Natural Crafts Volume 2

Explore more craft activities using natural materials.
Make your own charcoal, alder seed bees, rowan berry necklaces, nettle cordage and lots more!

Natural Crafts Volume 2

hand made bird's nest with clay eggs

Craft with Confidence

Crafting is a great way for your group to enjoy working creatively and often after some running around games!After completing this module you will be able to make your own charcoal and charcloth, pick and make cordage from nettles, make a necklace from rowan berries and have lots of fun with clay and other natural materials!

Take a look at some of the activities you’ll learn

Making a Mini Raft

This is the simplest way I know to make a raft! You will needs string, scissors and some sticks…then you can be creative to adding a sail or a little clay person?!
We have made little ponds digging up a small area and lining it with a plastic bin bag to play with water and the rafts. Even better, you could find a little stream to float your raft.

Making Charcoal

We often make charcoal when we are wanting to do some art, or make elder pencils. Willow is best for drawing on paper but any type of wood will make charcoal. Ideally you would use knives for peeling the wood. With early years lots of people feel safer using a potato peeler. Either way follow your knife protocol when using sharp tools. Once again, as with creating char cloth, you will need an old tin, put two holes in it, willow, secateurs and a good fire.

Rowan Berry Necklace

Autumn berries are wonderful – in September we can find the rowan berry (otherwise known as the mountain ash – Sorbus Aucuparia). You will need some blunt large needles, rowan berries and thread! These kinds of ideas and activities done in a group create a warm village feeling. You could also look into making Rowan jelly too….

What's Included in Natural Crafts Volume 2?

✔️ 17 video lessons full of practical and fun ideas and activities demonstrating a wide range of natural materials with activities for all ages.

✔️ Lessons include step by step instructions on a range of activities including clay fairies, teasel hedgehogs, bird feeders, natural paints and nettle cordage.

Plus downloadable resources:

✔️ Risk and Benefit Assessment

Testimonials

You really don’t need lots of equipment to get started

Even after all the years I have been teaching outdoor learning and facilitating Forest School, it was great to be reminded of the power and simplicity of creative play and learning. Marina slowly builds upon simple ideas, layer by layer and the possibilities soon become limitless. What I also love about this module is that you really don’t need lots of equipment to get started as the idea is to inspire and see where it takes you. You really don’t have to be an artist to do this module... just a willingness to have a go!

Charlie IrvingForest School Practitioner

The training was concise, clear and achievable

The training was concise, clear, achievable and, what the staff team particularly liked, was how genuine the teaching clips were. It was easy to see how this could work with our students.

Joel BeedenMental Health & Wellbeing Lead, Duckmanton Primary School, Chesterfield

Each video will give you the skills, confidence and courage

The modules are a wonderful visual resource to help practitioners in any setting to feel inspired. When you don’t have lots of time to prepare or you need an activity then the resources will give you something to pick up and use easily in any environment with some simple ideas for equipment and materials. With these resources you will have a resource that equips you with an extensive list of ideas, that will help you every time you take your group to play in the woods. Each video will give you the skills, confidence and courage.

Nikki McKnightForest School Practitioner


Curriculum

Welcome to Natural Crafts Volume 2

Elder Beads (4:01)

Rowan Berry Necklace (4:17)

Making Char Cloth (3:21)

Making Charcoal (6:25)

Dragonflies (5:27)

Alder Seed Bees (2:21)

Clay Eggs and Nest (3:12)

Making a Clay Flower (1:02)

Making a Mini Raft (3:37)

Wax Leaves (5:33)

Nettle Cordage (8:25)

Natural Crafts Volume 2 Reflection

Downloads

Natural Crafts Risk Benefit Assessment

The Forest School Activities Training


Our foundation training course comes with lifetime access to over 100 step by step inspirational videos and resources.
Designed for teachers and practitioners. Single modules are £47 +vat or save £100 when you buy the 8 module bundle

Whom you learn from matters

I'm Marina Robb

I'm the Founder and Managing Director of Circle of Life Rediscovery Community Interest Company and The Outdoor Teacher Ltd, and a qualified teacher with over 30 years experience in outdoor learning and nature connection, and a leading Forest School endorsed trainer and practitioner.

I'm a national expert in nature based education and therapeutic interventions and my aim is to share my knowledge and experience with teachers and others wishing to work outside the classroom.

I've pioneered nature programmes within the health sector for my work with teenagers, families and young people with mental health issues, disabilities, dementia and early psychosis.  

I'm the co-author of ‘Learning with Nature’ a must-have book for Forest School & Outdoor practitioners, and ‘The Essential Guide to Forest School and Nature Pedagogy’ which contains everything you need to know from theory to practice.

I'm also the host of The Wild Minds Podcast.

Complete the full course and you’ll qualify for Forest School Liability Insurance

Birnbeck Insurance is the UK's leading provider of specialist liability insurance for Forest School and Outdoor Learning Practitioners. As such, the firm has approved our Forest School Activities Online Training Course, which means when you complete your training, you’ll be eligible for their Forest School Liability Insurance.
Contact Birnbeck for a quote

money back

14 day Guarantee

Risk free

14 Days Money Back Guarantee

If you are not happy with the course, you can contact us with an explanation and claim a full refund within 14 days.

Know that your course is available on all devices

The Forest School Activities Online Training is mobile friendly and available on all devices.

If you have an iPhone, you can download the 'Teachable' app from the Apple Store and download the videos onto your phone.

FAQ

When does the course start?

If you are paying in full, you will get access to all 8 modules and all bonus materials as soon as your purchase is complete.

How long do I have access to the course?

You will have lifetime access to the course! Unlimited access to the lessons and videos for as long as you like, across all your devices.

Is my tutor qualified?

Yes, Marina Robb is an author and UK Forest School Association Endorsed Trainer and has been training Forest School Leaders since 2011. She has been working with groups in nature since 1995 and you can read more here.

Our organisation can’t pay using a credit or debit card – can we still buy the course?

Yes, we understand that many schools and other organisations can’t pay by card – contact us and we can send you an invoice to pay us by bank transfer in UK Sterling, Euros or Dollars. We can also accept cheques from UK bank accounts.

Can I access the course on my mobile?

Yes, the course can be accessed on all devices. If you have an iPhone, you can also download the free ‘Teachable’ app from the Apple Store and complete the course using the app, downloading any videos you like onto your device.

What if I am unhappy with the course?

If for some reason you are not happy with the course, contact us in writing within your first 14 days for a full refund. You will need to include an explanation of why you want the refund.

Does this course qualify me to run Forest School sessions?

This course is not a qualification but is Certified by The Outdoor Teacher and based on Marina's experience and expertise in this field.
All practitioners in the UK need to follow health and safety law, which requires us to provide risk assessments and be competent to deliver activities. Teachers for example are already qualified already to take their practice outdoors but are likely to need a course like ours to get the practical skills in place.
The Level 3 Forest School training and Forest School programmes (long term) are an educational approach and the training is excellent. If you intend to offer long-term forest school programmes, then I would recommend you doing the qualification.
We have a page about Outdoor Learning Myths and a recent webinar where these issues are addressed:
https://theoutdoorteacher.com/blog/outdoor-learning-myths

How is this course different from the Level 3 Training?

This training resource does not give you a formal qualification in Forest School Leadership.

It has been designed at the same standard and beyond as a Level 3, by Marina Robb, an endorsed Forest School Association Trainer with 30 years experience. The course aims to enable and equip people with the practical delivery of Forest School-based activities to a high competency, with all the correct health and safety and pedagogy weaved through the course.  

There is no requirement to have a Forest School Qualification to take children out of doors to learn and play. As a teacher or practitioner, you are legally obliged to have risk assessments in place and insurance relevant to practice offered.

How many hours is the course?

This is a self-paced course so you work in your own time from pre-recorded materials and videos with 2 additional live webinars. The course is organised into the seasons so designed to be worked though over the calendar year.
We estimate that it will take a minimum of 36 hours to complete the course but you will also need to factor in time to practice the activities on top of this. 

We don't have access to a woodland - can we do these activities in a playground or park?

Yes, you can. Whether you are near a woodland, park or school playground - all the activities can be adapted for different circumstances.

We have run activities using fire, tools, games, wild food, crafts, swings & ropes, shelters in school yards and playgrounds.

It does take more preparation and consideration of equipment. If you wanted to make fires, you would either designate a small green area of the playground for this purpose or use a fire bowl to lift the fire off the ground. We have also taken many groups on short walks throughout the seasons to gather some plants for many activities.

Posts can be put up to replace trees, so that children can still set up various rope bridges or constructions and with a little thinking you can easily set up a rope swing and tarpaulin shelters.

In schools we often ask parents to contribute a log for our wood pile and ask for help to bring in useful materials we may need over the year.

Can I share my course with my colleagues?

No - the license is granted for 1 user to view the contents of the course. This access must not be shared with any other person and only the named user will receive the certificate.

See next question for bulk licencing queries.

Can we purchase multiple licenses for our staff team?

Yes, please contact us for bulk purchasing discounts. We can set up the user accounts for you and send you access codes and you can pay by invoice

Do I get a certificate?

Yes, all our courses come with a ‘Certificate of Completion’ from The Outdoor Teacher Ltd.

How can we contact you if we have a question?

Yes feel free to call or email us with any questions - our contact details are on the contact page.

Our commitment to Nature & People:

The Outdoor Teacher, alongside its sister organization Circle of Life Rediscovery CIC aim to transform health, education and family through nature.

We are whole-heartedly concerned about the safeguarding of future generations, human and non-human alike, and the growing understanding of reciprocity between humans and nature. Whilst we are advocates for all people accessing nature and its benefits, we know that this is only healthy if we prioritise the care for the natural world and address issues of equality.

The Outdoor Teacher is working towards becoming a certified B-Corp. Certified B Corps are a new kind of business that balances purpose and profit. They are legally required to consider the impact of their decisions on their workers, customers, suppliers, community, and the environment. We aim to be part of this community of leaders, driving a global movement of people using businesses as a force for good.

We are using Monzo Business Banking which is listed as an ethical bank: https://monzo.com/ethics.

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