We offer a range of outdoor Education programmes and workshops for schools, nurseries and groups. We also run monthly sessions for Home Educated children.
Whole or half day outdoor learning sessions that are tailored to suit your requirements and curriculum needs. Example programmes include:
- Wildlife and Nature workshops
- Living History sessions
- STEM workshops
- Story Adventures
- Bushcraft and survival sessions
Prices for half-day workshops start from £150 for 30 students and full days from £250. Full-day workshop: £250
Larger groups may be possible, subject to an additional charge. Please contact us to discuss your requirements.
Did you know you can use your PE and Sport Premium funding for outdoor learning opportunities that increase physical activity and embed physical activity in learning? Also, there are many opportunities for sessions for Pupil Premium Students.
Find out more about our education sessions…
Wildlife and Nature Workshops
We have a host of habitat areas within the park for groups to explore. Note that some activities are seasonal. Example activities include:
- Pond dipping
- Minibeast exploration
- Water and wildfowl study
- Butterfly exploration
- Bat watching (evenings only)
- Bird watching
Plants, seeds and seed dispersal: tailored to your curriculum requirements, this workshop explores the flora within Rowntree Park, looking at plant needs, parts, species and seeds.
Natural forces: learn about the park’s role in flood management in York. In this workshop, children will experiment with different surfaces to understand the impact of rain on the land. The children can visit the various flood management controls within the park and take on the challenge to build their own flood resistant village.
Heritage Crafts: Choose from willow weaving, felting, wool weaving, green woodworking, basketry techniques. All our heritage crafts use materials found in nature. These workshops support both the art and design aspects of the curriculum and PHSE due to the mindful nature of the work.
Bring History to Life
KS2 Stone age/iron age workshops: Join our Forest School practitioner to learn more about the ancient practices of early civilisations. Workshops include: tool-making, fire lighting, shelter construction, cooking and early hunting methods. Workshops are tailored to suit the period of early civilisation being studied.
A Victorian Christmas: a willow workshop using heritage crafting to create beautiful willow Christmas decorations. Children will use a selection of natural materials to create their own decorations to take home.
Wars in the Middle Ages through to The English Civil War: an opportunity to make and try out some of the weapons used in battle. The children will use locally sourced material to create their own bows and arrows or wooden swords during which they will learn about tree types and choosing the right materials for successful building.
Native America: Explore the magical story telling of Native America, make dreamcatchers using natural materials and learn the traditional art of crafting bows and arrows
Take Your Class on a Story Adventure:
Story adventures take children on a magical journey through the park to bring a story to life followed by a hands on workshop delving deeper into the tale. Examples include:
Percy the Park Keeper – join Percy to explore what happens to the animal homes after they have been destroyed by storms and help them rebuild. Children explore habitats, test materials for building and learn about extreme weather.
Stick Man – children create their own stickman using natural materials found in the woodland, then follow his journey as he ends up far from home. A fun session encouraging creativity and storytelling.
Room on the Broom – a potion making extravaganza. Children join the witch on a story walk through the woods before unleashing their imagination to create a host of magical potions.
STEM Workshops
We offer a host of STEM workshops based on traditional tales which can be tailored across the primary curriculum. Choose from:
- The Three Little Pigs – explore building skills and learn about wind power
- The Gingerbread Man – develop engineering skills to help the Gingerbread Man get across the river
- Rapunzel – bring KS2 forces to life by designing a pulley system for Rapunzel
- Red Riding Hood – help Little Red Riding hood through the woods as safely as possible.
Other stories are available. Contact us for details.
Bushcraft adventures
In these small group workshops, our experienced Forest School Practitioner will demonstrate and teach bushcraft skills. These workshops build confidence, introduce children to heritage skills and can be used as part of the PHSE curriculum.
Groups are limited to 15 due to the nature of the activities but can be run in conjunction with a forest school session to allow up to 30 children to attend. Choose two of the activities below for a half-day session and up to four for a full-day workshop:
- Fire lighting
- Shelter building
- Wild cooking
- Water filtration
- Foraging
- Nettle cordage making
- Simple Woodcraft
- Advanced woodcraft
- Map reading and navigation