Botanic Garden and Attenborough Arboretum
Forest School taster days
Your day will be led by a Forest School trained leader. The pupils will take part in practical hands-on activities learning new skills and exploring nature and natural materials first-hand. All are suitable for EYFS / KS1 / KS2.
Choose three activities to a make a full day
- Shelter Building: Work in small groups to create a shelter using ropes, sheets, tarpaulins and branches. Groups can design their own shelter or make one from examples provided
- Natural painting: Using bowls and sticks make paint from natural materials like mud, leaves, flowers and berries. Paint a picture and make a frame using sticks. Or use a mallet to squash leaves and flowers onto cloth to create works of art
- Mud!: Set up a mud cafe and design your own mud cakes, shakes, pies... Try creating mud paintings, balls, faces and more!
- Music: Listen to Marin Waddell's story 'The Happy Hedgehog' and make music of your own using the natural features of the Arboretum. Make a shaker or rattle or a clay hedgehogs and work together to replicate the sound of a rainstorm.
- Mammal tracks: Look for and follow tracks and learn about the mammals that created them. Create some prints of your own and make an animal mask to take home
- Elves, fairies and their homes: Let your imagination run wild as they create a little person of the forest then make luxurious abode for them using a range of natural materials such as mud, bark, sticks, moss and grass
- Age groups: EYFS / KS1 / KS2
- Availability: All year
- Numbers: up to 35 (one class)
- Duration: Full day
- Lunch: An inside space will be provided if needed
- Site: Attenborough Arboretum, Carisbrooke Rd
- Cost: Please visit our programme costs page