Tips and Tricks for starting your own outdoor club
Conduct a needs assessment: Survey students, teachers, and parents to identify the specific interests, needs, and barriers to outdoor learning in your school community.
Establish clear club policies: Develop guidelines for club participation, including attendance expectations, behaviour standards, and safety protocols.
Plan various activities: Offer a mix of structured and unstructured activities to cater to different learning styles and preferences. This may include nature hikes, scavenger hunts, gardening projects, or outdoor art activities.
Engage local organisations and businesses: Partner with local parks, nature centres, or outdoor recreation businesses to access additional resources, expertise, or field trip opportunities.
Organise parent involvement: Invite parents to participate in club activities or help with logistics, such as transportation or chaperoning.
Schedule reflection time: Give students opportunities to reflect on their outdoor experiences, share their learning, and provide feedback on club activities.
Celebrate achievements: Recognise students' accomplishments and milestones, such as completing a challenging outdoor activity or demonstrating leadership skills, to reinforce a sense of pride and ownership in their learning.
Continually evaluate and adapt: Review the club's goals, activities, and participation to ensure ongoing effectiveness and relevance.
Making the outdoors more accsesible
Incorporate nature-based sensory experiences: Engage students' senses by encouraging them to touch, smell, and listen to the natural environment. This can foster a deeper connection with nature and make outdoor learning more engaging.
Provide adequate outdoor clothing and gear: Ensure students can access appropriate clothing and footwear for various weather conditions, making the outdoors more comfortable and accessible year-round.
Develop a risk assessment: Evaluate outdoor activities' potential risks and benefits, promoting a balanced approach that prioritises safety without limiting learning opportunities.
Utilise natural materials as learning tools: Incorporate natural materials, such as sticks, rocks, or leaves, into lessons and activities to facilitate hands-on learning and creativity.
Encourage student-led exploration: Provide opportunities for students to pursue their interests and curiosities outdoors, fostering a sense of ownership and independence in their learning.
Offer training: Teach students essential outdoor skills, such as navigation, plant identification, or outdoor safety, to help them become more confident and self-sufficient.
Collaborate with local experts: Invite local naturalists, gardeners, or outdoor enthusiasts to share their knowledge and passion with students, creating a richer and more diverse learning experience.
Implement a buddy system: Pair students together during outdoor activities to promote teamwork, communication, and a sense of belonging within the group.
lINKS
Learning through Landscapes are a charity that specialise in getting schools back outdoors.
they offer online and in person training courses and resources to help you develop your primary outdoor learning and play practice.
The Woodland Trust is the UK’s biggest woodland conservation charity.
It has a resource pack on their website that has steps of how to begin getting outdoors
TES is a great website for teaching resoruces.
it has a page on some resources for getting outdoors, and some lesson ideas. Some of them are free and some you have to pay for.
Engage Eductaion is a teaching agency, it has lots of differnet resources, some of them being for some outdoor lessons/ Ideas
