individuals and families where we will tend the young trees growing in our tree nursery. Work includes watering, weeding, pricking out seedlings, sowing tree seeds and more depending on the time of year. You’ll learn some aspects of growing and caring for young native trees at each session.

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April 28th 2024, 10-3pm

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Adults £25 per person, children by donation.

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April 22 - July 1 2024, 4-6pm

'Greet the Trees' Summer term (for community)

£10 drop-in per family, or Adults £35 for 4 week block (children free)

Join us for these weekly sessions on Monday afternoons to greet some of the trees we met in the autumn in their Spring and Summer finery. With games, songs, stories, crafts and food we will experience the gifts of the trees and tend the tiny seedlings growing from seeds gathered and sown in the autumn.

Find out more