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Blacknest Forest School is located in a large, private woodland of immense variety, adjacent to Windsor Great Park. It offers a secure place to explore nature and engage in an endless series of outdoor activities that encourage the imagination of each child to soar while developing a lasting connection with the natural world.

Blacknest has been my home since 1960 when my parents bought the land to build a family house. Working in the woods is how our family enjoy time together. It is a privilege to be steward of this land to preserve it for future generations and use it to actively engage young people with nature.

 

Having qualified as a Level 3 Forest School leader, I established my Forest School in 2017 as a magical resource for children (5-10 years) to learn to love nature and see what they can do to protect it. 2020 was crazy as we had programmes for children every day from 1 June – a huge release from lockdown.

When the schools went back we had a four week mini ecologist course, and two home schooling groups, one or two birthday parties and a Forest School practitioners training day, run by Vicki Stewart, Brightwood Training, using the unique facilities at Blacknest.

Now we are in lockdown again and the woods are empty of children but the wildlife flourishes. It is magic to see the deer, and sometimes the fox and badger.  No hedgehogs found yet. The buzzard and kites fly overhead.  And I keep working on planting more trees and bushes for hedging which are so important for insects and small mammals. Signs of spring now emerging.  We hope to be open again soon.

 All activities are fully risk assessed and the site is fully insured for its Forest School activities. All staff coming on the site are Disclosure and Barring Service DBS cleared and there is always a Forest School trained person on site. Any user may see a copy of our risk-assessment and hand book of other policies such as emergency routines, lost child procedures.

If you are interested in any of the programmes we are currently offering or would like to suggest some ideas for the future, please contact me through either: annemartin@blacknestforestschool.co.uk or 01344874160