What is Forest School?
Forest School is an outdoor educational approach that emphasizes learning through hands-on experiences in a natural environment, typically a woodland or forest setting. The philosophy behind Forest School is rooted in the idea that children (and adults) benefit from regular exposure to nature, which fosters holistic development—physical, emotional, cognitive, and social.
Key Principles of Forest School:
Child-Led Learning: Forest School promotes self-directed learning, where children have the freedom to explore, discover, and engage in activities that interest them. The role of the facilitator (often called a Forest School Leader) is to guide rather than instruct, allowing learners to take the lead.
Regular and Long-Term Engagement: Unlike one-off nature walks or outdoor classes, Forest School emphasizes regular, sustained interaction with the same natural space, typically over an extended period. This allows learners to build a deep connection with the environment and observe changes across seasons.
Risk and Challenge: Managed risk is an integral part of Forest School. Children are encouraged to climb trees, use tools (such as saws and knives), build shelters, and light fires under supervision. These activities help build resilience, problem-solving skills, and confidence.
Holistic Development: Forest School focuses on the whole child, not just academic learning. Through outdoor play and exploration, children develop physical coordination, emotional regulation, social skills, creativity, and an appreciation for nature.
Nature Connection: A core goal of Forest School is to foster a connection with the natural world. This connection is believed to promote well-being, environmental stewardship, and a sense of belonging to the larger ecosystem.
Individual Learning Styles: Forest School recognizes that children learn in different ways and at their own pace. The outdoor environment offers a flexible, multi-sensory learning space where all learning styles (visual, auditory, kinesthetic, etc.) can thrive.
Activities in Forest School
Children in Forest School participate in a variety of activities, which often include:
Den-building: Constructing shelters using branches, leaves, and other natural materials.
Fire-building and Cooking: Learning how to safely build and manage a fire, often followed by cooking simple food items over the fire.
Tool Use: Safely using tools like knives, saws, and hammers to engage in practical tasks such as carving wood or making natural crafts.
Exploring Flora and Fauna: Identifying plants, insects, and animals, learning about ecosystems, and observing seasonal changes in the forest.
Free Play: Unstructured play is a big part of Forest School. Children are encouraged to climb trees, splash in streams, dig in the mud, and use their imagination in creative, open-ended ways.
Teamwork and Social Skills: Working together to build structures, solve problems, or navigate the natural environment encourages cooperation and communication.
Benefits of Forest School:
Physical Health: Spending time outdoors encourages physical activity, whether it’s running, climbing, or carrying materials. This helps develop motor skills, balance, and overall fitness.
Emotional Well-Being: Nature has been shown to reduce stress and anxiety. Forest School provides a calming, open environment where children can express themselves, experience freedom, and build self-confidence through problem-solving and overcoming challenges.
Cognitive Development: Engaging with nature stimulates curiosity and inquiry-based learning. Children ask questions, investigate, and experiment, which fosters critical thinking and problem-solving skills.
Social Skills: Forest School often involves teamwork and collaboration. Children work together to complete tasks, which enhances communication, empathy, and conflict resolution skills.
Environmental Stewardship: A deeper connection with nature fosters a sense of responsibility for the environment. Children learn about ecosystems, sustainability, and the importance of conservation through hands-on experiences.
Independence and Resilience: Forest School encourages children to take risks, make decisions, and learn from mistakes, promoting independence and resilience.
Forest School vs. Traditional Education
Environment: While traditional education is usually classroom-based, Forest School takes place entirely outdoors in natural settings, allowing children to interact with nature daily.
Structure: Traditional education often follows a rigid curriculum with predefined lessons and assessments. Forest School is more flexible, focusing on child-led exploration and learning through play.
Assessment: In traditional education, success is often measured by tests and grades. Forest School focuses on individual growth, observing progress in social, emotional, and physical development rather than academic scores.
Origins and Global Adoption:
The Forest School concept has roots in Scandinavian education, particularly in Denmark and Sweden, where outdoor learning is a long-standing tradition. It gained popularity in the UK in the 1990s and has since spread to other countries, including the US, Canada, and Australia.
In many places, Forest School is used as a supplement to traditional schooling, often run as weekly or bi-weekly sessions. In some cases, entire schools or early childhood centers adopt the Forest School model, with all or most of their education taking place outdoors.
Conclusion
Forest School is a powerful educational approach that fosters children's development by reconnecting them with nature. Through hands-on, child-led learning, Forest School nurtures creativity, independence, social skills, and a lifelong appreciation for the environment. Its focus on outdoor play, risk-taking, and holistic growth makes it an increasingly popular alternative or complement to traditional education.
