Outdoor Learning at Sylva Wood

Outdoor Learning at Sylva Wood

By Hati Whiteley

Sylva Wood Centre crafts tools of purpose. Each funding boost turns saplings into life lessons that guide youth toward creativity and woodland stewardship.

Last year, the team at the Sylva Wood Centre approached us for support for construction of their new Outdoor Learning Site. We helped them out by providing funds to make hurdles to protect the trees, so we were keen to see how they were getting on with their project.

Sylva Wood Centre is an environmental charity that strives to help trees and people grow together. One of the ways they do this is through helping people to understand why managing woodland is important, and how they can help.

Last year, Sylva built a new outdoor forest-school style learning site in Oxfordshire. Over 600 children from 20 schools joined the Sylva Tree Team and got their hands dirty planting trees in school plots in the new 'Future Forest' around the site - some taking part in outdoor learning for the first time. They’re now putting their finishing touches to the site, including building protective hurdles to make the shelter more effective in bad weather, ensuring that the team can go ahead with planned school visits.

Throughout spring and summer terms 2018 Sylva have continued to involve local schools in the project, maintaining their school plot and participating in forest school-style sessions at the new education site.

Their aim is that - through introducing these children and - by association - their families and wider school communities to outdoor learning and sustainable forest management, Sylva can help them to understand, respect and care for the environment.

For more information on the work that Sylva do, visit their website: www.sylva.org.uk, Like them on Facebook, follow their Twitter, or kick back and watch some of their short films on Vimeo.

The Alpkit Foundationsupports projects that enable people to overcome the obstacles preventing them from Going Nice Places and Doing Good Things. For more informaiton on how you can apply for funding, visit alpkit.com/pages/foundation#apply

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