All Episodes
The Forest School Podcast — 251 episodes
Ep 247 - Intra-Relational Behaviour Support.
Ep 246 - Relational Capability Approach w/ Dr Wendy Russell
Ep 245 - Folklore and Neo-Enclosure w/ Nik Elvy
Ep 244 - Sustainable Soil Alliance
Ep 243 - New Site, PHDs & Slop Chat!
Ep 242 - Expectations VS Reality in 2026
Ep 241 - Ludobotany II: Loose Parts
Ep 240 - The Score by Thi Nguyen
Ep 239 - Community Woods with Susan Barker from Avon Needs Trees
Ep 238: 238 - Play Prophecies
Episode 237 — Tree Books! What to read, why it matters, and how it shapes practice
Ep 236 - "The Land" Documentary
Ep 235 - PARS Playworking with Dr Shelley Newstead
Ep 234 - Ludobotany 1: Tree Climbing
233 - Who can be a Failure at Forest School and What can they fail at? W Lily Horseman
Ep 232 - Biodiversity on our Bodies!
Ep 231 - Planning Experiments and Japanese Nursery Architecture
Ep 230- We Need Your Art: creativity, failure, and celebration in Forest School
Ep 229 - Save Ringsfield Hall with Mell Harrison of Kinda Education
228 - Creating Play Taxonomies with Max Alexander
Ep 227 - Inconvenient Resilience
Ep 226 - Bog Fashion at Forest School with Nicole DeRushie
Ep 225 - What defines 'Ready for School'? w/ Dr Alistair Bryce-Clegg
Ep 224 - Green Burials and Forest School Farewells w/ The Modern Mortician
Ep 223 - Combating Ash Dieback w/Dr Richard Buggs from Kew Gardens
Ep 222 - The Joys and Shapes of Autistic Play by Max Alexander
Ep 221 - Post-Humanism in the Woods: With Dr Jo Hume
Ep 220 - Is 'Leave No Trace' denying us a place in nature? with Danny English
Ep 219 - Giants and Beasts with Ruth Webb: Part 2
Ep 218 - Giants and Beasts with Ruth Webb
Ep 217 - Tangents, Shrews and Robin Ince
Ep 216 - Ecology and Wildlife Legal Protections with Tilly Tilbrook
Ep 215 - Culture Soup and a Catch-Up
Ep 214: Consistency is a Myth
Ep 213: Is making kids tidy up a part of Forest School?
Ep 212: Does Forest School need more 'Clean' Language?
Ep 211: 'Total Observation' isn't helping childhood
Ep 210: 👥🧠Groups have memories, but communities have history. 🌲📚
Ep 209: ‘Forecasting’ or being ‘Triggered’? How do you react to uncomfortable play?
Ep 208: 🌳A review of Sandi Toksvig’s Great British Woodland Project!
Ep 207: The Art Of Folk Traditions: A Conversation with Ben Edge
Ep 206: Nature Saturation: Can You Have Too Much?
Ep 205 - How Schools Push Kids to Burnout: A Conversation with Dr Naomi Fisher
Ep 204: Season 2 Begins: Lone Working, Weird Job Titles & Fart Consultancy
Ep 203: How Transparent Should You Be With Your Planning? With Lily Horseman
Ep 202: Can Rory Sutherland's 'Alchemy' Transform your Forest School Business?
Ep 201: Should YOU Know A Tree As An Individual Or A Species? w/ Casey and Alex from Completely Arbortrary
Ep 200 BONUS: Oops, All Song Wars!
Ep 200: Listener Questions and looking back over 6 years and 200 episodes.
Ep 199: How to Handle Unsafe Play in Your Sessions
Ep 198: Is YOUR Outdoor Provision just résumé building for children?
Ep 197: Is Verbal Language Bias Shaping Your Forest School?
196: Why YOUR School Needs More Stories Like Jojo & Gran Gran with Laura Henry-Allain
Ep 195: How Scripts Can Transform Your Toughest Parenting Moments With Kirk Martin
Ep 194: How YOU Can Run Intergenerational Projects That Work with Kendra McWilliam
Ep 193: 10 Hacks to learn bushcraft faster than I did!
Ep 192: Unconventional Essentials for Mud Kitchens
Ep 191: What Neurodivergent Kids Gain from Nature with Dr Sam Friedman
Ep 190: The Art of Saying No at Forest School
Ep 189: A Conversation with Emma Brockes
Ep 188: An Owl Based Info-Dump
Ep 187: Unleashing Nature's Gym: Movement Reimagined with Andrew and Gill from Wildstrong
Ep 186: Can false memories actually enhance our connection to nature?
Ep 185: Creating Non-Judgmental Spaces in Forest School
Ep 184: How do you make adults be friends?
Ep 183: The positive and pitfalls of being lifelong learners as leaders with Nicki Farell from Raising Wildlings PART 1
Ep 182: Is Encouragement Ableist?
Ep 181: I wasn't Finished With That Yet
Ep 179: Queer Planet with Lizzie Wild
Ep 178: International Forest School Reasearch Symposium 2024
Ep 177: Interview with Dr Mark Leather
Ep 176: Unconventional Essentials #1: Dressing Up Clothes
Ep 175: Why do teenagers disconnect from nature and what can we do to help?
Ep 174: The Biophilia Effect - Book Review
Ep 173: Renaturing School Playgrounds: The Challenges and Opportunities Engaging Children with Nature in Urban Areas with Nina Lovelace
Ep 172: Where do Retired Forest School Leaders Go? With Sara Knight and Jon Cree
Ep 171: Matrescence and Forest School with Lucy Jones
Ep 170: Measuring a Springboard's Success
Promoting Play in Schools: A Conversation with Michael Follett of Opal Outdoor Play and Learning
Reggio and Forest School with Jessie Zhao
Embracing the Pause: A Conversation on Improvisation, Leadership and Discovering Your Flow with Robert Poynton
Corvid Corrections & The Pulse of Play
Exploring Spirituality, Death, and Nature with Rachel Summers
Confronting Childism: A Conversation with Gentle Parenting Author Sarah Ockwell-Smith
Modeling the value of land-based and ancestoral knowledge in a modern education setting, with Peter Kindfield.
Bonus Ep: Surprise Student #1
Bonus Ep: Pedagogy Surgery #1
Bonus Ep: Pop Culture Pedagogy
What can we learn from Nature Disconnected people?
Loose Parts Part 2: Even Looser Parts. Dangerously Loose Parts
The 200 things you need to run FS. PLUS song wars collaboration!
Join us for a Live New Years Quiz episode!
Yule Celebration and 2023 Review
Interview with Heather Shumaker. Author of 'It's OK not to share' and 'It's OK to go up the slide'
Practitioner Spotlight: The Elves and Fairies Woodland Nursery in Verwood, Dorset
'Learning Stories' as a tool for assessment at Forest School
Interview w/ Dr Naomi Fisher
FSA Conference 2023 Part 3!
FSA Conference 2023 Part 2!
FSA Conference 2023 Part 1!
Chatting Almanacs with author Lia Leendertz
Setting up 'Quests' for kids. Is it joyful role-playing or rail-roading free play?
The concrete has failed! Do we know how to design outdoor schools?
I need more than my 'fair share'. Resources Part 2.
Should you let kids break equipment in the name of play?
'Do we make kids move too much?' and 'Are we encouraging aggression at Forest School?'
Play is More Playful When it is Age-Mixed - by Peter Gray
'The Autistic Guide to Adventure' with Allie Mason
Rituals and Ceremonies with Isla Macleod
Should you say 'Sorry'? - Social Conditioning vs Socialisation
"Do you HAVE to help cook, or can you just eat it?"
The Educator's Experience of PDA with author Laura Kerbey
The Co-Regulation Handbook by Linda K. Murphy
Does Forest School support Attention Restoration Theory?
Do you have to do nature connection seperately from socialising?
"Cowstails and Cobras II" - An Obstacle Course Curriculum?
"15 minute parenting" guides. Game changers or Gimmicks?
Do Boardgames have a place at Forest School? w/ Cat's Little Geeks
Can AI Chatbots write your Forest School coursework for you?
Do we "Parent like Leaders" or "Lead like Parents"?
Winter Welfare: Looking after yourself and the learners
Trust Kids! - Book review
What does it mean to be 'physically educated'? w/ Richard Whall
Space Holding and Holding Space at Forest School
FSA Conference 2022 Part 2 - Celebrating Neurodiversity in the Woods
FSA Conference 2022 Part 1
War (Play)! What is it good for?
Interview with Lara from 'Out to Play' in Ottowa, Canada
Protectors of Play and Childhood with Greg Botrill
"Earth Colour : An eight week art course for Nature Connection" Book review with author Emma Burleigh
Validating Emotions & Creating Emotional 'Safe Spaces'
Is Forest School just 'Dungeons and Dragons' Pedagogy?
Moral Compass Development Opportunities at Forest School
Beltane! + Song Wars!
Are we the 'Magical Bacon Fat'?: Transformational forests w/Nik Elvy, Sunny & Rudy
'Smart Moves : Why learning isn't all in your head' Book Review
Behaviour Support W/Sam Harris of Neurodive
Hierarchies at Forest School
'Wild Magic' Book Review
Winter Stories and Storytelling w/Chris Holland
Winterising For Wildlife
Sociocracy in Forest School
Why Weren't We Taught This At School? - Interview with Alice Sheldon
Content Addiction
Neurodiversity and Neurodiverse Leaders with Emily Edwards and Bex Allen
FSA CONFERENCE
CPD with Sarah Lawful and Sarah Walker
Play Affordances and Hidden Camera Glasses Research Articles
FS and Nature Pedagogy w/Jon Cree & Marina Robb
Poverty-Proofing the Outdoors w/Nik Elvy
The Vagus Nerve and Polyvagul Theory
The 'Low Arousal Approach' for learners
Book Review - Primitive Technology by John Plant
The Play Cycle: Theory, Research and Application by Pete King and Gordon Sturrock
Ep 98 - Maintaining a Work/Life Balance
Ep 97 - John Dewey’s “Experience and Education”
Ep 96 - Woodworking at Forest School
Ep 95 - The Declarative Language Handbook - Book Review
Ep 94 - Braiding Sweetgrass - Book Review
Ep 93 - Foraging with Lea and James from Woodland Classroom
Ep 92 - Forest School in Catalonia w/ Vicky Mateu
Ep 91 - Act now on the government's plan on young people's mental health!!
Ep 90 What best explains children’s connection with nature? by Miles Richardson
Ep 89 - Forest School Maths!
Ep 88 - If a child learns in the forest, and there are no adults there to see it, did they really learn at all?
Ep 87 - Winterising our site & 'Yearly Theme' setting
Ep 86 - 2021 New Years Quiz!
Ep 85 - Rituals and Magic w/Jenny Archard
Ep 84 - Vaguely Talking about Professional Responsibilities
Ep 83 - The Explosive Child by Dr Ross W Greene
Ep 82 - Democratic and Sociocratic Education
Ep 81 - Wide Games
Ep 80 - Procrastinating
Ep 79 - Conversation with Merlin Sheldrake
Ep 78 - Practitioner Spotlight w/ Fran of Woodland Pack Company
Ep 77 - The FUNgi Guy & British Mycological Society
Ep 76 - Exploring Gender with Dr Chris Begeny (part 2)
Ep 75 - Exploring Gender with Dr Chris Begeny (part 1)
Ep 74 - Nature Premium Campaign
Ep 73 - Bad Birdwatching & Rewilding. Review of books by Simon Barnes
Ep 72 - Bird Girl conversation A.K.A. Mya-Rose Craig
Ep 71 - The Vestibular System and Sensory Inputs!
Ep 70 - Clay Play!
Ep 69 - Reflections on going back to work!
Ep 68 - Exploring CPD with Staś Pstrokonski
Ep 67 - Feral - George Monbio - Book Review
Ep 66 - Building Communities
Ep 65 - Grief, Trauma and Challenging Behaviour after Covid-19 w/Jon Cree
Ep 64 - Autism at Forest School w/ Michael James & Andy Smith
Ep 63 - SDL and Choice Theory w/ Froo Signore (FSA Director), Emma and James.
Ep 62 - 'The Storytelling Animal' & 'Therapeutic Storytelling' - Book Review
Ep 61 - Mental Health Check!
Ep 60 - The Power of Showing Up - By DANIEL J. SIEGEL and TINA PAYNE BRYSON - Book Review
Ep 59 - Online Resources during Lockdown! W/ Nik Elvy and Charly Crump
Ep 58 - I Like Birds! (Live on Youtube)
Ep 57 - Playwork Principles & FSA Principles
Ep 56 - Birdwings Forest School (Queensland, Australia) Conversation
Ep 54 - Conversation with Tom Bardon - Can curricula work in Forest School?
Ep 53 - Curiosity!
Ep 52 - Tristan Gooley - The Natural Navigator Interview
Ep 51 - Nature Connection with Lily Horseman
Ep 50 - "You can't say 'You can't play'" - Book Review
Ep 49 - Deep Play vs Shallow: A Case for Boredom
Ep 48 - Failure and Resilience: Hitting the ZPD.
Ep 47 - 'Why Schools Don't Educate' - John Taylor Gatto
Ep 46 - Should children play in the rain??
Ep 45 - Getting Kids doing Woodland Management
Ep 44 - Democratic Play!
Ep 43 - Is activism a part of Forest School?
Ep 42 - Picture Books!
Ep 41 - Looking after your Physicality!
Ep 40 - Book Review: The Whole Brain Child
Ep 39 - Wilderness Gathering Live Podcast!
Ep 38 - The Midnight Waffle Chat
Ep 37 - Summer Reading Recommendations!
Ep 36 - Bird Quiz #1
Ep 35 - Rites of Passage!
Ep 34 - Tracey Maciver Interview
Ep 33 - Working with Adults
Ep 32 - Side Effects May Include....
Ep 31 - Den Building!
Ep 30 - Springboard Activities!
Ep 29 - Essentialism
Ep 28 - Pay to play: Is outdoor play a class issue?
Ep 27 - 'It's OK not to share' - Book Review!
Ep 26 - Play is Stressful!
Ep 25 - Richard Irvine Interview
Ep 24 - Home Education Groups - Tips and Tricks!
Ep 23 - Book Review: "Evolutionary Playworking"
Ep 22 - Planning
Ep 21 - Setting Goals!
Ep 20 - 2018 Review!
Ep 19 - 'Non-Violent Communication' Book Review
Ep 18 - Feminism and Gender Roles in Storytelling!
Ep 17 - It Doesn't Have to be Perfect!
Ep 16 - Practitioner Burnout!!
Ep 15 - Mixed Age Groups!
Ep 14 - Pulling the legs off a spider
Ep 13 - Cooking
Ep 12 - FSA South West Gathering!
Ep 11 - Training
Ep 10 - Storytelling
Ep 9 - Rhythms and Routines
Ep 8 - Observations and Endings
Ep 7 - Flora at Forest School
Ep 6 - War Play
Ep 5 - Physical Games
Ep 4: Long Term Benefits
Ep 3 - Music at Forest School
Ep 2 - Talking to ourselves in the past!
Ep 1 - Adults at Forest School