"The forest school movement has a philosophy of child-led learning, with a focus on all the senses. The aim is to foster rich learning experiences, ecological literacy, and healthy living by connecting children to nature. In Britain, the forest school has been defined as “an inspirational process that offers children, young people and adults regular opportunities to achieve, and develop confidence and self-esteem through hands-on learning experiences in a woodland environment”...It gives them something that they don’t have nowadays – connection to nature, and to themselves."

-Marija Kostic

Why we go to the forest

Did you know there is no clear-cut etymology for the word wild? What we do know is that it has some relation, in it's Old English form wyld, to an ancient Germanic word for forest. In those days, the forest was something to be very careful within-a place of magic and mystery to be feared and respected. Wildness was not yet something to celebrate.

Now that we are on the other side of the looking glass, we have come to realize how precious a forest ecosystem is. It is teeming with life, from the microorganisms to the macro flora and fauna. For the children, it is a place of grounded stimulation and exploration. Every branch, every blade of grass, is a multi-sensory experience, one that is different than playing with what we might think of normally as 'toys'.

The experience of moving through the forest reinforces neurological health by refining the child's gross and fine motor skills as they grasp the trunk of a tree, or sort through a handful of dirt. And, if that wasn't enough, it also makes available helpful bacteria that can create or regulate a healthy biome and ward off the effects of emotional anxiety and distress.