To school through the woods : Getting children to learn about their environment

The past year has seen a surge in interest in learning outdoors. Childcare experts say children can learn a lot from their natural environment and gain an early understanding of its importance  

Children from the Education Together School on Grattan Street, Cork, attending the Mucky Boots Forest School with Niamh Geoghegan. Picture: Dan Linehan

The benefits of fresh air and connecting with nature have never been more clear than in the last year, as people headed outdoors for relief from the pressures of lockdown. Our renewed enthusiasm for getting out and about has also highlighted the advantages of outdoor learning, an educational approach that has become increasingly popular in recent years, with research mounting on the positive effect it can have on wellbeing, development and life skills. Outdoor learning encompasses many forms of practice outside the classroom, including forest school and outdoor play.

Joan Whelan is chair of the Irish Forest School Association, a voluntary organisation that represents forest school programmes throughout the country and aims to raise awareness of the benefits of learning in nature. A retired teacher and educational psychologist, in 2011 she set up a forest school programme in the Dublin primary school of which she was principal.