Schools

Learning should be fun, and the more practical the task is, the easier it is to learn.

Wildwood Bushcraft provides a range of exciting and educational outdoor activities that children find great fun. Imagine the thrill of being taught and trusted to make fire, and learning the uses for different plants, trees and materials found in nature? We aim to help teachers by providing risk assessments and worksheets and clearly linking our activities to the curriculum. We work with teachers before the visit to tailor the session to fit with subjects the children are studying and the key stage they are at.

Activities for schools and youth groups

Our bushcraft and survival sessions can include fire lighting with sparks and by friction (i.e. rubbing sticks together), cooking on an open fire (flat breads etc.), shelter building (great for team work), plant identification and uses, cord making, finding and purifying water and much more - all within a framework of safety. We combine the fun aspects of these activities with an understanding of the underlying theory and link them into subjects the children will be covering in the class room.

Other activities we can teach include:

Orienteering - for example map reading, taking grid references, and using a compass to orientate a map, and taking bearings.

Environmental studies - our chief instructor is a qualified wildlife ecologist with broad knowledge of wildlife and plants, and specialist knowledge of mammals. We can explore animal tracks and signs, identify of trees and herbaceous plants and their role in nature etc.

Please contact us for more further information, our spreadsheet showing the links to the curriculum, our risk assessments and worksheets.

Apart from our core bushcraft sessions for schools we are also able to run Forest School classes with a bushcraft theme.

Instructors

All our instructors are experienced, first aid trained and CRB cleared. We have worked with groups numbering between 5 and 240 children in a day! We work with all age groups, as well as excluded pupils.

Prices

We charge from £13 per child with no extra charge for supervising adults (up to 1 adult per 6 children). For large groups of over 60 children discounts can be arranged. Please note that there is a minimum charge of £200 per day that applies to small groups. If the desired course content and numbers of pupils are judged to require more than one bushcraft instructor, an additional charge will be incurred.

Venues

We have various woodlands in Sussex and Scotland where we can run courses. However we often provide courses in woods near to your school and can even run a course in your school grounds, if you don't have a wood nearby! In Sussex, we often use Broadstone Warren Scout Centre for large groups as it has good infrastructure and facilities and has a range of other activities such as orienteering, climbing walls, and grass sledging.

Testimonials

"The delivery of information was highly appropriate to the age and experience of the children involved. The tutors related extremely well with the children and a lot of learning went on, including Science, team building, resiliance and risk taking. The children and staff loved it. I liked seeing all 105 children all involved 100% for the duration of the day despite the inclement conditions. [This is] one I hope we can repeat." - Fiona Ricketts, Learning Support, Ardingly College

"We had a tremendous day with Leon on our bushcraft survival day. It was a day full of excitement; making fire, hunting for signs of wildlife, cooking our own lunch on the fire and making dens. We were all exhausted but thrilled with the adventure of it all and we learnt plenty too! I would recommend this experience highly". - Jo Tulloch Year 2 Teacher Blackthorns Primary School, Lindfield.