August Newsletter

Welcome to Birchwood Learning’s E-Newsletter. Hope your summer is full of dappled leafy sunshine and fluttering flutterbys!

Website update – Seasonal Stories
Summer-time facts, folklore and stories are now uploaded to our website. Take a look here.

Join us for ‘Bear-ly a Picnic’ Family Discovery Day – Saturday 25th August
Belladonna Bushcraft and Birchwood Learning have teamed up with the wonderful wildlife gardens and nature reserve of ‘Natural Surroundings’ (Bayfield Estate, Letheringsett, near Holt) to gather families (and bears!) together for ‘Bear-ly a Picnic’. Discover what bears really do in the woods… by sharing a collection of outdoor self guided family experiences, if you can ‘bear with us’!.

Bring your own picnic, or buy soup, snacks and drinks in the lovely ‘cafe in the woods’ on site. Then take part in a variety of self guided outdoor experiences at your own pace. And it costs ‘Bear-ly Anything!’ – £25 for 5 family and friends (including entrance to the site)! Find out more here.

Want ideas of things to make and do in the natural world?
…then fly over to ‘Mr Pink’s’ facebook page! Mr Pink is full of ideas of outdoor things, bushcraft skills and natural crafts….and he has such beautiful plumage…! .

Autumn Term Forest School Training in Norfolk
All 3 levels of Forest School Training are available in Norfolk and open for booking:

• OCN Level 3 – starting on 25th October 2012 at Catton Park, Norwich
• OCN Level 1 – 26th & 27th November 2012 at Holt Hall
• OCN Level 2 module – 4th & 5th December 2012 at Catton Park, Norwich

Please view course details here.

‘Forest School Association’ – Has now been launched!
The UK now has an organisation to represent the Forest School community! On 7th July, about 200 people braved the slightly flooded Derbyshire countryside to attend the launch, including some of our very own Norfolk practitioners! The new membership organisation aims to: be a united voice for UK Forest School and raise awareness of its philosophy; provide information and consolidate research; celebrate good practice and support practitioners; standardise training providers and provide CPD and networking opportunities.

Tim Gill – author and adviser on risk benefits in the outdoors has been announced as the first patron of the new organisation. A website is in the pipeline, and a development officer will be appointed in the near future. In the meantime, information can be found on the Institute for Outdoor Learnings website here.

Forest School Norfolk Conference – Save the date! Tuesday 7th May 2013
Norfolk County Council will be hosting a local Forest School Conference at Holt Hall Environmental and Outdoor Learning Centre. A variety of workshops and seminars will be announced in the near future. The day aims to celebrate local Forest School practice, promote the Forest School ethos and provide networking and CPD opportunities for practitioners. More details coming soon!

Jon Cree comes to Norfolk this Autumn!
Jon Cree, training coordinator for the Bishops Wood Centre in Worcestershire, is coming to Norfolk this autumn term to run 2 INSET days for Norfolk County Councils Environmental and Outdoor Learning Team.

• 12^th Oct – Storytelling and Storymaking in the Outdoors. This day considers simple hand on ways of promoting oral storytelling and making skills, using the natural world as a focus.
• 13^th Oct – Natural Wellbeing – using the natural world to develop children’s and young peoples emotional literacy. This day considers how the natural world can be used to develop peoples awareness of emotions in themselves and others and how being immersed in nature can promote wellbeing, reduce stress and facilitate healing.

Find out more on NCCs website here.

Heartsease Fun Day – Saturday 1st September
A fun day out for all the family on the Recreation Ground, Sale Road, Heartsease. To tie in with the theme of comics and graphic novels Birchwood Learning will be there doing games based around minibeasts – the true superheroes of the animal kingdom! See the Heartsease Funday website for more details.

Places We Like – Natural Surroundings
Natural surroundings, is located on the Bayfield Estate in Letheringsett (near Holt) and is a wonderful site to visit for all ages. Get up close to wildlife by taking the nature trail around the woodland and wetland areas, visit the bird hide, or sit in the willow dome watching the river Glaven trundle by. Admire the sculptures in the peaceful wildlife and sensory gardens, visit the red squirrels, hedgehogs and harvest mice. Become a human sundial, visit badgers house and go on an unnature trail. Relax and have a cup of tea and cake in their café in the woods!

Don’t forget to check www.birchwoodlearning.com for forthcoming Forest School and nature based outdoor learning training.