So far our visitors have loved our activities – we’re sure you will too! We offer the following primary school learning programmes, but are happy to discuss bespoke learning activities to suit your learners needs. We also facilitate learning activities for KS3, KS4, KS5 and University groups. To enquire about a School Learning visit to Barnes Common, email Paddy.
Our School Learning programme offering:
90-minute Exploration Walks on Barnes Common:
This series of seasonal walks connect nature and the outdoors with a variety of classroom topics. Each sensory walk is inspired by a different children’s book and involves a series of cross-curricular activities including numeracy, literacy, art, and science. The activities are designed so that learners increase their nature connectedness by engaging with the same space multiple times over a school year, noticing how it changes and developing a sense of curiosity and care. One-off visits are possible, but seasonal visits would be preferable! You can learn more about nature connectedness here: Nature Connectedness Research Group – Research centres and groups – University of Derby
These activities generally take a circular route with the end and start points being the same point on Barnes Common. This location can be decided to best suit the needs of the visiting group. 90-minute sessions can be booked individually at £75 per session for a class group of 30 max. State schools can book 3 sessions (1 per season/term for 1 class) for £180. We can offer the first 90-minute session for free to any schools engaging with our learning programme for the first time.
- Spring – Messy Nature. Activities – Sensory trail, magnifier walk, tree study, colours of nature, storytelling (Tidy by Emily Gravett)
- Summer – Wild in the City. Activities – Wildlife spotter trail, bug hunting and ID, bug art, storytelling (Finding Wild by Megan Wagner Lloyd)
- Autumn/Winter – Seeds of Growth. Activities – Seed spotter trail, seed dispersal investigation, seed ball making, storytelling (A Seed is Sleepy by Diana Hutts Aston)
- Spring – Protecting Nature. Activities – Tree ID walk, flower & pollinator tally chart, flower dissection, seed & soil bottles, storytelling (The Lorax by Dr. Seuss)
- Summer – Water Cycles. Activities – Water footprint calculation, mindfulness and water tai chi, wildlife spotter walk, storytelling (Once Upon a Raindrop by James Carter)
- Autumn/Winter – Noticing Nature. Activities – Unknown nature trail, lost words poetry, spell songs hunt, storytelling (The Lost Words by Robert Macfarlane and Jackie Morris)
Full day curriculum-linked learning visits (March-July):
A full-day guided activity from 10.00-14.00 costs £180 for a group of up to 30 students. For schools with >15% of students receiving Pupil Premium Grant, there is a £30 discount per group. Full day sessions start and end at Vine Road Recreation Ground, and include access to safe storage for bags etc., public toilets and drinking fountain, lunch space in the park, and access to the playground at lunch time.
- An introduction to biodiversity – what it is and why we need it
- Pond dipping or bug hunting – discover the amazing animals that live all around us
- Woodland exploration – identify trees, calculate their ages, and use adjectives to describe habitats and micro-habitats
- Nature game – learn about deforestation and its impact through an engaging game
- Wild diary – summarise and consolidate the learning experience
- An introduction to the waterways around us – locate our local river and discover important connections
- River fieldwork – measure the speed, width, and depth of the Beverley Brook with the help of the session leaders. All without getting your toes wet!
- Observe and record – compare two locations on the same river and describe how they are similar or different
- River dipping – discover the amazing animals that live in our rivers
- Visions for the future – discuss solutions to flood related problems such as Sustainable Drainage Systems (SuDS) and explore what the perfect future might look like for your students
