A school woodland was transformed into a living classroom as a group of children left their desks behind and took their education outdoors for the day.
The children, from Ysgol Gymraeg Penalltau in Ystrad Mynach, took part in activities such as identifying birds, building wattle fences, creating string trails – and drinking lots of hot chocolate to keep warm.
The school was selected for the six-week programme of outdoor learning by Aled Hopkin as part of his training to become a Forest School leader in his new role as an Education Officer with Natural Resources Wales.
Aled, a former teacher, was keen to find a Welsh speaking group for a Forest School programme so that he could refine his Welsh woodland vocabulary and improve the children’s language skills in an environmental context.
Ysgol Gymraeg Penalltau fitted the bill perfectly, as the Year 3 class of seven and eight-year-olds is in the process of developing the school’s woodland area known as the “coedlan”.
Aled, who used to teach in the Caerphilly Borough, said: “I was able to brush up my Welsh language skills and the children were able to expand theirs.
“But this is also a great example of how the environment can help us in all sorts of ways.
“The children enjoyed learning about the world around them and got an appreciation of the two-way relationship between us and our environment.
“Looking after our environment is good for our communities, our economy and our well-being.”
The children proved willing pupils in their new environment, keeping Aled on his toes with questions about trees, woodlands and wildlife.
They tackled a range of environmental tasks and child-led learning activities and completed the final session by using tools to make marshmallow skewers, which they then cooked over an open fire.
The programme was run to highlight the potential of Forest School and the cross-curricular, outdoor activities that could be run in the school grounds.