Blacknest Forest School offers children the opportunity to explore, learn and grow in a beautiful, secure and enriching natural environment, in every school holiday.
Here at Blacknest Forest School, we believe every child deserves to experience the wonders of nature first-hand!
Our forest school offers a unique and enriching environment where children can thrive, grow and connect with the natural world around them.
Why Choose Us? Click to see the activities that challenge and give joy.
Just as I have gradually learnt how to increase biodiversity and habitats, so too the children learn to love nature, to get involved and to thrive in the woods.
Children come to forest school for fun, games and to explore. They bring sharp eyes, fresh curiosity and a desire for involvement.
There is great symbiosis between play activity, trying new skills and exploring, seeing the changes in nature through the seasons. They enjoy helping me to “rewild” through positive involvement. Many a child has gone home genuinely delighted in their personal achievement…
Please read our latest newsletter to find out more.
Blacknest Forest School is located in a large, private woodland of immense variety, adjacent to Windsor Great Park. We support their aim to protect and strengthen biodiversity for the future, by encouraging children to enjoy and learn to love nature. We offer a secure place to explore nature and engage in an endless series of outdoor activities that encourage the imagination of each child to soar.
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.
Engaging in these hands-on learning experiences foster a deep connection with the environment, nurturing curiosity and a lifelong love for the great outdoors!
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. 2020-21 was crazy as children flocked to be outside and released from lockdown.
The site is also constantly worked to improve biodiversity and restore habitats. Much has been achieved over the last 5 years with help from A Rocha UK. For more information in this area, please see Nature & Us page.
Our Forest School continues every holiday with our focus on nature connectedness. Demand for places (just 12 a day) remains strong.
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 this form.
Research by the National Trust (Finding Nature | Nature Connectedness Research Blog by Prof. Miles Richardson) has helped people to recognise a love of nature (nature connectedness) and being engaged in nature in simple ways leads to better wellbeing and pro-environmental behaviours. That is what we can achieve.
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 a Forest School trained person is 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.
Note: We recommend: children wear long trousers and avoid sandals here. On return home check your children all over, including head and neck for ticks. Ticks are tiny, and their bite is normally painless, so a person will not necessarily know they have been bitten without checking carefully. Please click for our tick policy.