This blog post I created tosupport educators access outdoor ideas and materials during lockdown.Yet it still feels like a useful blog post. Please do tell me, if you find a great website or resource. As usual, you will have to decide what activities are appropriate for the children you work with or for your own.

What about mixed aged groups? In my experience, most outdoor activities work well for most age groups with a few minor tweaks. It’s always worth asking your children, e.g. How can we make this fun for 5yr old Fred as well as 12yr old Freda? Very often your children will come up with suggestions which gives them a much greater degree of ownership over an activity or challenge and this can lead to better engagement.

Fabulous Facebook

LEARNING THROUGH LANDSCAPES have created two a Facebook groups, one for educators and the other for families during COVID 19. Both are really lively pages, so check them out. This UK school grounds charity have opened up much more of its resources to non-members. You can access the whole lot if you join – it’s very cheap to do so.

RENSSELAER YOUTH OUTDOORS is a network of partners whose mission is to introduce and engage the children and families of Rensselaer County in the wonder, science, and adventure of nature in an effort to create a healthier, more sustainable community in an increasingly complex world. But all their posting seem equally good for the UK.

CRISIS CRAFTS – KEEPING HANDS BUSY If you are stuck with activities to do with children at home The Smart Happy Project are here to help. They will be sharing some easy Crisis Craft activities that are all related to natures patterns, every weekday at noon, via their Facebook page. All activities, once aired, will stay on the page, so don’t worry if you missed the live feed. Lisa, the founder has also produced this download about the Number 5 and associated geometric patterns.

FRESH AIR LEARNING Jess Walton is posting a video or an idea every day on her Facebook page. She’s a qualified Forest School and Beach School Leader so useful for those who looking for this type of inspiration.

JEN’S FOREST SCHOOL A brilliant site for families and educators wanting to learn more about nature and not sure where to start. Good mix of suggestions, photos and videos.

ROOTED FOREST SCHOOL Sam Goddard is sharing activities every few days which can be done at home with one or two children. Fantastic!

TAKING MATHS OUTDOORS is warm, friendly Facebook group run by Deborah Lambert and covers all sorts of outdoor events and topics, not just maths.

Wonderful World Wide Webpages

ANTURUS AT HOME Perfect for teenagers who need home-based science experiments. Definitely a secondary school resource. Not all outdoors but just really useful.

BACKYARD NATURE Want to become a Backyard Nature Guardian? Nature Backyard are inviting you to sign up and pledge to protect a patch of nature near you, “because by helping plants and animals in your own backyard, you will help protect the planet for the future”. Visit the above link for ideas to help plants and animals thrive on your patch with a range of resources and special missions. Size doesn’t matter, you could plant bee-friendly plants in a window box, make a bug hotel for your garden or patio, or simply feed the birds. 

BECOME A LANDSCAPE ARCHITECT The American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA) have some great resources that may appeal to children. Well worth a look.

BLINDFOLD SENSORY PLAY This website has been created by Andrew, who is based in Canberra. There is lots of advice and suggestions for blindfold games which can be played outside or in. He advocates using a cuddly toy a lot. For a more nature feel, use natural materials.

BOROMI Not outdoors per se but the concept is brilliant and could be adapted for outdoor use – realistically post lockdown. It’s essentially play boxes for nursery children with thought put into what’s being offered and why. Not sure if it’s about free play or supported by an adult.

BUCKET FULL OF NATURE – NATURE ACTIVITIES AT HOME Here is a list of 31 Bucket Full of Nature activities to help you access nature in your own home. These activities can be done indoors, or outside when it is safe to do so, and feature: make a weather chart and track the weather; create natural musical instruments; make numbers and letters using nature. A free eBook “7 Easy Steps to Making your Bucket Full of Nature” is also available to download. 

CHILDREN IN PERMACULTURE PROJECT Lovely set of practical resources which dovetail nicely with Learning for Sustainability. It is an unsung hero of a resource. There is also a free downloadable manual too.

COUNCIL FOR LEARNING OUTSIDE THE CLASSROOM have a list of resources from a broad range of organisations that support education beyond the classroom. Refreshing and helpful if you have a specific project or focus or if you are just in need of more inspiration.

ECO INQUIRY – This is Jen Baron’s website with 15 free eco games. They are mainly simulation games and may be better for post-lockdown with your class. As a resource, they are too valuable not to share!

EDEN PROJECT have lots of online resources suitable for all ages and the ones on this page are particularly suitable for being at home.

FIELD STUDIES COUNCIL COVID-19 resources The FSC have a range of resources including #Fieldworklive will be a fortnight of free live lessons which will take place from Monday 20th April – Friday 1st May 2020, focussing on a range of Geography and Science content aimed at Primary (Ages 7-11), KS3 (Ages 11-14), GCSE (Ages 14-16), Progress GCSE to A Level (Ages 16-18)

FINDING NATURE – NEW RESOURCE The Children and Nature Network have launched a new resource to help children access nature during the current crisis. Finding Nature: Staying connected to the natural world during COVID-19, is a new website that will provide resources, events, stories and insights weekly from it’s partners, via tips, tools, blogs and webinars.

GREEN SCHOOLYARD RESOURCES Green Schoolyards America and their partners at the International School Grounds Alliance have published a set of books that include 250 hands-on activities and curriculum ideas, written by colleagues at organizations around the world. These free, downloadable books were designed to help schools make the most of their school grounds – but the majority of the ideas can be modified for use in children’s back gardens and neighbourhoods. A series of blogs will also be published to highlight activities from the publication, here are 2 examples – Explore Art in Your Backyard or neighbourhood and Maths in Your Backyard. 

HAMPSHIRE OUTDOORS has a long list of activities, links and pdfs about a range of outdoor activities. Well worth exploring.

INDIGENOUS CLIMATE ACTION group have a COVID-19 page and this includes a range of practical suggestions and links. Well worth a read, even if not all is applicable to you.

INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL GROUNDS ALLIANCE (ISGA) This international website has two free hefty downloads packed full of lessons from all around the world. This is another of my “go to” freebie resources. It dovetails well with Eco Schools. They run an international conference every year and in 2021 IT WILL BE IN SCOTLAND – go to the Learning through Landscapes website to find out more. It will be online at least partly!

INTO THE OUTDOORS A US website full of environmental and outdoor suggestions. Lots of videos and full of energy!

KEEP CONNECTING TO GREENSPACES Greenspace Scotland have compiled a list of activities and ideas to keep you connected to greenspaces, parks, nature and each other while social distancing and isolating. The listing consists of links to organisations providing resources, projects, events and more. You may also wish to view their interactive digital map to locate greenspaces in your area. Another point of interest is their Growing ideas and outdoor fun resource which focuses on food growing and outdoor learning.

KIDSCORE and YOUTHSCORE The KidScore (12 and under) and YouthScore (13+) let children and youth explore and measure how kid-friendly or youth-friendly an urban area is. The survey and activities ask about ways to get around in an area, things for kids and youth to see and do, how an area makes them feel, the “greenness” of an area, and ideas to improve it. Kids and youth can do the survey and activities alone, with parents, friends, teachers, or other allies. A great idea for a lockdown learning project as well as at any other time of year/

KIDS LAB – EDINBURGH SCIENCE FESTIVAL downloadable resources – DIY science activities to do at home. Most aren’t outdoorsy but still good to know about.

LEARN ABOUT THE CALEDONIAN FOREST What do you know about the Caledonian Forest? Trees for Life now have an informative website for you to catch up on your knowledge of Scotland’s wild forests. It features pages on Trees, Mammals, Birds, Plants and Insects as well as other creatures you can find while exploring the forest. 

LEARNING FROM HOME RESOURCES Friends of Barnes Common in London have put together a set of home learning resources, most of which link to the curriculum while some explore wider issues such as the community and citizenship. 

LEARNING INSIDE OUT is focus of a Canadian charity, Learning for a Sustainable Future (LSF). They are curating a free weekly email of at-home learning activities for grades K-12 (Reception to Y11). There is an emphasis on activities that are simple for parents or teachers to implement, outdoor activities (where possible under social distancing practices), and hands-on sustainability  education. All activities are related to curriculum and are reviewed by teachers. The emails will be archived here every week, and there is a sign up button for people to receive them directly in their inbox. 

LITTLE CHATTERS An outdoor consultancy that also focuses on Philosophy for Children and Global Education as well as learning outdoors.

LOST – Learning Outside Support Team in East Ayrshire are also compiling ideas. This has become a really AWESOME place to find stuff.

LOVE OUTDOOR LEARNING blog. This is Carol Murdoch’s website and the blog contains lots of ideas and suggestions for educators and families. Carol is a Scottish primary teacher.

MARLEY’S SCHOOL OF GARDEN MAGIC This is the Royal Botanic Garden of Edinburgh’s online learning portal for children. There are also links on the LH side to other courses for adults too!

MUDDY FACES – OUTDOOR HUB RESOURCES Visit the Muddy Faces Outdoor Hub for hundreds of free step by step, photo illustrated activities. Most of these activities can be done in your own back garden or adapted for indoors and are organised in categories such as: outdoor play; art and creating; food outdoors; tool use and traditional crafts. The site also provides links to resources and information on policies, case studies, forest schools etc, as well as a section dedicated to “Mud”. They have also added a specific Lockdown section to their hub.

MUDDY PUDDLES blog – aimed at families not just educators.

NASA’S CLIMATE KIDS This website from NASA brings climate science to life with fun games, interactive features and exciting articles based on 6 topics: weather and climate; atmosphere; water; energy; plants and animals; big questions. It also provides further links for educators. 

NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC KIDS This is a useful portal of information and ideas that now looks like the modern day environmentally sound Blue Peter for All.

NATURAL CONNECTIONS PROJECT This was a practical 3-yr research project looking at Learning in Natural Environments (LINE). The final report is well worth reading and check out the infographic. The website contains lesson plans and ideas from teachers. It was a catalyst project that has supported many educators and other organisations to develop their outdoor practice.

NATURE DAYS Dawn Thomas has a daily blog where she is posting daily outdoor learning suggestions and challenges. These can also be accessed via their Facebook group and YouTube channel.

NORTH BRANCH NATURE CENTER ONLINE. Wow! WOW! WOW! This is a brilliant collection of happening events, activities, videos, suggestions from Vermont, USA. The organisation required to put all this on is incredible.

CHRIS HOLLAND NATURE CONNECTION Chris is a passionate and playful outdoor educator, storyteller, publisher and musician with a mission to remind us we are all part of nature. He runs online courses – whilst there is a fee, they are very good. In particular, the story telling and natural music ones may be particularly helpful for educators looking for professional learning that extends their outdoor skills.

ONE MINUTE SCULPTURES from the Tate Gallery. Totally inspired. Although example is inside, just take the idea outside and enjoy the scenery and location adding value. Great for all ages, adults too!

OUTDOOR CLASSROOM DAY has lots of free resources. The next date is 21 May 2020 but the website aims to support outdoor learning and play all year round. Sign up on the website.

OUTDOOR AND WOODLAND LEARNING SCOTLAND has a variety of outdoor resources and lots of free downloads. Great for project work and include pre-history, stories and all sorts beyond the norm.

OUTDOOR LEARNING DIRECTORY SCOTLAND. This is a Scottish Government website that provides a gateway to resources produced by its various environmental departments and organisations that it funds to support outdoor learning.

OUTDOOR LEARNING MADE EASY are giving free home outdoor learning activities by following this link and entering the username: freeparentmembership and the password freshair. Fresh activities appear the 1st of every month. Thanks Alex Alves for all your hard work putting this together. (Jan update – not entirely sure if this offer is still available)

OUTRAGEOUS NATURE COMPANY A few nature-based activities for all ages.

PLAY SCOTLAND and PLAY WALES. Both are amazing sites full of great play ideas. Right now your children and teens will need time to play, just be, spend time outside and so on. This is essential to their wellbeing. Play Scotland have also created this National Play Hub with lots of collated packs and suggestions.

ROOM TO PLAY is Megan Zeni’s awesome blog from Vancouver. It includes It is full of practical ways to teach elementary school entirely outdoors. She also blogs a lot about gardening with children in the elementary school context and has created a page with posts for outdoor play and learning at home.

RSPB BIG SCHOOL BIRDWATCH It’s live, it’s now, it’s so in the moment! The RSPB also have lots of other resources tucked away on their website such as the Help Nature a Home set of resources. Good for families.

SCOTTISH VIRTUAL NATURE SCHOOL – Created by Dr Claire Warden and funded by the Scottish Government to support children, ELC Settings and their families during lockdown but the work has continued beyond this.

SILVERHAAR Grace Banks is a Scottish North-East storyteller and outdoor educator. This past year she’s added quite a bit to her website with simple songs, poems, stories about all things outdoors. The chirpy challenge complements the RSPB Big School Birdwatch!

SUSTRANS OUTSIDE IN Four weeks of fun and educational resources and activity ideas for families. You need to subscribe. It’s free and you can see an exemplar activity.

TAGTIV8 – On a slightly different tack with physical activity at the core, Bryn, the founder has been compiling websites which support physical movement to learn and play at home.

THRIVE OUTDOORS – Inspiring Scotland provide lots of different advice and guidance on learning and play outside. Includes friendly, fun stuff for children. This is worth checking out, especially for early years material.

TIM GILL – RETHINKING CHILDHOOD has a detailed post which is being updated through the ups and downs of the lockdown. It has been co-written with play worker, Penny Wilson and contains lots of links and suggestions too.

THE VIEW FROM MY WINDOW is a BBC article which I think can inspire all sorts of sharing and conversations both within families and within classes. Just sketch the view. Annotate it with thoughts and comments. Take any curriculum angle you want!

WE BE KIDS: A community interest company producing short videos on a a variety of nature-based activities for all ages. Click on the activity library to access.

THE WILD NETWORK This has lots of family friendly suggestions – well worth browsing about. They can be found on Facebook and Instagram and has lots of family friendly lockdown suggestions. Checkout their #WildTimeChallenge

WILDLIFE TRUSTS NATURE ACTIVITIES The Wildlife Trusts have created wonderful online nature activities to encourage everyone to tune in to wildlife at home this spring, and to help people find solace in nature during tough times. On the “Looking after yourself and nature” web page you will also find insect identification sheets, links to their wildlife YouTube channel and a variety of nature webcams across the UK.

WOODLAND TRUST NATURE RESOURCES The Woodland Trust have compiled a list of 10 simple nature based activities to keep you busy while self isolating at home. Activities include: Make a loo roll bird feeder; Move like minibeasts; Ladybird potato stamps; Make an animal or forest out of Lego.

THE WOODLAND TRUST – TREE TOOLS FOR SCHOOLS This is the activity section of the free trees for schools website and there’s lots of downloadable games, activities and experiences. Very easy to navigate and find stuff.

YOUNG PEOPLE’S TRUST FOR THE ENVIRONMENT Wow! This is a really upbeat and positive website that provides lots of resources and support for children and young people as well as teachers and parents on many environmental issues. Well worth checking out.

30 DAYS WILD! & BIG WILD WEEKEND The Wildlife Trust’s month long nature challenge is back for the 7th year in a row this June. You can sign up here.

100 THINGS TO DO Generation Wild have produced a great list of doable suggestions. The National Trust have their original list of 50 Things. However, why not make up your own for your family, class or organisation? I think this can be as much fun as the doing of the list and the children then have a vested interest in achieving the challenges they have set themselves.

Last updated June 2021