John Muir Awards

  

More and more we are being asked the following questions:

• Why take children outdoors to learn?
• What are the benefits to the school?

These two questions are central to the next series of bloggs we will be publishing and hope that readers use these insights to look at the curriculum's balance between the amount of time learning inside the classroom with the amount of time spent 'learning outside of it'.

 

 

 

 

               John Muir Awards (Discovery, Explorer, Conserver).

The John Muir Award is an environmental award scheme focused on wild places. It encourages awareness and responsibility for the natural environment, in a spirit of fun, adventure and exploration.
 

John Muir Award video (Part 1)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=roe9ufSBubw&feature=share&list=PLA3CD73F6865C6122


As a member of the John Muir Trust we work towards the vision that "Wild land is protected and enhanced throughout the UK and wild places are valued by all sectors of society", through educational programmes with children, families, schools and organisations to meet the criteria of the John Muir award.
 
We develop bespoke programmes to meet the needs of our clients to promote personal development, a fun and adventurous spirit, explore values and encourage personal responsibility for wild places.
 

John Muir Award Video (Part 2)

http://youtu.be/7B13_otvKO4

Our programmes can be tailored to include orienteering, geo-caching, mountain biking, hill walking, and water sports for more adventurous groups. This programme can also be delivered as part of a residential/camp experience.


John Muir Award Video (Part 3)

http://youtu.be/M3ga-G8PhoU
 

 

The Cyfleon approach

 At Cyfleon we use highly skilled practitioners trained in proven pedagogical approaches to improve learning and personal effectiveness. We draw upon global best practice in learning outside of the classroom, particularly Scandinavian approaches enabling us to provide young people and families with holistic learning experiences to develop the 'whole child'.

We ensure there is an appropriate level of ‘scaffolding’ to ensure children & young people of all capabilities receive the right level of challenge to achieve.

 

                                                     Discovering wild places

                             Pictures: Summit of The Blorenge, a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI).

 

                                           Exploring the wilderness

Pictures: Finding edible plants and surveying the Flora & Fauna of the area.

 

                                                           Conservation
 

                     Picture: Supporting the Local Biodiversity Action Plan at a Local Nature Reserve (LNR)

                                          Picture: using tools and following designs to make bird boxes          

   Remember our two questions from the beginning?

The John Muir Award(s) are a great vehicle for providing the opportunity for children & families to learn about the natural environment, how to handle risks and most importantly to use their own initiative to solve problems and develop their independence.

Without stating the obvious benefits to the school with regards to happier, healthier and more conscientious learners (this will be covered in greater detail within later bloggs), the John Muir Awards are recognised by the Iinspectorate for Wales (Estyn) as best practice for schools to undertake.

For more information on the curriculum links please see the PDF attached on Curriculum for Excellence : http://www.jmt.org/assets/john%20muir%20award/downloads/jmt_cfe_final-1.pdf

To date we have been privaliged to deliver John Muir Award programmes with:

• SEN Schools (Tertiary 14-19)
• Primary Schools (year 5 &6).
• Gypsy traveller project
• School transition projects (year 6 & 7).
• Residential (Primary)
• Families
• NEETs (14-19 learning pathway). 

For more information on how we can support your child, family, school or organisation with developing outdoor learning opportunities (with accredited outcomes) please contact us:

 

                  Mob: 07903249789 or Email info@cyfleon.co.uk

 

 

 

For more information on the John Muir Award please go to http://www.jmt.org/jmaward-home.asp

 

 

 

 

Environmental Art Project

The E3 programme (Excite, Engage, Enrich)  is an out of school hours programme that forms part of the Rhondda Cynon Taff CBC Services For Young People. CYFLEON were commissioned through this programme to deliver an Environmental Art programme as an after school project at Mountain Ash Comprehensive school.

After discussion with the school we decided upon a project using traditional building methods such as dry stone walling  (or Dykes), cob (mixture of clay, sand and straw) and living willow to create a sculpture in the school woodlands. Using natural and heritage building techniques in the project supported the school with evidence to show their commitment to developing STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering & Maths) opportunities for pupils in their Out of School Hours Learning (OSHL) provision.

As part of the requirements for the project we consulted with the young people to develop a design and build brief for a sculpture with the group. We were also asked to accredit the project with a recognised award and decided upon using the ASDAN Environmental short course as this sat within the QCA framework. This award could then be used to gain CoPE/AoPE awards that would secure additional ACAS points (if wanted).

Using Nature to inspire creativity.

For many it was their first time in the school woodlands and the uncertainty of what was in there made several of the group apprehensive about  being in the woods for any length of time. A small number of the group were best described as disconnected with their natural environment.

Having gone to this school myself, I was fully aware of the great natural resource the school possessed  in its woodlands and decided upon incorporating some exploration and discovery of the area into the programme.  During our first session we attempted to start reconnecting our group with nature and explored the woods. Looking for inspiration whilst gaining a sense of security about being in a different learning environment, brought us encounters with magpies, robins, song thrushes, a tree creeper, a pair of squirrels and a mouse all within 30 minutes. This proved to be a success with more of the group excited about what could be found in their school woods.

To finish our session of exploring I wanted the group to take their time getting used to the different sounds, light and shadow's and even the smells that are present in the woods. Using magnifying glasses we took a closer look at items of interest we found in the woods and used these to play a game of charades. This helped to develop communication skills such as the ability to ask questions and answer constructively as well as breaking down some barriers between members of the group. This activity allowed for  positive interaction with each other describing objects such as seeds, nuts and berries found. We also began our journey of allowing the group to feel safe and secure in the woods; their classroom for the programme.

Dry Stone Walling 

We decided upon using a base made by a technique known as dry stone walling (Dykes). This we felt was less destructive to the environment than using a base made with cement/motor in addition to this, the dry stone wall with its natural holes and crevasses could serve as an habitat for some of the creatures that made their home in the woodlands.

Using this heritage building technique the young people learnt new skills with tools, risk management including undertaking their own risk assessments and the basics of building a drystone wall.

Making Cob
Having completed our base to mount our cob sculpture on, we began the next phase of our project building & sculpting with cob. Cob is a natural building material made from a mixture of clay, sand, straw and a little water (to move things along). It is an incredibly interesting material to work with, it is very tactile and easily formed into shape to create sculptures (big and small), benches, walls or our favourite a pizza oven!


We had great fun with our wellies mixing the ingredients with our feet and using a large tarp for the 'human cement mixer' mixing method. The ready mixture is formed into hand sized bread rolls or cob's; the origin of the materials name and then used to form the sculpture, cob by cob.

Creating our sculpture 

It was interesting to see that the group chose to create a tree as this was something that was a strong feature of every session; the importance of the trees for habitats, fuel, shelter (from some the wild and very wet welsh weather) and from recent research our health & well being. Also the town Mountain Ash is named after a mighty Rowan that once stood there.
To create a more visual surrounding for our tree (rowan) sculpture, we enclosed it with a living willow dome. This is another favourite material of mine that can be used to create some interesting areas for both learning and play.

To finish we protected our cob sculpture with a lime render coloured with natural pigments and contrasted this with a covering of bark around the base floor.

Project successes

• Developed young people's creativity.
• Learnt new skills in natural and heritage building techniques.
• Achieved an ASDAN Environmental short course
• Experienced and enjoyed nature as a learning environment.
• Had lots of fun.

We would like to thank the young people for their effort and enthusiasm throughout the project and the Community Focused Schools/E3 staff at Mountain Ash Comprehensive for their progressive and ambitious attitudes towards giving young people quality extra-curricular learning opportunities.

Family Fun in the Forest

Its hard to believe that its been three months since we delivered the Fun in the Forest programme during the height of the school summer holidays. I would have finished this a lot sooner if were not for my content observations of a very plump magpie who has made his home opposite my own. Hoping from branch to branch in search of food, fun and the feel of the wind in its face, he is a constant reminder of my desire to leave my laptop closed and enjoy the last moments of Autumn, I am sure he is teasing me! 

Autumn is truly a favourite season of mine, with it brings wonderful walks and adventures in nature searching through fallen leaves for insects, finding nuts and seeds and getting ready to batten down the hatches before the long cold nights that winter will bring. Presently I observe the glorious indecision of leaves desperately trying to decide whether they should  'hold on' or 'leave go'; a reminder of my own crossroad. Writing this coincided with my own transition of being 'at risk' from redundancy and deciding on the next step to take.  I am told that the answer to every question can be found in nature, if you take the time to look for it.

Our first attempt at a holiday provision was also the first of its kind attempted (that we are aware of) in South East Wales; 100% free range in nature 'without any walls', just the way we like it!

A name?
Giving our provision a name...... it didn't meet the criteria of a Forest School and would intentionaly be very different to the existing play and childcare schemes currently on offer. Not wanting to be too prescriptive or rigid with any one methodology for learning, we simply wanted to focus on engaging children in having as much fun as possible in the forest, allowing them the opportunity to find interest, excitement and enjoyment there.

Deciding on the use of the KISS methodology (Keep It Simple)... the name for our first holiday provision was found 'Fun in the Forest'.

The aim of our scheme was to identify if children would use this scheme and whether parents would send or take their children to a provision delivered entirely in the outdoors.

The programme ran over four Saturday mornings through the school summer break, with sessions benefiting 35 participants experiencing adventure play, den building, wood craft skills, cooking on a campfire, making wild paints and finding adventure in Blaen Bran Community Woodlands (http://www.blaenbran.org.uk).

You may have picked up on the word participant? A very formal way for stating we worked with children, well............... The choice of word was due to the fact we did not have 35 children playing at our provision!

An unexpected and very positive outcome was the high degree of parental support we experienced throughout the scheme. We were asked by the first family to arrive at the woods if they could take a look around instead of just dropping the kids off (the norm) and coming back to pick them up later. Excited that parents were keen to explore the woods I explained some routes they could follow....... and then asked if they wanted to stay and join in they would be more than welcome. The parents seemed shocked at the invitation and responded with a very tentative "are we allowed to".  I explained the purpose of the programme and that I wanted to speak to parents to consult and share their views and that they were very welcome.  With the first family now all very happy and excited more families arrived and were given an invitation to 'play too'. The outcome of a very simple gesture was very simple, all the parents stayed and played and had a fantastic time getting stuck in!

There are cautions that we must take in safeguarding children in our care and as someone with a background in education and working with vulnerable children in the care system, I fully understand the need for this. However, we must ask ourselves what is common sense, practical and reasonable for the situation and the circumstances we are in. In this case the programme was designed to consult with both parents and children and we had enough workers to ensure groups were never left alone, therefore it was reasonable to 'allow' parents to stay and play with their children. The outcome was that the children loved it almost as much as the parents. 

A common conversation with parents was how exciting they found playing in the woods as a child and the adventures they had. This was almost always followed by "why don't children have fun like this anymore"? A good question, we only mention a piece of the jigsaw here; involving parents and lack of opportunity.  A good start on your journey to finding an answer would be reading The Last Child in the Wood by Richard Louvre.

The evaluation of the Fun in the Forest programme was the overwhelming support for this programme to continue, not as a child group but as a family group. It was great to see Mums, Dads and Grand parents all getting involved. Even after four sessions it was noticeable to see the positive impact this activity had on developing positive nurturing relationships between parents and their children.  Other notable comments from children was that they had developed new friendships and  parents proud of their child learning new skills something they sometimes feel divorced from in every day life.

Working in Nature has this magical quality that seems to break down barriers that would restrict us in more urban settings and this proved to be evident in feedback from parents (both Mums and Dads) on how they felt 'unrestricted to play freely with their children'. Undoubtedly the social interaction and formation of new friendships (both children and parents) was a very important outcome for us, after only a short period it struck me on how strongly they felt that this group should continue. After two sessions we were an official group!  

The picture below shows a very popular activity with the children during the summer, the building of shelters and den's.

It was a privilege to see many children working together and solving problems such as the shelters capacity for everyone to play in (even big kids like me), making sure it had space to relax in (this needed an extension to be built), enough moss and fern for pillows and the very important washing line to dry any damp clothes that we might have.

The final session of the programme coincided with the International Picnic in the Forest day in which the group celebrated in true  Family Forest Group style with a campfire cooking favourites such as sausages, toasted Marshmallows, hot chocolate banana’s, pop corn, toasted teacakes and all things both delicious and sticky!

The future 
I started this blogg in the summer whilst we were delivering the programme, finshing the final session a few days prior to attending The International Skogsmulle Leader course in Sweden. It was interesting for me to learn the Skogsmulle methology as they too use Family groups called 'Family Mulle' on weekends and holidays. It would seem only right for our first Fun in the Forest group to have the opportunity of becoming the first Family Mulle group in Wales!

For more infornmation on Skogsmulle please see Juliet Roberstson's blogg creative star learning and if your not following it it's definately one to keep an eye on.
http://creativestarlearning.blogspot.com/2011/08/skogsmulle-learning-for-all-senses.html?spref=tw

A big thank you to all the children and parents, Blaen Bran Community Woodland, Torfaen Voluntary Alliance (TVA) and our volunteers for making this programme such a big success.

For more information

visit us http://www.cyfleon.co.uk/ or contact us: info@cyfleon.co.uk.

The International Year of the Forest

Celebrating the International Year of the Forest with a John Muir Award Taster day at Blaen Bran Community Woodland.

On Wednesday 5th October intrepid explorers from Garnteg Primary school were welcomed by Cyfleon to experience a day in the woodlands to take part in a Taster day for the John Muir Award. The day was sponsored by the Forestry Commission through the Torfaen FEI group to celebrate the international year of the Forest.

Our Journey started with some fun and games to introduce ourselves and build trust and positive relationships. The children with their wonderful imaginations and even better memories for names, animals and their actions we started the day in excellent spirit. This was soon followed by a game to introduce John Muir and his love for nature and adventure. With a day of exploring ahead of us we headed deeper into the woods to Discover and Explore its secrets.

One child found an imaginative way off guessing an age of a tree by seeing how many children were needed to hug it. Simply put, the more hugs a tree needed the older the tree! After exploring the wonderful colours that Autumn has given us we began a hunt for some of the inhabitants of the woods and discussed the positive steps we can take to improve the habitats of the species we found. Luckily after finding a lot of slugs we managed to see some birds and even some cones nibbled and left over from a squirrels lunch.

This led us nicely to our very own lunch break at our log circle with a campfire ready and waiting for us by one of our volunteers 'Uncle Pete'. With a fire warming our toes and sandwiches eaten it was time for a little reward for the hard work of the morning session. In true Forest School fashion we broke out the popcorn and marshmallows.

With happy tummies we pressed on with a John Muir Orienteering trail challenge. With our group in two teams and the challenge set, an expedition was launched to find markers with the clues needed to solve the mystery of the trail. With John Muir safely found and a tale from one of his life long adventures, it was that time to break camp to head back to the school bus.

With a great day finished we received the greatest compliment we could ever have hoped for, members of the group told us that "it was the best school trip ever". We would like to thank all the children of class 4 from Brynteg Primary school and their teachers for taking a day from their busy curriculum to experience this session.

We hope to see you all soon to complete the full award with us.
Enquires on the John Muir Award with CYFLEON
 visit http://www.cyfleon.co.uk/ or contact us: cyfleonltd@hotmail.co.uk