Schools Forestry Awards 2010 – winners announced

Schools in Oxfordshire, Kent, and East Sussex have won awards in the country’s premier forestry competition, the Excellence in Forestry Awards 2010, organised by the Royal Forestry Society (RFS) in association with the Forestry Commission. In addition, a head teacher from West Sussex has won a special commendation.

Bladon C of E Primary School in Woodstock, Oxfordshire, took 1st prize in the 2010 Schools award, with Ifield School in Gravesend, and Moulsecoomb Primary School in Brighton, sharing second place. Helen Martin, headteacher of the Lavington Park Federation, which includes Graffham Infant and Duncton C of E Junior Schools, received a special commendation.

The award was judged by Susannah Podmore, the Forest Education Initiative Co-ordinator for England and by Mike Flinn, of Forest Enterprise Tay District.

Details are as follows:

Bladon C of E Primary School’s project in Woodstock, Oxfordshire, was based on the OneOak project run by the Sylva Foundation. The school chose a tree growing on Bladon Heath, about 20 minutes walk away, to look at how wood is part of everybody’s life and how sustainable forestry is good for the environment

Years 3 and 4 undertook a number of activities, measuring the tree’s height and girth, going to Blenheim Palace to see the saw mill, finding acorns – and then planting those that had not been affected by oak tree gall wasp. In January, on oak felling day, they walked to the tree, heard the Duke of Marlborough (who had donated the tree to the project) give a speech, and then one boy interviewed his father, who was the forester in charge of felling the tree. A number of other school projects have included storytelling and art and poetry.

Year 3 & 4 teacher Carolyn Thorne explained:

“At first the children and parents were quite shocked when I said the tree we were to study was to be cut down. However, they have learnt how trees are important in our lives not only for their beauty, habitat and their life-giving oxygen, but also that they are very important as a crop, making long lists of where wood is used at home and school. They are looking forward to helping design something for the school grounds from the oak wood, and to planting the acorns on the OneOak site.”

The school wins £1000, which will be used on environmental projects: part of the school grounds are being redesigned, and they have been given a small wood to use.

Judges Susannah Podmore and Mike Flinn commented: “The effort and enthusiasm put into the One Oak project was fantastic. Talking to the children, it was clear that they had really grasped the whole seed-to-saw story and the importance of woods and forests to produce sustainable products. They had also linked the experience into creative writing and artwork, which had reinforced their understanding, and had excited their interest in trees and wood.”

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Ifield School in Cedar Avenue Gravesend, Kent, is a Special School for pupils aged four to 19, and for the past 10 years has used Ifield Woodland, just two miles away, as a magical retreat where pupils and members of the local community, particularly those with emotional difficulties, can escape the urban environment into a relaxing and calming place. The woodland is used both for formal education, and for group and personal social education and development. The school owns the freehold to the site and has rights of access to its existing paths.

Science teacher Sam Kelleher said:

“The initial impacts that the woodland has on some students of Ifield School are ones of pride and ownership – two values that have had unprecedented effects on our students, and will hopefully continue to do so well into the future.

“The woodland also shows students the importance of having woodland habitats within mostly urban environments.”

The judges commented :“This specialist school uses their own woodland on a weekly basis, with commitment from the school to allow the teacher, Sam Kelleher, to spend one day a week developing the woodland.

“The judges saw all age ranges using the woodland from teeny tots through adults with learning difficulties to Duke of Edinburgh students. The different areas of the woodland had unique features – some very old single pollarded trees, some areas of young coppice – and created a diverse mosaic of age and size ranges. The students we saw understood and were obviously comfortable in the woodland.”

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Moulsecoomb Primary School in Lewes Road, Brighton is in the heart of the Moulsecoomb estate, which is among the most economically deprived wards in the country.

Their project centred on improving the outdoor learning environment by involving the whole school and working in partnership with the wider community. Projects have included: planting a native woodland with a storytelling circle; a ‘tree-week’ for the whole school; planting an orchard with old-fashioned varieties of  fruit trees and studying the history of the immediate surroundings, which used to be an orchard; and hosting a Heritage and Environment Festival for more than 700 local children, parents/carers and the wider community.

Community School Development Worker, Lucy Rayner, explains:

“The improvements to the school grounds have transformed the school. Not only have pupils been very engaged with the process and benefitted from the hands-on, practical learning these projects have offered, but the image of the school in the community has been raised. Parents and pupils are now proud of the school and vandalism has greatly reduced. As well as the aesthetic benefits there have been big environmental benefits in developing the school grounds and creating different habitats for wildlife.”

The judges commented: “We were impressed with the enthusiasm of the head, teachers and parent volunteers involved in the development of the school’s grounds. The way the school had brought the local community on board from a standing start was inspirational.

“The whole school approach is an excellent case study for others to follow, with the involvement of the parents, including mums and grandmothers who were carving wooden sculptures on the day of judging!”

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Helen Martin, headteacher of the Lavington Park Federation, which includes Graffham Infant and Duncton C of E Junior Schools, received a Special Commendation.

Both schools have recently become Forest Schools with all 103 children aged from 4–11 years having the opportunity to learn in a beautiful piece of local woodland owned by the Leconfield Estate in Petworth.

Helen, who is also Chair of the Early Years and Primary Phase Committee of the Geographical Association, has had previous experience and a family background working for the Forestry Commission. She has extended opportunities for children to learn to love their time in the forest, not only in her own Federation but also to children in other schools in West Sussex through taster days, hosting training opportunities, sharing expertise with a wide range of stakeholders and by writing articles for the GA Primary Geographer magazine.

Helen said:

“Our Forest School has become a very special place for our children, and adults to be. We can learn about the woodland at first hand, learning together and following our own interests.

“Children have loved to plant their own trees, whittle green wood and will spend ages watching brown trout in the stream. Forest School provides us all with unique memories and experiences that will never be forgotten. I have grown up with these experiences, taught by my late father David Fourt, a member of RFS and retired Chief Forester at Alice Holt Research Station: all children should have the same amazing opportunities that I did.”

Judges commented: “Helen has clearly grasped the Forest School ethos with such enthusiasm and dedication. Having undertaken the Level 3 training herself, and funding her assistant head to also gain the leader's award, and find the time to actually get out into the woods with the children every week, is impressive dedication!

“Helen has spoken at lectures and already written articles for well known teachers' publications, and will be speaking at the forthcoming Forest School urban conference in London on 9 October. We hope Helen will continue to spread the word through her channels and help inspire other schools and practitioners to use local woodlands for learning.”

About the competition

The Excellence in Forestry competition is organised by Royal Forestry Society (RFS) and rotates around England, Wales and Northern Ireland. In 2010 it was supported by Forestry Commission England, and held in the South East and Southern Boroughs of London.

The Awards are being presented at the Bentley Weald Wood Fair on 17 September 17.

In 2011 the competition moves to East Anglia, Eastern England and Greater London Boroughs north the River Thames.

The Schools Award is one of five categories within the Excellence in Forestry Awards.

The Royal Forestry Society thanks all its sponsors: the Forestry Commission England; Woodmizer UK (Farm woodland Award); ECL Howard Watson Smith (Schools Award); Fencing & Landscaping News (Silviculture Award); Woodlands for Sale (Duke of Cornwall award).