Outdoor education Take teaching outside
Outdoor play and learning is regarded as more and more important for well-rounded, happy children. Here Elizabeth Hudson, from environmental charity BTCV, discusses the work they do and looks at ways primary schools can get involved, no matter how limited their budgets
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t is a bright, fresh morning in Stourton, three miles from Leeds city centre, and a group of lively seven and eight-year-olds have just arrived at BTCV’s environmental education centre, Skelton
Grange, ready to start their school day. Today though, there will be no desks or even pens and paper – Skelton Grange does not do that kind of learning. After introductions and a very active version of “paper, scissors, stone”
to help burn off some of the excitement at being somewhere different, it is time for boots and coats on before heading outside for lessons to begin. On the walk to the “classroom” (in this case, a small area of woodland on the centre’s six acre site), some of the children wave and say hello to Harold, the impressive beech tree they got to know when they visited last year. Things that happen here seem to stick in young minds. This does not look much like a typical primary school day and as the
day goes on, it becomes increasingly clear that it is not. Whether it is digging up soil and inspecting it before coming up with a soil “recipe”, hunting for minibeasts under logs and stones, or exploring the compost bin, the pupils are learning while having lots of fun outdoors, and they are loving it. Across the UK, the environmental charity BTCV has been championing
children’s rights to green space and the benefits of outdoor education for decades. In 2010 alone, BTCV gave 21,000 children from all corners of Britain the opportunity to get close to nature, providing them with practical knowledge and experience of the natural environment through various projects and environmental schemes. Its flagship educational facility, Skelton Grange, was set up in partnership with Leeds City Council and National Grid to provide local
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children with access to the natural world and all the benefits of learning outside. Since opening in 1992, the award winning environmental education centre has given around 90,000 children the opportunity to experience and enjoy outdoor life. Through a combination of education days, play schemes, a wildlife
club and a Wild in the Woods programme, visiting children can step away from computers and textbooks to develop an understanding and appreciation of their environment, and how they can help in safeguarding its future.
“We’re often amazed by the positive
effect a bit of time spent outside learning about the natural environment can have”
While field trips may once have been seen as an add-on or extra-
curricular activity, the benefits of places like Skelton Grange and outdoor learning go far beyond this. In a report published earlier this year the Association for Science Education (ASE) called for increases in outdoor teaching, highlighting the benefits of learning science outside in the natural environment, including teamwork, motivation and its potential to encourage more pupils to continue scientific studies. Learning outdoors does not need to be limited to the sciences either.
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