School woodland copse inspiration needed

[stuckinthemud]

Well here’s a twist, my school is situated in a smallish woods. Not sure on exact size, maybe 2/3 of an acre. We don’t have enough room for playing fields, just a small triangular copse on a steep slope down to a river. The twist is that in a staff reshuffle, developing outdoor activities (turn that woods into a resource) might fall at my classroom door. The woods is unmanaged, full of ash dieback, downy birch and brambles . Any suggestions on where I can look for inspiration on what to do with it? Oh, this is for a school of 11 to 16 year olds, almost all of whom are boys.

 

[okeydokey]

This sounds like fun to manage - how good are you at preparing and getting approval for risk assessments.

The Scouts 60 years ago would have been a good source of information starting by making sure everyone had a knife complete with the getting stones out of horses hoofs attachment.

 

[toolsntat]

What a wonderful opportunity to get the next generation on point.
There must be a hedge ready for laying?

https://ncfed.org.uk/

https://linktr.ee/dcsg?fbclid=PAZXh...95Hrt7bIjeYDbZivag_aem_rZMSLVEsgeYkURHNOpiKfQ

If you do Instagram and look into any of these groups it should open up a world of information .
Cheers, Andy

 

[DrPhill]

Well here’s a twist, my school is situated in a smallish woods. Not sure on exact size, maybe 2/3 of an acre. We don’t have enough room for playing fields, just a small triangular copse on a steep slope down to a river. The twist is that in a staff reshuffle, developing outdoor activities (turn that woods into a resource) might fall at my classroom door. The woods is unmanaged, full of ash dieback, downy birch and brambles . Any suggestions on where I can look for inspiration on what to do with it? Oh, this is for a school of 11 to 16 year olds, almost all of whom are boys.

Maybe ask the Woodland trust for pointers, or local wildlife groups.

Maybe leaving it alone and studying the species in the wood and learning about their interactions? Cheap and nature-friendly.