Forest School could put Mayo community at the centre of change for education
A NOVEL and holistic approach to early years education could put the village of Carnacon at the centre of change for education.
Located right in the heart of rural Ireland, few communities are better suited to this approach than Carnacon.
In a matter of weeks, Carnacon will have its very own forest pre-school, where young children do all their learning outdoors.
This forest school will open on the grounds of the local national school in Carnacon, Burriscarra NS.
In a matter of weeks, the school will open its very own forest school, where young children do all their learning outdoors.
In the words of Róisín Geddes, who has already established Ros Na Réaltóg forest school at Crimlin NS: “There are no walls, there are no ceilings; skies the limit on learning.
“Forest school is outside exploring nature; using nature as the centre of the learning. It provides so many aspects to learning.
“Some examples include movement, language development, communication, literacy and numeracy skills, art, drama and team building. It teaches the children about a love of learning.”
Róisín is not exaggerating when she says that forest schools are ‘totally outdoors’.
On wet days, class continues in an outdoor shelter, where the children will be living by the old Scandinavian saying: ‘There’s no such thing as bad weather, only bad clothing’.
While in school, the children engage with various activities which teach them about nature, biodiversity, recycling and the life cycle of plants and creatures.
Growing their own vegetables, foraging for mushrooms and making nettle soup are just some of the activities kids can get up to in this most natural of settings.
While hygiene and cleanliness is very important, the dirt and muckiness of the natural environment is actively embraced in forest school - the healthiest of places building their natural immune systems.
“They’re getting a huge variety of learning combining aspects of sport, art, music learning about different kinds of bugs and creatures, learning about what a habitat is and what a life cycle is, learning about tropical fruits of the world, how that differs with Ireland, how we harvest food and how we grow food,” Roisín explained.
Being located in a rural area can often be portrayed as a hindrance to a school due to a lack of transport links and childcare.
However, pioneering the forest school model, Crimlin and Burriscarra NS are very much using their rural location to their advantage.
“Carnacon has so much to offer, we’ve got beautiful new building, but we have all that wonderful space around the school grounds that we are utilising,” Róisín said.
“We are hoping to complement the learning within the main school, amplifying the learning because we have the advantage of being outdoors and collectively we can work together on projects at different levels.
“In Carnacon, the best of the great outdoors is right at your doorstep.”
Surrounded by greenery and farmland, the school has its very own forest down the road in the historic Moorehall Woods, where there is currently talk of setting up a community garden.
This summer, Crimlin NS hosted a successful summer camp and the intention for next year is to grow the forest school camp at the proposed location at Carnacon NS with so much potential for all children to access.
In future, the aim is for the forest school to act as a breakfast and afterschool club, which has been badly needed in Carnacon for many years.
Róisín believes that Moorehall can be an educational tool, not just for the children in the forest school but the entire area.
“Really this kind of approach to education is not just about early years, this is for all learners. It benefits everybody in the community,” she says.
“Moorehall has huge potential and offers so much, that we as a community can tap into not just for Carnacon, it’s for the wider community.
“It’s inviting not just from a school perspective, it’s inviting other talented people from our community with various skills to get involved and encourage more understanding of what we’ve got on our doorstep; promoting sustainability and ecology, thinking about our environment and how we as citizens and community can support our students’ education.”
Currently, the forest school at Ros na Réaltóg in Ross is installing a sensory garden, a facility commonly used by children with autism.
Róisín said that the forest school philosophy allows learners of all levels to develop a resilience and resourcefulness, a creative spirit; complimenting the visual, audiotory and kinesthetic learners - this approach differs from the traditional mainstream educational system.
Indeed, this new approach to education could potentially be included as part of the mainstream system in national school.
One-size-fits-all, pencil and paper-focused approach does not suit every child. Children are individual learners with their own unique traits and the forest school approach could possibly enhance the Irish educational curriculum, nurturing the current system.
“Forest school helps children build confidence. The learning can happen much more practically and naturally still with focused intention. It supports children's learning at their own pace but also with scaffolded, cushioned support” Róisín stated.
“Forest school could put Carnacon at the centre of change in education. Bringing the great outdoors to education. I think that’s a wonderful attribute for the community to be part of.
“I am looking forward to working in partnership with our wonderful community of Carnacon and the wider area,” she added.