Get Online to Get Outdoors

“If a child is to keep alive his inborn sense of wonder … he needs the companionship of at least one adult who can share it, rediscovering with him the joy, excitement and mystery of the world we live in” – Rachel Carson, The Sense of Wonder

Information to get you started

There are many excellent online sources of information and learning resources to help you develop and deliver environmental education; a selection of websites and organisations is listed below.

Outdoor & Woodland Learning Scotland provide support, networking and resources for environmental education and Forest School. There is a local group in the North East which also has a facebook group with regular training and events.  Mud Pies runs engaging activities for children, families and schools in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, to capture the magic of the outdoors and to get switched on to the wonders of nature.

The Creative STAR website is a mine of useful information on Outdoor Learning with links to resources and blogs. The owner, Juliet Roberson, can also deliver training on many aspect of Outdoor Learning.

Learning through Landscapes is a national organisation that can provide training and support to help you develop Outdoor Learning in your setting.

The Woodland Trust can provide schools and community groups with free tree packs and their Nature Detectives website has lots of downloadable resources to help you discover woodland wildlife throughout the year.

The John Muir Award is a great scheme to help connect young people to nature and discover wild places.

Plantlife is a UK charity dedicated to preserving our wild flowers and their habitats, they have a family activity page to help you discover the wonderful wold of wild flowers.

Buglife is devoted to promoting and raising awareness of invertebrates and their habitats, they have a children’s activity page to help you learn more about insects and other invertebrates, there is also a Scottish Education pack with information on how to grow a wild flower garden and make a bug hotel.

RSPB is the UK’s bird charity, their Fun and Learning page is full of activities for schools, children and families. They have many nature reserves around the UK, some of which have facilities for school visits.

The Open Air Laboratories network – OPAL – is a citizen science organisation with downloadable surveys that are suitable for school science projects. The surveys cover a range of topics from pollination to tree health and earthworms.

If you would like to improve your school grounds for wildlife and improve overall sustainability of your school then the Eco-Schools programme is a good place to start.

Doug Gooday

Ranger at Aberdeenshire Council

Interested in Environmental Education?

For parents and schools, there are lots of opportunities to get involved

Local opportunities to get kids involved

Who offers environmental education in the North East?

Case study: Young Wildlife Recorders

One example of what can be achieved

Scotland’s Approach to Environmental Education

Outdoor learning as a central theme