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The urban forest school

Blog
Beeches Park Childrens Day Nursery
19 Jul 2024

Forest school experiences aren't just for those of us in the countryside. Even in built up cities and towns, nature is all around. This is where urban forest schools come in! We spoke with our friends at Beeches Park Children's Day Nursery, who run their own urban forest school, to learn more about what an urban forest school is and inspire settings that are located in built up or urban areas.

What is an urban forest school?

Urban forest schools share similarities with traditional forest schools, a way to allow children to engage in outdoor activities such as nature walks, building shelters, observing wildlife, and playing games. The only difference for an urban forest school is that the activities are adapted to an urban environment, using any available space to provide children with opportunities to connect with nature.

The philosophy behind urban forest schools is rooted in the belief that spending time in nature has numerous benefits for children's physical, emotional, and cognitive development. Outdoor education enhances creativity, problem solving skills and resilience, as well as aiding overall wellbeing. At Beeches Park Day Nursery, our urban forest school takes place primarily outdoors. Our approach focuses on providing young children with hands on natural learning experiences, promoting environmental awareness, fostering a connection to the natural world, and encouraging physical activity and exploration.

In an urban forest school like ours, nature can be found anywhere if you know where to look. Plants and flowers nestle in paths and pavements, insects thrive in brickwork and undercover and birds and bees pass through playgrounds. We just need to open our eyes and learn where to look.

Is it easy to start an urban forest school?

Absolutely. In fact, you require very little, if any, special equipment to take your learning outdoors. All that you need is the mindset to try something new outdoors. Try mud painting instead of traditional poster paint, tree rubbing with chalks, making dens from twigs and leaves, embracing the weather with puddle jumping, or lifting a brick and seeing how many bugs you can find. Cooking on the open fire is a firm favourite in our setting. We have constructed a simple fire circle from logs, with a fire pit in the centre. The children love cooking outside. We make all sorts, from scrambled eggs at snack time to yummy meals at lunch.

What activities are appropriate for an urban forest school?

The possibilities are endless when it comes to planning activities in an urban forest school. Here are some of the activities we love...

1. Bottled bird feeders

Children filling bottle with bird seeds

Wearing appropriate PPE, cut four slits, two at both sides of the top and bottom of a plastic bottle. Thread two wooden spoons through the slits to create perches for the birds to land on and feed off. Fill the bottle with seeds using a funnel (or rolled-up piece of paper), then attach a string to the top so you can hang your bird feeder up.

What you'll need:

• Plastic bottles
• 718327 – White Cotton String
• 231473 – Wooden Spoon
• 427184 – tickit Translucent Colour Funnel Set
• Bird Seed
• Drill (or knife to create a hole)
• PPE (e.g. gloves, goggles)

2. Magic potion making

Children mixing potions

Fill a play tray with water and a few drops of essential oils such as lavender or slices of fresh fruit such as lemons. Add any natural resources, like flowers, petals, leaves, and twigs – use your imagination! Then, ask children to swirl and stir their 'potions' or use bowls and cups to try scooping and pouring.

What you’ll need:

• 801659 – YPO Play Tray – Black
• 801663 – YPO Play Tray Adjustable Height Stand
• 817694 – YPO Plastic Bowls
• Water
• Natural resources (flowers, petals, fruit)
• Essential oils (lavender, lemon, peppermint)
• 749265 – YPO Glitter Flakes (optional)

3. Muddy mark making

Children finger painting with mud

Mix soil and water to a paint-like consistency. Use your muddy mixture
like traditional paint with a paintbrush to create an artistic masterpiece, or mark make with twigs, pinecones, leaves etc. The possibilities are endless!

What you’ll need:

• 451020 – Compost
• 817694 – YPO Plastic Bowls
• 110787 – White Paper
• 759082 – Junior Chubby Brushes

4. Sensory soup

Child stirring pot

Create your own sensory soup with whatever combination of natural resources you can find! Mix with a spoon or sticks. You can extend this activity to 'serve' your soup to your friends using play bowls and plates, whilst practising scooping and pouring.

What you’ll need:

• 817694 – YPO Plastic Bowls or an old saucepan
• Water
• Natural resources (flowers, petals, leaves)
• 231473 – Wooden Spoon – optional

This article has been taken from our latest early years magazine, Little Learners. For more inspirational early years content like this, you can subscribe to receive our magazine for FREE or find out more on our Little Learners homepage.

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Beeches Park Childrens Day Nursery