Webinar; How Children’s Forest can enrich your Forest School practice

About the event

Introduction to Children’s Forest Webinar for Forest School Practitioners

Join us on March 11th as we introduce Children’s Forest, an exciting project which compliments and enriches the amazing work that Forest School facilitators do. Forest School builds healthy connected relationships between children and nature, as well as acting as a bridge between the school system and the much needed experience of nature connection.

Childrens Forest builds on these important relationships with nature, providing a framework for planting and tending trees that empowers children to experience themselves as agents of change and stewards of the future, protecting their sense of wellbeing and hope in a rapidly changing world.

The founder of Children’s Forest spent many years facilitating forest school, when the idea came to her for the children to imagine and plant forests for the future generations as a way to return the care they had received from the forest. This has developed into a rich array of reciprocal practices such as foraging, seed gathering, tree planting, songs, games, storytelling and many elements of connected culture.

As part of the process of planting and tending a Children’s Forest, intergenerational communities create long term connections with one another and the trees that they plant and tend into a healthy forest together.

To support Forest School Practitioners to plant Children’s Forests with their groups we run a Facilitator Training course and have a curriculum of tree related resources to support the children in their regular sessions as they connect with the trees of their land

We would love to share how we plant, what we do, and share details of our up-coming Facilitators Training Course in May and answer any questions you may have.

During the call we will share a lovely and easy to learn song with you that you can sing to the trees with the children you work with next time you are in the woods!

Who is this day suitable for?

• This event is suitable for adults working outdoors with children in a nature connection setting.

The event will cover how Children’s Forest:

• Gives back to nature through reciprocal practices ie. foraging, seed gathering, tree planting, songs, games, storytelling.
• Builds regenerative culture and intergenerational communities through our planting projects.
• Inspires belonging and hope in the hearts of children through nature connection.
• Offers a curriculum of tree related resources to support children with nature connection.
• Offers training courses to become a Facilitator to plant trees in a connective way with children.

About the speakers

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.

Pippa James: Pippa has 25 years experience of working with land, designing and making ecological gardens. She has taught Permaculture for over 20 years and has been passionate about inspiring people to develop their own connection to a piece of land to grow food for families and communities. She has created the first Children’s Forest tree nursery, facilitating children to grow native trees from local seed, for planting Children’s Forests. 

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 feel deeply connected with nature and their inner landscapes.