Helping students in your schools reconnect with Nature.
The idea of a Nature School came initially from teachers themselves. In our local school located in a rural area in the west of Ireland, teachers were concerned that children were gradually losing their connection with Nature.
In writing a thesis on the “socio-economic benefits of Native Woodland” in 2008, I first came across the idea of “Forest Schools” which were popular in Sweden. Further research led to the discovery that many of the problems that teachers were experiencing in their students could be attributed to the reduction of time they were spending out of doors.
This research ultimately led to a study visit to the Kinda Outdoor Education Centre in Sweden. This study looked at the concept of “Taking the Classroom outside” and a visit to a number of schools in the Linköping area.
In Ireland Nature Schools aims to help and support schools to get their students back enjoying and learning the natural world around them.
We are located just 2 kilometres from the museum of Country Life at Turlough Park near Castlebar.
We welcome classes to come and experience an outside classroom in our native woodland or we can come to your school and help you to create an outdoor classroom in your own locality.
We also have training programmes for teachers.
If you want to find out more Contact us today and we can discuss how we can work together.
Contact us to find out more