Outdoor Classroom
Biodiversity | Natural & Cultural Environment
The Heritage Council | Heritage in Schools Scheme 2024 -2027
Subject(s): Science, History, Geography
Curriculum Strands: Early people and ancient societies (History), Life, society, work and culture in the past (History), Continuity and change over time (History), Human environments (Geography), Natural environments (Geography), Environmental awareness and care (Geography/Science), Living things (Science)
Counties catered for: Clare, Galway, Limerick, Mayo, Roscommon
Classes catered for: All Classes
How much does a visit from a Heritage Specialist cost?
Visits are part-funded by the school and the Heritage Council.
| Duration of visit | Half Day | Whole Day |
|---|---|---|
| Cost to school | €60 | €100 |
| Cost to DEIS school | €40 | €60 |
If a school books five visits with the same Specialist in the same calendar year the fifth visit will be free i.e. the Heritage Council will cover the full cost of the fifth visit. The visits must take place in the same calendar year.
Biodiversity | Forest School
Siobhán Sloane is the founder of Creative by Nature, providing outdoor learning and development opportunities through nature-based summer camps and after-school sessions.
Creative by Nature workshops and field trips are designed to encourage a sense of wonder about the natural world, giving children the opportunity to slow down, tune into their senses and see themselves as part of the web of life, not separate from it.
Siobhán has a BA (Hons) in Heritage Studies and is a qualified children’s yoga instructor. She has studied Forest School Leadership with Circle of Life Rediscover and Brigits Garden and is a member of the Irish Forest School Association. She has worked as Environmental Educator with the Burren Nature Sanctuary and has travelled to Vermont to experience a range of approaches to connecting to nature in the outdoor classroom.
Siobhán offers nature-based games, scavenger hunts, forest school art and craft activities to inspire curiosity and build a connection to natural environments close to school grounds and local areas.
Biodiversity: woodland & peatland (bog) plants
Learn about the web of life through interactive games; actively involving children in understanding the connections between the plants and animals of Irelands’ woodlands and bogs as communities that depend on each other.
Explore the wondrous world of flesh-eating bog plants and how they get their food.
Discover the life of a seed and the journey it takes to grow into a plant, a tree or our food.
Can be adapted to classroom, school grounds or field trip.
The Language of Trees
Our ancestors lived in harmony with the natural world in tune with the changing of the seasons.
They had a special relationship with trees, using fruit, berries, leaves and wood or food, medicine, shelter and to create art. Working in small groups, children get to know a particular native Irish tree and explore its features season to season, consider potential human uses and present back to each other in a format of their choosing.
Trees were so important that they even were used in an early form of writing. Attempting to decipher this mysterious Ogham Alphabet based on tree names, children can write, their name or coded messages for a memorable experience.
Can be adapted to classroom, school grounds or field trip.
Forest School
Forest School is a child-led, play-based inspirational process where children have the opportunity to practice traditional skills, engage in free play, experience supported risk, and create nature art and crafts.
Forest School aims to build resilience and develop nature connection in an increasingly risk-averse, digital world.
Forest School is a long-term process with regular sessions in a wooded or natural environment throughout the seasons, rather than a one off visit. Schools can avail of Forest School sessions by booking a series of visits.
Siobhán Sloane is a qualified and experienced yoga therapist, hatha and yin yoga instructor and environmental education practioner.
She runs yoga and nature-based programmes for adults and children and wellbeing in nature experiences in the west of Ireland.
Siobhán has a BA in Heritage Studies and is a member of the Forest School Association and Yoga Therapy Ireland.
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