Active Parks Down to Earth

About

Down to Earth is a project based in South Birmingham which delivers weekly Forest School-style sessions for young children and home-school families. The sessions are funded in part by the Active Wellbeing Service and are free to attend provided you have registered for a Birmingham Wellbeing card.

The primary aim of these sessions is to get children outdoors into the natural environment and facilitate practical and holistic learning opportunities and experiences. However, they also provide a great opportunity to get out, meet new people and learn new things.

A typical session will involve a practical activity based in Forest School or Bushcraft skills, with a craft-based alternative activity run by volunteers alongside for the first hour or so. This is usually followed by lighting a campfire to provide space for people to cook and supply hot water for drinks.

There is no specified age range and we get a broad spectrum of ages attending the session, however, children that are old enough and mature enough to work with tools and around fires will get the most out of the main activity. Nonetheless, the volunteer craft activity works well for a variety of ages and the woods themselves provide ageless activities.

Bracken demonstrating how to light a Kelly Kettle.
A lit Kelly Kettle sitting on the forest floor.
Forest School equipment set up under a tarpaulin.
Boy with yellow jacket holding up a string of elder beads.
Popcorn cooking in a popcorn popper over a fire.
Boy holding two hazel wands.
Child using straws and string to make giant bubbles.
Children dipping their hands into trays of bubble mixture to make giant bubbles.
Leaf art bookmarks.
Boy climbing on a horizontal branch of a tree.
Bird feeder made out of cheerios and a lard and seed covered pine cone.
Braided wool being created by nordic slinging in the forest.

If you are interested in attending the sessions or would like to get involved as a volunteer, you can contact me via the contact form or subscribe to my newsletter to be kept updated on sessions.