Over the past few weeks I’ve had the pleasure of reading through a recently published book The Essential Guide to Forest School and Nature Pedagogy by Jon Cree and Marina Robb. This book has been a long time in the making and given its hefty size of 400 pages, I’m not surprised it took the authors several years to condense their extensive knowledge, skills, experience and perceptions into the one text.
What’s it all about?
The title says it all. It’s an introduction to Forest School and Nature Pedagogy – recognising the benefits that the Forest School principles and approach brings to the wider practices that exist within the nature pedagogy movement. I say it’s an introduction, as it’s very obvious within each chapter that there’s a lot more exploration and learning that can happen. In many ways, the chapters serve to provide a springboard into deeper reflection and practice. One challenge of Forest School is that it’s a broad sweep qualification covering all ages and many purposes from education and play to supporting health outcomes for young people. Thus writing a book that does all of this justice is no mean feat.
What are the strengths of the book?
First of all it’s comprehensive. If you are undertaking a Forest School qualification, it’s undoubtedly now the “go to” publication. There’s lots of references, further reading, online resources and reflective questions. All-in-all a great starting point.
The nature cycle diagrams used to illustrate the flow of learning link to a number of indigenous and traditional ways of thinking. They are used throughout the book to connect people to place and time which tends to be lacking in mainstream UK outdoor education/learning literature.
The rationale is strong. For a book that is practical, the way in which research and case studies are used to illustrate key points is great. The focus is clearly on person-centred practice and developing our relationships – both between humans as well as between humans and more-than-human species. There is also a positive emphasis on creating safe spaces. By this, the authors emphasise emotionally safe spaces as well as physical elements of practice. There are chapters that focus on how nature stimulates sensory development and integration, creating healthy problem-solving communities and the brain, body and place which serve to strengthen the Forest School approach. The chapter on fire and crafting is rooted in sustainable practice linked to your site and the elements (earth, fire, water, etc) and whilst important, clearly is not the be all and end all of what happens in the woods!
Any weaknesses?
I only have one minor quibble. There are many lovely colourful diagrams and illustrations. I would have liked the sketch notes to have been larger as I needed a magnifying glass to read some of them. I think these would be easier to read on Kindle.
If you are an experienced outdoor practitioner or researcher who has a specific specialism, such as developing a nurturing approach outdoors, or the impact of affordance on outdoor play or how mental health is promoted through nature-based practice then the relevant chapters are skimming the surface. It isn’t a book for specialists and you may disagree with the occasional comment or reference. Likewise if you have a very fixed viewpoint about a definition such as what constitutes nature pedagogy then you may have a different interpretation to the authors. Be aware that Jon and Marina really have done a brilliant job drawing together key theories and research and linking this to what it means in practice, e.g. why they are using the term nature pedagogy, their understanding of it and so on.
How do I feel after reading the book?
Energised. It’s the sort of book that makes you want to get back to the woods and be there in the company of others to share the magic of all that being outdoors and in a natural environment offers.
The warm and inclusive tone of the book is lovely. You get the feeling the authors are passionate about nature-based practice in all its forms and are not claiming Forest School is the “ultimate” or “best” approach. However, it is clear that great Forest School practice is very effective at meeting children and young people’s needs when mediated in a thoughtful, sensitive and responsive way. It draws together lots of good thinking in many fields and applies this to working with children and young people in a woodland or nature-based context.
What new ideas, connections or sparks of inspiration do I now have?
Because my background is education, I wasn’t familiar with some of the research and references around building healthy communities and really want to find out more. I liked the emphasis on developing ourselves as practitioners. It feels that this book shows that the Forest School movement is ever-growing and evolving because those who are committed to Forest School ethos, principles and values will need to be committed to personal development and learning.
I still want to dig deeper into indigenous perspectives, having visited both Canada and Australia and witnessing the growing understanding of our connection to land – and that perhaps in the UK we need to be rewriting our script about nature connection and what this means. One example is that the Wurundjeri People in Australia recognise seven seasons that are based upon plant, animal and seasonal happenings, e.g. eel season, wombat season and orchid season. This immediately hooks us into natural events and rhythms more than an abstract term such as “summer” which requires us to actively develop the concept of what summer means from a nature perspective.
A summary
This is the outdoor book of 2021. It will be recognised as a classic text and referenced in years to come as a definitive read about Forest School, as a valuable nature-based practice. Strangely, perhaps, I’m going to finish with a quote from a friend, Diane Kashin who is an early years education consultant based in Ontario. In recent years, her thinking about what nature is and why it matters has evolved and changed quite radically:
Sometimes, we cover nature pedagogy from the confines of an indoor classroom through the provision of natural loose parts. Now we know that this is not enough. Today, we know it isn’t enough because we have felt it in our bones and in our hearts that the land is our first teacher… It is the ultimate teacher.
The Essential Guide to Forest School and Nature Pedagogy is a valuable and timely book that will help the cultural shift needed to embrace the future and to deepen and extend our relationships with each other and the natural world to which we belong. Let’s celebrate and share this book widely!
You can buy the book direct from Marina at her Outdoor Teacher website.
Jon and Marina also have an official book launch happening on Tuesday 27 July 7-8pm BST. The event will cover all things Forest Schools and explain the numerous benefits of a robust nature pedagogy in terms of wellbeing, resilience, and fostering a deeper understanding of the natural world. Discover unique perspectives from experienced guest speakers, take part in the Q&A, and be in for a chance to win 1 of 3 copies in the prize draw. This online book launch is free and open to all. Register here for this event.
