As the Summer has approached it has been wonderful to see the Forest School site changing, growing and adapting to the new season. The improved weather has also meant a lot less mud, which some of us are pleased about. 

We have seen a lot of growth on our site, this includes plants and trees which may cause us harm, such as Nettles, Brambles, Hawthorns, Lords and Ladies (Arum maculatum) etc. The children have spent time getting to know and recognise these plants and trees as it is important we not only learn to keep away from them but also value their individual importance on our site and within nature. Every plant, tree or animal plays an important part in the cycle of life. 

Site maintenance and site development were both important factors this half term, ensuring we are doing all we can to help increase and support wildlife, no matter their size.

World Art Day:

During the first week of the term we took part in World Art Day, with a focus on the artist Andy Goldsworthy.

The children looked at examples of his work, noticing and commenting on his use of natural materials to create images and sculptures. They learnt about his concept of a 'collaboration with nature'.

The children worked in groups to collect a range of natural materials from our site and then decided to focus on one or more of Andy Goldworthy's  'styles'. They could choose to create images using one or more of the following styles:

• Circles and spirals
• Balancing and stacking
• Lines
• Layers and filling

Monitoring our site:

During the second week of term we took the time to monitor our site. We took part in lots of bug hunting and general investigation to see what was living in our Forest School, both flora and fauna.

We had a list of items to find, as well as the chance to find other species we did not know were living there. The children thoroughly enjoyed this week, bug hunting was a firm favourite!

Habitat development:

Following on from the previous week, during week 3 we created habitats in the form of bug hotels, dead wood piles and dead hedges.

During the previous week the children had found bugs living on the site but not a diverse range of different species. So, to help attract more species we used dead wood to create safe areas for insects to live and breed in. We used the wheelbarrows to help us move the wood from the top of the field to the Forest School site, this added to part of the fun. 

Litter picking:

We took to the local lanes armed with litter pickers, bin bags and gloves this week. We discussed how important it is to maintain a healthy ecosystem for both plants and animals in our local area and ensuring there is no litter is an important part of that mission. We linked our lovely litter picking walk with Sir David Attenborough's 100 birthday, discussing the vital role he has played in helping reduce single use plastic and general waste around the planet.

Thinning trees and using mallets:

This was our first week using tools! Loppers were used to maintain and cut back the growth on the Forest School site, including low growing branches, thorny hedgerows and parts which had got a little out of control. We saw some fantastic perseverance and determination of children who really got into cutting back the parts which needed maintaining. The children were also excellent at listening to the 'tool talk' about how to use the tools safely.

The children also used mallets this week to create natural artwork, using the technique Hapa-zome (which means leaf dye). They collected leaves and other interesting plants, placed them on the cotton fabric and hit them with the mallets. This released the pigment and dyed the fabric square. Lots of trial and error was needed as some leaves/ plants worked better than others. 

Multicultural week:

The children took part in multicultural week in the last week of term. We focused on what it would feel like to move from another country and linked this to bird migration. We discussed why birds need to migrate and how this can link with human migration too; needing food, shelter and a safe place to bring up young. 

The children were split into groups and were asked to take on the role of a migratory bird. During the session they had to create a way of 'travelling' from one area (country) to another using the equipment given to them. They then had to create their own shelter and sit in it as a group, where they listened to music from the country they had migrated to and tried some food from that country.