On a cold November morning I paid a visit to the Woodland Wellbeing project – a partnership project between Take Action Together, Moorside Primary School and Christ the King Primary School, currently taking place at Wardley Hall.
Woodland Wellbeing aims to improve local children’s confidence and self-esteem by developing their communication and teamwork skills, in a safe and nurturing woodland environment. Activities include nature exploration, outdoor play, practical skills development such as basic survival skills and using tools, teamwork activities, and reflection and mindfulness.
This was the final session in the project for this group of children. To get the session started, the facilitators, Ema and Fay from Take Action Together, asked the children how they were feeling that day and what they had learnt over the previous eleven weeks. They then introduced the theme for the final session, reminded the children about the commitments they had made at the start of the programme (including, to respect one another and nature) and all the exciting activities they had planned!
The first activity involved a trip to the wooded area in the far corner of the grounds, furthest from the Hall. The children were led through a gate in the garden’s high stone wall and up a winding path, until they reached a circular clearing at the centre of the woods. The children were then invited to choose an item that they could present back to the group, reflecting on why they had made their choice.
One child chose a selection of leaves that looked like fox ears, which she stuck down to create a fox face and showed to the group. One child chose some small sticks and fashioned them into a stick man. Another child found a large stick and immediately proclaimed himself King of the Forest, telling a dramatic tale about losing his staff and rediscovering it, two-thousand years later at Wardley Hall!
Next, the children were taken into the garden to play some outdoor games, including hide and seek and the children’s undisputed favourite, the buzzy bee game. Once the games were over the children were invited back inside and were handed their journals, which they completed each week. This gave them a moment of quiet reflection and allowed them to develop their mindfulness skills.
Finally, the children went back up to the woods to gather items they could use to fashion into a tree, representing their growth over the twelve weeks. They found leaves and sticks and stuck them down, adding some of the reflections from their journals onto the tree:
“I love doing art with my friends.”
“I feel not alone because I have made friends along the way.”
“Happy.”
“I don’t want to leave.”
It was wonderful to see how much the children enjoyed spending time outside, particularly on a cold autumn morning! They had big smiles on their faces after being in the forest and playing games in the garden. It was also wonderful to see the children engage in the ‘quieter’ moments, for example when completing their journals or reflecting on what they had learnt over the twelve-week programme.
The teacher who accompanied the children told me she had noticed a different side to some of their personalities when they are in nature – they are more calm, focused and self-assured. This tallies with an insight I have heard many times on visits to schools, about the powerful link between spending time outdoors and better health and wellbeing outcomes for children and young people.
Take Action Together received a grant of £14,957 through the Healthy Schools Partnership Challenge 2023/24. The fund is managed by Salford CVS and supported by Salford ICP.
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