Kevin Wigley, from the City of Trees team comments “ Forest schools offer a unique hands-on learning experience in an outdoor environment, which is especially important in today’s technology-focussed world”. The benefits of outdoor education are widely known with evidence showing that higher levels of exposure to green spaces are associated with improved cognitive development in children, as well as nature-based education supporting significant improvements in social studies, science, language, arts and maths. Outdoor learning is becoming increasingly popular across the region with hundreds of schools utilising environmental resources to develop teamwork, confidence and healthy activity amongst pupils.
There will also be raised beds, which pupils from Years 9 – 11 have been creating as part of their woodwork lessons, as well as a food growing area to be used by the whole school. The new forest school area, which is due to be complete in July, will see 200 trees planted amongst the grounds including 10 fruit trees such as apple, pear, plum and cherry. Walden High’s forest school of the future has been realised thanks to players of a charity lottery, with £12,000 awarded by Postcode Community Trust, a grant-giving charity, funded entirely by players of People’s Postcode Lottery.
City of Trees has been working with the secondary school in Walkden to create a forest school area, which will be used by pupils for outdoor learning activities such den building, outdoor cooking and fire-lighting.
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