Helena Dolby for Sheffield & Rotherham Wildlife Trust
Education and Learning
Our vision
We believe that everyone should have the opportunity to experience the joy of wildlife and wild places in their daily life. Our vision is that people of all ages and backgrounds have the chance to learn about wildlife and the value of the natural world, because these will be central to our approach to education.
Why does this matter?
By ensuring people of all ages and backgrounds have access to, and education in, the natural world, we can improve mental and physical wellbeing, and safeguard the environment for the future. By experiencing the natural world, people are far more likely to take better care of it. If we don’t take the opportunity to ensure that the next generation (and the current generations) nurture a connection to wildlife, and encourage current generations to lessen their impact on our natural world, nothing will change. Wildlife will continue to suffer, and the natural world will continue to be degraded.
Outdoor learning is essential as it gives children first hand experience of the world; a chance to become immersed in their environment. That is an opportunity you cannot replicate in the classroom.Primary School Teacher
Wild PE lesson with Sheffield and Rotherham Wildlife Trust (Helena Dolby)
What do we offer schools?
Our excellent track record is one of providing inspirational, effective learning experiences of staff and pupils at every level and across a huge range of subjects. Wildlife Trusts have been welcoming school parties onto our nature reserves for more than 50 years! Below is a breakdown of some of the services we offer to Wildlife Trusts. Find out what your Trust can offer you by finding your Wildlife Trust at the bottom of the page.
School visits to nature reserves
School visits to reserves allow children a chance to see the wildlife on their doorstep, learn the curriculum in a new way and have the chance to find their 'Wild Life'.
Wildlife Trusts offer a variety of school visits, from talks, to explorations to educational workshops, all linked to the curriculum. The majority of Trusts will tailor these visits to suit the needs of the school, so the options are endless!
On-site lessons at schools
On-site visits to schools can range from provision of assemblies, to delivery of whole sessions, either in the classroom or within school grounds.
Forest schools
A Forest School is a specialised learning process that provides regular opportunities for children to achieve and develop confidence through real life experiences in a natural environment. It does not necessarily have to be in a forest (although a lot are), but should be immersed in any natural environment setting, including beaches. Importantly it includes a series of regular outdoor sessions (usually over a 6-10 week period) that is tailored to the individual needs of the children (usually a max 15 people per session).
Sessions are designed to stimulate imagination, creativity and investigation via activities such as woodwork using tools, shelter building and Natural Art. As weeks progress the children are given more freedom and responsibility to explore their interests and initiate and direct their own learning. This enables participants to connect with nature, experience the seasons and see how the Forest School sites change over time.
Teacher training
Alongside offering sessions for classes, a range of local Wildlife Trusts also offer training for teachers, to allow them to incorporate wildlife into their lessons.
These training courses vary from forest school training, to CPD training, to whole school INSET, where teachers are trained to recognise habitats within their school grounds and learn techniques that can incorporate this into the curriculum.
The majority of training courses are tailored to meet your school's needs and are very flexible. If you want to incorporate nature into the curriculum but just aren't sure how, this is the perfect option for your school.
Improvement of school grounds
Some Wildlife Trusts offer their services to improve your school grounds for wildlife and pupils. This can take the form of advice, or even implementation.
We believe that everyone should have the chance to enjoy and learn more about the natural world, regardless of age, so we provide lots of volunteering opportunities and training courses.
The changes that we want to see
People value nature, understand how to access it and appreciate their responsibility for caring for the natural world
Every school offers high quality outdoor learning to all pupils
Every person has easy access to safe, natural green space, that is high quality and inspiring
Watch a video about one of our projects
Nature Tots (https://youtu.be/q49K_Lty5JY)
Meet the Nature Tots - a Derbyshire Wildlife Trust project that introduces under-3s to the great outdoors.