A SCANDINAVIAN-style Forest School has been established in the Hampshire countryside.

The aim of Acorn Forest School, set up Alison Seymour in woodland on Romsey’s Broadlands Estate, is to engage children in outdoor activities.

Alison has previously worked as a Forest School practitioner at Eastleigh Borough Council after training in countryside and wildlife management at Sparsholt College near Winchester, where she also did a course on Forest School leadership..

She said that she was approached by Broadlands Estate landscape manager Phil Marshall about setting up a Forest School and things took off from there.

“I thought the two courses that I studied, complemented one another well as I could understand the ecology in a woodland habitat which enables me to teach the children an understanding of the flora and fauna during sessions and manage the woodland sensitively,” she said.

“I have created the site by making the log seats from a felled pine tree.”

Mum-of-three Alison believes it is important for children to get outside and learn about their natural environment first hand.

She said: “In this technological world where children watch too much television, play on computer games and socialise through Facebook, I am passionate about trying to enable children, particularly the early years, to get out and engage with nature. It has been shown that just being in a woodland environment for as little as half an hour releases ‘feel good’ chemicals which we all need no matter what age we are.

“I have been very privileged to have been offered the opportunity by Lady Brabourne, at Broadlands, to open a Forest School in one of the woodlands on the Broadlands estate and I have used the environment for giving children’s birthday parties as well as working with children with emotional issues from Romsey Primary School who have gained so much confidence and enjoyment when they attended sessions with their teacher during the spring and summer terms last year and this year.”

She is now planning to offer start up sessions for mothers and toddlers on Wednesday mornings.

“It is such an important time in the early developmental stages for children to engage in the natural environment. Forest School offers the perfect way to help our children develop good communication skills, social skills, creativity, self-esteem, self-control, and acceptable behaviour. A two-hour session once a week for at least six weeks has a beneficial outcome.”

Alison said many people may not have heard of the Forest School Movement and the ethos behind it.

“It originated from Scandinavia in the 1950s and was introduced into the UK in the 1990s after a visit to Denmark by the early year’s department at Bridgewater College in Somerset.

“The philosophies of many educational psychologists such as Froebel and Piaget are incorporated into the Forest School sessions with an emphasis on understanding empathy, gaining self-esteem, self-confidence and social skills from working with others.

“At Forest School we learn to understand and respect fire, working with tools, making dens and exploring the wonder of nature.”

Anyone who would like to find out more about the Forest School should email Alison at acornforestschool@gmail.com.