Schools
School visits to Wilderness Wood take advantage of this valuable resource to enrich and enliven the curriculum and stimulate learning. By allowing pupils to experience the wood at first hand, we hope to create a lasting and emotive connection with woodlands.
We welcome all age-groups, from Reception to Degree Level. We’re well geared to school visits, with teaching materials and knowledgeable and experienced staff who will create a tailor-made visit for your class.
We’ve found that recently schools have moved on from focusing on purely scientific or geographical topics to questions of sustainability, recycling and management conflicts in woods – all areas we’re very experienced in! The wood is also an ideal setting for studying ideas around shelter, home and survival, and also for stories, legends and fairytales.
What we offer:
- It's a productive woodland, making garden products and furniture from our own timber
- It's a "natural" place that is home to many plants and animals, including spring bluebells, autumn toadstools and pond creatures, open all year
- It's an ancient woodland, with two Roman iron smelting sites
- It's a beacon of sustainable living and working
- It's got friendly and experienced rangers to run walks and activities
- It's a great place to for children to investigate, rummage, collect
- It's got a brilliant play area and souvenir shop
- It's yours for the day to explore!
We offer you set packages based around the most popular days out at the wood, or bespoke ones to meet the needs of your class.
Our Teachers' Packages contain:
- A list of essential information
- A booking form
- A risk assessment form
- A map of the wood
- A suggested timetable
- A description of the ranger - led activity
- A relevant activity to do on your own
- Relevant spotter or activity sheets for children to use
How to book:
- Wilderness Wood is open all year round for school visits.
- Call us first on 01825 830509 to check whether your chosen date is free. We like to have only one school in the wood at a time to give you the best experience.
- Complete the booking form which you will find in your chosen package, and return it to us with a £10 deposit. We will send you an acknowledgement letter.
- If you would like to speak to the Education Manager Sarah Kelleher please call Tuesdays or Thursdays or email her any time at enquiries@wildernesswood.co.uk
- You are welcome to come for a free pre-visit to plan your day and discover all that Wilderness Wood has to offer. Please call if you would like to meet a member of staff to discuss your trip to us.
- Tell us how many people you actually are on the day and you will be issued with an accurate invoice to take back to school.
How much:
- Pupils – £2.75 each (£2.85 from March 2012).
- All accompanying adults – free
- Guided walks / activities – £48 per hour per group (£52 from March 2012).
THE PACKAGES
Click on each package to view and download a pdf file
RECEPTION
- Minibeasts Ranger - led rummage in the wood finding creepy-crawlies; woodland art sculptures of bugs; spotter sheets and trails
- Fairy Stories Do you know the storybook wolves? Can you find Red Riding Hood? Do fairies live here and can you make them a garden?
- The Gruffalo Ranger-led Gruffalo hunting and home-building; look for signs of other woodland animals; spotters and trails
- Senses Ranger-led sensory experience, touching, smelling, even tasting! Make a woodland rainbow; collect textures; spotters and trails
- Bears Go on a bear hunt or build woodland shelters for your bears with a ranger; find signs of other animals; make a bear sculpture
- Bespoke We can help you plan your visit around whatever topic you are studying - here you'll find the basic information and booking form
KS1
- Growing plants Explore the plant life of the wood with a ranger with your particular focus; create collages of finds; trails and spotters
- Uses of wood Ranger led exploration of how we use wood; shelter building and firelighting; hands-on demo; trails and spotters
- Minibeasts Ranger-led investigation of minibeasts, contrasting habitats, looking at food chains, camouflage etc; spotter sheets, pond dipping, trails
- Plants and animals / Living things. What plants and animals live here, how to identify them, what they eat and how they grow, parts of plants, life cycles, using games and activities , trails and spotters
- Shelter and survival Shelter building, fire lighting and cooking, plus hands-on wood demo; survival foraging; spotters and trails
- Seasons Discover the delights of the season and work out what will happen in the next; lotds of spotter sheets; art opportunities; trails
- A walk in the woods Ranger-led storytelling and activities, based on traditional or modern fairytales, shelter building, trails and spotters
- Bespoke We can help you plan your visit around whatever topic you are studying - here you'll find the basic information and booking form
KS2
- Life cycles in a woodland Exploration with games and soil, tree id, food chains etc; activity sheets and trail
- Habitats The ranger can guide you through the varied woodland habitat; construct shelters; habitat work sheets; trails and spotters
- Fungi Ranger-led fungi hunt, with explanation of their part in woodland ecology; spotters and trails; spore printing and fungi art
- Growing and using wood Discover how the forester cares for the wood, hands-on woodcraft; trails, activities and spotters
- Mapping skills Use a map of the wood to teach scale, orientation and representation; navigate the trail; make a natural map
- Shelters and survival Shelter building and / or campfire cooking; foraging and old uses of plants walk; trail and activities
- Environmental issues / sustainable living How do we care for the wood; woodwork demo shows production and waste; trails
- Robin Hood Just how did Robin live off the land?; build a wooden shelter to hide from the sherriff; woodland trails
- Bespoke We can help you plan your visit around whatever topic you are studying - here you'll find the basic information and booking form
Secondary Packs being added very soon!
