No Bad Weather?

We've just had a weekend of booked Forest Birthday Parties. The same weekend as storm Brian hit the UK. 

The lead up through the week has been one of communicating to the parents with the possibility of a cancellation and re-assurances that we're checking the weather. On Thursday we advised parents to look into the potential for a Plan B after the forecast was fairly sure the storm would hit.

By Friday morning it was looking like Saturday pm was when it was most likely the storm would hit and we agreed to cancel the birthday party. We offered another date or a full refund. Luckily with enough notice the family managed to get in a soft play for the afternoon so they went with a refund and a couple of complimentary places on our upcoming Nov 5th event.

We offered the same to the family booked on in the morning but they were willing to take a chance on an on-site assessment of the wind on the day. Come Saturday morning we arrived on-site and started to assess trees on site - there had been an earlier windy storm in the week -and also assess the trees near where we operate in as usual. 

The standard for umming and ahhing about if you should be in the woods on a windy day is Beaufort level 5 or less if you have poor trees. Lumb Brook Valley was fairly sheltered so some mature trees were barely moving which was re-assuring as on the drive over there was significant swaying of trees in more exposed locations. The forecast predicted the storm increasing with regional winds from about 40mph at appox. 3pm by which time we'd be long gone. 

When the parents arrived we agreed to a slightly more intense forest party than usual. We were going to forego our free optional chill out 3rd hour to make sure we beat the storm and could pack away. We also agreed to stay within areas of the wood we had just checked for tree damage (such as hanging branches). Our 3 regular identified dodgy trees were avoided and zoned off as usual - these have a significant leans, hanging branches and dead wood at height. All was good. We packed up and got home well before the stronger winds came. The forecast for Sunday was looking better too with the gales diminishing to a strong wind over the course of the morning.

Come Sunday afternoon there was still a reasonable wind and some sway of younger trees in the woods at Gorse Covert Mounds. We spent a good hour of assessing trees looking for hanging branches. This included shaking young but dead trees or branches near paths or areas we might go through or near. About 4 of these we got onto the floor - the rest were strong enough to be left alone. 

What's handy for us is that a lot of Gorse Covert is fairly open so we extended our fairy tale hunt so the 1st hour wasn't under cover giving even more time for the wind to die down further before getting to our woodland base camp. By the end it was pretty still and a sunny Autumnal evening and everyone was raving about a great party.

For a quiet moment - on my own - packing up I took a few short minutes to reflect. My thoughts are that its good to experience wind in the woods, the swaying of branches and the hiss of leaves. There's also that part of me that worries, sometimes needlessly- are the trees safe? Will everyone be OK?  That niggle makes sure Fairy Forest School safety value is met.

Fire Safety

I was asked today about lighting fires in woods when its dry. This is a legitimate concern so here's everything we do to make sure we're safe and legally compliant.

1) PERMISSION. We have the written permission of the land owner. For the woods we operate in this is the Woodland Trust. They do not allow fires on their land and can pursue those that light fires for criminal damage. We have a licence agreement which is regularly reviewed with the Trust's site manger. The licence requires agreed working practices, risk assessment, environmental impact assessment, public liability insurance and certification of competency.

2) OFF THE GROUND. Soil (especially organic loamy or peaty soil) can burn and be extremely hard to put out. We use a fire pan and in extremely sustained dry weather use a stove which is even further away from the ground. Mineral soil such as sand can be placed under the pan or other materials such as green logs if its dry. The ground is doused after the fire and if dry before too. Any sticks that fall out are placed back in the pan.

3) WATER: We bring copious amounts of water to douse the flames and surrounding ground. Fresh tap water can also be used to immediately treat a burn before applying burn gel.

4) ZONES: We zone off the fire with our hot zone triangle. You are not allowed to put bare skin in here - only if its holding a toasting stick or wearing a fire glove. Our next zone is strictly no running and deemed as the approach area to the fire.

5) CONTROL: We can control a fire in our pan by smothering it if we want it to be on hold for a while. A fire pan limits the size of the fire as does restricting the amount of fuel added. We never leave an active fire as it should be constantly managed.

6) EMERGENCY PLANNING: Forest School Practitioners have current first aid training - at our disposal we have clean tap water, sterile water, burn/hydro gel and cling film to cover and keep clean any burn. We have prepared emergency procedures which include fire. We have a fire blanket nearby and kit to smother a fire in addition to water.

7) COMPETENT: Forest School level free training includes managing and handling a fire. I also have numerous experience in handling fires including fire awareness and extinguishing training, science teacher - combustion, bunsens etc, wood burner at home. We were also lucky enough to have a pupil's father attend our forest school that happened to be a fire officer. He helped advise, experience and inform how we handle fire too.

8) PERSONAL PROTECTION: We use fire gloves, have a fire blanket, have water on hand, and first aid equipment. We ask parents to remove any costumes that children occasionally come in (such as fairy wings) as we're unsure as to their flammability.

9) LEAVE NO TRACE: The fire pan prevents ground scarring. The ash/ember soup once doused with lots of water is either spread around by hand (where we check its cold) to fertilise our favourite trees with potash or early on in the year we take it away, dry it and use it as charcoal once its dry. We scatter or take away any piles of collected fire wood we have to put off illegal fire use. 

10) COMMUNICATION: We share with our customers what we do. We want people to be put off lighting illegal ill-considered fires in woodland and tell them the consequences of what can happen to them (burns, fines, imprisonment), others and the environment. When we spot ground scarring we report it to the site manager, other volunteers or friends groups and to the police. We consider what we do as best practice and share that with others and listen to any hints or tips from other parties to make what we do even safer, more efficient and better for the environment.

All good things

Our regular forest school in its current format is coming to an end. Its been brilliant doing a regular forest school that rolls on through the seasons at Lumb Brook. We've made new friends and helped share our love of nature and forest school.

However our 6 sessions for the price of 5 offer which permitted customers to skip sessions and pick them up later, coupled with moving the sessions to a Tuesday because of teaching commitments means we've reached an unsustainable level of uptake especially in term time and in the week. We've had lovely quiet sessions which often means children get near to one on one attention however from a financial perspective these regularly make a loss and can't be borne any longer. These quiet sessions sometimes lack the social interaction which makes forest school what it is too. To make matters worse forest school always takes a dip in uptake during Winter as the weather gets worse (although we like wind/rain and snow) and people are a bit hard up from Christmas.

To remedy this our prices have risen to £6 per child (a marginal increase of 50p) and we're only accepting group bookings of 6 or so we always have a minimum number. That way we make a baseline revenue to cover costs and get the interaction we need. This is still a bargain at just £36 for 6 kids .

Our regular Tuesday sessions will end on 8th November at Lumb Brook Valley before we take a break over Winter. We'll be reflecting on what we think works and decide what to do for Spring 2017.

DON'T BE SAD! We are still offering individual events such as our bear hunts, dens etc on selected dates. If that doesn't scratch your forest school funny bone we can still do private sessions/programmes by arrangement (well worth it if you think you can get a large group together). And of course we're carrying on our work in schools and trips to our woods.

Still got some sessions due? DON'T PANIC! As per the terms and conditions of this great offer the regular forest school sessions will be carrying on for the next six weeks giving you ample time to use any outstanding tickets. Please let us know you're coming. We'll be on site but with no bookings will be concentrating on doing voluntary work for the woodland trust. If you're in doubt as to where and when check out our events on facebook or get in touch.

Easter

Its been full on mad busy. And we've more on over Easter.

Our Friday Forest School carries on from strength to strength and we now have a dedicated page telling you about it  here. This is great for toddler's preschoolers and home ed (as it runs every Friday even term time).

We're carrying on with our holidays outdoor events which for Easter is a fairy tale nursery rhyme hunt for soft toy characters before hitting base camp where we'll be making our creatures homes and dens. Incidentally our base camp know has a scramble net as well as the usual camp fire and hammocks. Food is a chocolate laden meal with all sorts cooked on the fire.

We're sticking to our usual MONDAYS Lumb Brook, TUESDAYS New Moss Wood and WEDNESDAYS Gorse Covert Mounds. Our forest schools here.

We've deliberately left Thursdays free so if you're a holiday club wanting to book something then get in touch.

The last Sunday of every month is when we put something back into a local wood that needs some TLC in Birchwood Warrington. This month that happens to be Easter Sunday so join us if you fancy a break from all the chocolate. This is a FREE event and designed for adults but children welcome. Just turn up at the Walled Garden in Locking Stumps at 1pm - 3pm. Its conservation work and tidying up with tools and equipment provided. Please feel free to bring your own but no power tools thanks. We call it Love your Local Woods. 

Full circle.

Although we've been incorporated for over a year it took a while to set  things up . This time last year was our first events namely ELF ADVENT ADVENTURES. Yours truly gets dressed up and facilitates children and families exploring a wood looking for lost presents and candy canes  before settling in by a fire for lunch.

A year on and here we are again so what's changed? Well! Quite a lots happened since last time as explained by my Christmas wreath.

Firstly you take a flexible stem or branch - in this case a weedy sycamore sapling that's invaded a local wood. Coiled into a loop and wrapped around itself it represents the years past and future circling on and on.

Ivy is coiled round and around to hide the stem, bind it together and provide loops to stick in other decorations. We have an abundance of ivy in Birchwood - combining maintenance and forest school activities is what Fairy Forest School is all about. I like to think of these strands as being all the work over the last year building relationships, writing polices, training and so on which has enabled me to make Fairy Forest School a reality.

Centre piece is the star using lashing and clove hitching learnt over a year ago on a forest school course and the 5 points representing the forest school ethos (What is forest school?).

Prickly holly (gloves needed!) is added by threading into the ivy. I  took some growing by a path that was starting to encroach, as was the laurel. The holly with berries grow in my dad's garden who's been helping me pack up forest school sessions over the past year.

Pine cones have been collected from here and there on my journeys. The big ones from the Centre at Birchwood where I've been meeting very colleagues and business partners and friends. The shiny one was made (but left behind) by one of our regulars at Friday Forest School at Appleton. 

The yew is symbolic for me of many things. Typically its planted in graveyards and synonymous with the dead or otherworlds. Its the longest lived tree, is poisonous and endures.  Over the year I've fought to get unlawfully witheld wages from another outdoor company I worked for before going solo which (despite lots of attempts at conciliation) led to a scary day in court. I stuck to my guns and the judge awarded me wages, court costs and solicitor's fees - the other side were awarded nothing. Its been a stress I didn't need but the experience has been very interesting and I'm now in a position to advise both forest school practitioners and their employers if they find themselves in a similar position. Expect a bulletin once the dust has settled. In a sense the yew represents the death of all this conflict and stress. Its memory endures like an aged yew standing guard and will help to shape the future for others in a positive way.

Finally the flowers were added by my partner Suzie. My son Alex came up with the idea of putting the star in the middle and my other boy Robin helped to trim and collect all the bits. Its a family effort which is fitting because so much of the past year (bear  hunts, birthday parties, fairy tale walks, etc.) have been about having family time and bringing people together to enjoy the outdoors.

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year - Rawdon

Safety Alert Giant Hogweed

SAFETY BULLETIN

GIANT HOGWEED

Introduced by the Victorians this relation of Cow Parsley can grow up to 5m tall and is common on wasteland and riverbanks. The sap it produces reacts with sunlight on skin causing severe chemical burns and blistering even years after contact. The harmful effects may not be noticed for some considerable time during contact increasing the likelihood of greater contact to the toxic sap.

Giant Hogweed can be confused with Hogweed when its growth is stunted. Children often use the stems for pea shooters which lead to hand/facial blistering however exposure and subsequent burns can be sustained by merely brushing past the leaves or handling contaminated clothes.

Taken from www.nonnativespecies.org.uk

TREATMENT - If you come into contact with the sap IMMEDIATELY wash the affected area with copious amounts of water and soap then cover. Seek medical advice.

GIANT HOGWEED ADVICE

Learn to recognise Giant Hogweed and teach children of its dangers

Avoid and isolate areas with Giant Hogweed present

Assume Hogweed could be stunted Giant Hogweed

DO NOT attempt to remove Giant Hogweed as this is an operation that requires specialist protection instead ISOLATE and REPORT to the Landowner.

Giant Hogweed and the law

It is illegal to plant Giant Hogweed in the wild potentially leading to a fine and up to 2 years imprisonment however there is no legal obligation for a landowner to remove it under law that controls the spread of invasive species.

However, land owners are required to provide a duty of care to those on their land including trespassers. Any injury resulting from Giant Hogweed could result in criminal or civil proceedings against the land owner.

PICTURES Chemical burns sustained by exposure to Giant Hogweed. These will reoccur to varying degrees for years with exposure to sunlight.

SAFETY Giant Hogweed

INSIDIOUS AND TOXIC GIANT HOGWEED

I've seen quite a lot of what looks like Giant Hogweed recently particularly near the Green Dragon Inn in Lymm but it appears to be all over the place especially near rivers. This coupled with recent media attention about Giant Hogweed has really got me confused.

You'd think Giant Hogweed would have the highest status with regards to the law but there are worse offenders but none seem as insidious as Giant Hogweed. Firstly it resembles hogweed and cow parsley both comparatively benign. Giant Hogweed sap however causes severe chemical burns but not straight away - it takes exposure to light to cause the activation of the sap so that children can play among it and continue to come into contact with the poisonous sap. Its only later that they develop serious blistering. Even just brushing past it or handling contaminated clothing is enough to be burned and at the time you may not even notice.

The plant also produces 1,000s of seeds so it requires year on year treatment and takes over riverbanks so ecologically wise is pretty bad. And yet its not illegal to have this on your land only to plant. This means you have areas full of Giant Hogweed where land owners aren't aware or don't care or can't afford to have it managed. The Giant Hogweed takes over, the seeds spread enter a water course and drift to other areas.

I believe it should be illegal not only to plant but also to fail to have a management strategy on your land for Giant Hogweed. Subsidies should be in place to help land owners have this professionally removed (it takes specialists to remove it safely and disposing the waste produced has legal implications). Each water course needs an effective overarching strategy to ensure there are no secret Giant Hogweed havens producing seeds which then enter the river.

Until then children (who are  affected the most) and others will have to rely on awareness to protect them so please feel free to pass on our safety post which follows this.

See here to identify: http://www.dec.ny.gov/animals/72766.html

A week in Forest School

Last week saw me spending week 2 of forest school training and what a week it was! It flew by.

Monday - Was a chance to catch up with old friends and new before heading into the woods at Rookhow to play some games including a name game called Sparrow Hawk which was fun! The day became a bit more academic looking at Emotional Intelligence, Behaviour Responses and Flow States - not as much fun but interesting.

Tuesday - After some more fun to get our energy flowing including a capture the flag type game involving stealing enemy eggs we got into some tool work to hone our practical skills. A popular item was carving fox pegs which had lots of character.

Wednesday - This was a skill assessment day. A very laid back way to pass a test but also very busy. The day centred on individual and team efforts in shelter building, tool use, fires and cooking. With everyone trying to show off their cooking skills we certainly ate well with a German style starter of fried potato and apple sauce ( I had seconds), followed by curry with wild mint yogurt (I had seconds) and then a chocolate muffin cooked in an orange and covered with molten Nutella (stuffed at this point). A variety of very impressive items were made including a trawler model and a fantastic chair. Kelly kettle hot chocolate helped the day along too.

Thursday was a team delivery of a forest school. Session one was a hilarious smorgasbord of all sorts of activities which totally overran the allotted hour but that was OK. A very open pick a spot activity lead to making and following a trail. I particularly liked using a hammer to leave a leaf imprint. Session two was our team and had a very quiet and reflective entry into the wood, followed by a sleeping fawns game before creating items for a midsummer fairy party. Session three was a much more reflective session honing in  on using a stick to tell the story of a journey. I'll let you decide which one I was involved with. All sessions were very different and really demonstrated the breadth within which forest school could be applied.

Friday was a goodbye day with some games in the woods followed by one and one sessions looking at future areas to develop and help with assembling the forest school portfolio.

Evenings were very interesting too. I explored Quaker woods and the surrounding heading up to Glass Knott, found a mossy den that was like a goblin cave, ate lots of wood sorrel, tracked animals and best of all tried out sleeping in a hammock.

On reflection the feel of the week was marred by understandable jitters about assessment and the portfolio. However when in the swing of things everyone excelled and demonstrated their passion and skills for outdoor learning.

Who do you trust with your children?

CONTACT US for free advice and guidance.

We've had a number of complaints and anecdotes about another outdoor education company that claims they are a forest school provider. Its always sad to hear people haven't had the positive experience they expected.  Often these experiences are fun until something goes wrong. Some of these stories are outrageous so its best to make sure things are legitimate before you hand over your loved ones.

As part of our advice to schools service built on my 15 years experience in education we prepared a safety bulletin for schools some time ago which we'd like to share again because it seems the message isn't getting through. Please feel free to share any of the links.

As a parent I would strongly recommend that you scrutinise any forest school nursery or holiday club that is for kids only i.e. parents drop off in the morning. You can view what they need to do in this document. Basically if they're doing more than 2 activities and parents aren't about then they need to register. If they haven't then you need to think why not?

Do they have a facebook page? Have a look at the reviews and not just the positive ones. How did they react when things went wrong?

If you have problems with any organisation that claims to be a forest school then you can report them to the Forest School Association. There is a code of good practice they should follow. See our bulletin here.

Nobody find Risk Assessment particularly exciting but as a parent you want to know the company you're taking your children to has done its homework. Don't be embarrassed to ask for a risk assessment. See our original bulletin here.

Like Risk Assessments they should have Public Liability Insurance to cover any eventuality. btw if they're using land without permission then its probably not valid so make sure they've got a licence agreement. See original bulletin here.

Are they as they should be? A CRB/DBS tells you that. Is it as clean as you think? As a parent you have a right to query this to make sure staff are competent and safe. Or will you just take it on trust. See our CRB bulletin here.

See our competency bulletin here.

Its certainly worth having a conversation about these safeguards and don't feel embarrassed. You as a parent/carer/teacher have a right (in fact a duty) to make sure everything's above board and any company working with children recognises that and can provide what you need no questions asked.

Enjoy the holidays!

Ederflower @ Appleton Forest School

On Monday we'll be going in search of elderflowers and using a Kelly kettle to make Elderflower Cordial. So bring a clean jar (jam jar OK but the sealable ones better) to take some of our concoction home to steep.

You're welcome to sample what's left over from last year too. SWEET!

As usual every Monday 10am Dingle Lane Bridge. £5 per child.