Nature, Wonder & Learning

Wild Wondering Beach and Forest School was founded by Islander Amber Irving. She tells Sara Whatley about child led learning, resilience and happy children 

“I wouldn’t want to do Wild Wondering anywhere but the Isle of Wight. It holds such a significance to me in terms of the children on our Island, and everything our Island has to offer. What better place to do a Forest or Beach School?” said Amber Irving, founder of Wild Wondering. 

She’s got a point. What better place is there than an Island rich with wildlife, forest and countryside, shore and ocean to help support children in learning, building a relationship with nature, standing on their own two feet, and general wellbeing?

Wild Wondering is a combination of everything islander Amber Irving grew up loving (playing in the forest) and everything she loves as an adult too (teaching and playing in the forest). The Beach and Forest School that she has founded here on the Island “provides the space and opportunity for child led learning, and in turn for our young people to build resilience and confidence because unlike a traditional classroom, there is no right or wrong,” she said.

When Amber grew up on the Island it was a very different place than it is now, with much more freedom to play outside independently from adults – Amber recalled a huge bike crash requiring butterfly stitches when her brother told her she could cycle down a steep hill in Ventnor now her stabilisers were off. She took his word for it and off she went! 

“I think the technological revolution has dramatically shifted how much children are spending outdoors and that’s only going to keep going. There is a space and a necessity for that given the world we live in, but I think that nature connection is so integral. Having done Outdoor Education for some time I do see a dramatic difference in behaviour,” said Amber. 

Despite not getting on very well at school herself Amber has always been a teacher. She is a secondary school teacher in sociology and religious education by trade but has also worked extensively in behavioural support and with challenging students in both primary and secondary schools. 

A lot of the children’s needs in the setting she is currently working in are around social, emotional and mental health. Her role is Outdoor Education and initially the young people found the transition from theclassroom to forest challenging.

“I got some kick back, they were almost seeking the direction – what is my objective for this lesson? ‘Well, we’re going to find it’ I told them. One young man found a dead bird. Since then, as part of his wellbeing strategy, I’ve taken him regularly up to the beautiful nature hide at Quarr Abbey to go and listen to the birds and identify them. That is something that has come from his own interest,” explained Amber.

Taking all this experience from her career and inspiration from the children she works with, Amber last year launched Wild Wondering, a Beach and Forest School open to all children of all ages and abilities, and hopefully adults in the future too. “Forest School at its essence is about resilience, confidence, leadership, taking ownership, and I think it has a real impact on wellbeing,” said Amber. 

Ideally, she likes children for a six- week block for them to get the most benefits. “I’ve watched children go from seeking my support, my direction, to them being independent and resilient,” said Amber. She illustrated this with a very cute story of a little girl falling off a log, just her welly boots wiggling beyond the autumn leaves. Amber watched, considered whether she should step in, but the girl whipped herself out dusted herself off and carried on. “Six weeks ago I would have had screaming,” smiled Amber, but the girl had learned how to think for herself and trusted that she was OK. 

Knowing when to step in and when to hold back is important for Forest School leaders. There needs to be an element of risky play for the children to fully benefit from the experience, but Amber assured me it is all very considered. “Children do stop and check themselves, but if they fall and scrape a knee that’s OK, it’s how we learn,” she said. 

In a typical session everyone would gather around the fire to mark the beginning, then go off and discover some of the things that Amber has put out. This might involve a water source, some clay, perhaps something gathered like acorns or conkers – something that might inspire and spark an interest for the children, but they will decide what is interesting. “It has to be child led, otherwise you’re taking ownership for what they’re learning and that’s counterintuitive to what Forest School’s about. It’s about them deciding, and me facilitating,” Amber explained. 

The following week Amber might have gathered the firewood but not lit it, then the children can practice their fire lighting skills. The week after they gather the wood, saw it up and light the fire themselves, finding what job they like the best. “Week by week I will do less and less,” said Amber, giving them more and more autonomy. 

Each session will build on the previous one, for example a 3-year-old found a dead butterfly and was fascinated by the colours and symmetry of the wings, so the following week the group made the colours of the butterfly (it was a peacock butterfly) out of natural resources – charcoal, blackberries, pink and orange flowers – then Amber gave them cut out canvas butterflies to print on. “They really understood that butterflies are symmetrical,” she said. 

At the end of a session everyone gathers around the campfire again and shares a snack. “They cook the normal things like marshmallow butI encourage them to think outside the box – we made a cake in a lemon! They were so proud of themselves and honestly couldn’t believe they had baked a cake in the middle of a forest!” laughed Amber. 

“I learn so much from these young people,” Amber continued. “As a sociology teacher I’m fascinated by how children are socialised and what they would be like if they didn’t have the stringent rules and societal expectations.” 

Increasingly, schools in the UK are adopting Forest School into their learning programmes, although its origins are in the Scandinavian culture including philosophies such as ‘friluftsliv’ (open-air living) and ‘skogsbørnehaven (Danish woodland kindergarten) and have been practiced there since the 1980s. In the 90s Forest School began to come to the UK and has gradually increased in popularity since then, with the recognition of the benefits to children’s mental health, confidence, self-efficacy, their classroom learning and their wider happiness. 

“We have a big struggle here on the Island with mental health and access for support around that,” said Amber. Sadly, Amber has first-hand experience of losing a friend to suicide, which was one of thebiggest reasons behind Wild Wondering. “I believe that with access to nature you are never going to feel alone, and with Forest School it gives a connection to our young people, that is a place they can always turn to. It creates something in a child that sometimes school doesn’t – risk taking, confidence, resilience. It might not be like we see in school – objectively tested – it’s shown through their confidence. Nature is so important,” she said.

An integral part of Forest School is learning about environmental issues. Amber rents the land for Wild Wondering from a charity, People’s Trust for Endangered Species, of which there are a few on the Isle of Wight. “The red squirrel is the classic, but we have the hazel dormouse too. On the land we rent we have one of the only growing populations of hazel dormice,” said Amber. Using these creatures helps Amber highlight the importance of looking after our environment, for example telling the children it’s important not to cut down all the brambles, even though they are spikey, to turn but they will also feel like they want to look after it,” she said. 

Amber has received lots of support from the local community to help her with Wild Wondering, and she has applied for lots of funding too, to ensure those less privileged are able to benefit from Forest and Beach School. “We came up with this tag line, ‘nature is the playground, wonder is the guide’. It’s about them, their experience, and selfishly mine too because I learn from them,” said Amber. “I love this Island and I genuinely want these children to thrive. Forest and Beach School can really support our young people.” 

www.wildwondering.co.uk