This pack was produced in March 2020 in response to the Coronavirus pandemic by Muddy Feet in partnership with Cherwell District Council.
Coronavirus has had a dramatic and rapid impact across the UK, communities are locked down and schools have been closed to all but vulnerable and key worker children. The impact of this experience will be seen in the months and years to come. Research on the impacts of previous pandemics has shown that we can expect an increase in anxiety, trauma, post-traumatic stress, and a decrease in confidence and educational attainment. Many schools are planning to reopen as the lockdown eases and the Government guidelines recommend the use of playgrounds and outdoor spaces for teaching. Over the last 20 years, there has been an increasing body of scientific research that proves time in nature is beneficial to our mental health. Immersing ourselves and connecting with nature enables us to lower cortisol levels, restore attention, and balance our nervous system. Nature can activate our neural pathways that are associated with calmness. This leads to decreased levels of anxiety and depression.
This pack contains six nature connection workshops. The first workshop is aimed at parents bringing children to school for the first day. The following five workshops are for teaching staff to use in their outdoor space. The activities address mental health needs and encourage nature connections to reduce anxiety. We have designed the sessions to use minimal equipment and freely available natural resources. Although not essential some outdoor education or therapeutic experience would be beneficial to help you deliver and build upon these activities. A session plan is provided for each workshop with key outcomes, activities, materials, and risk considerations. A risk assessment will need to be completed for each session which will include natural resources, materials, social distancing and handwashing measures. Activities should be implemented in line with your schools’ policies and risk assessments. The session plans contain proposed activities with approximate timings. These can be adapted or changed.
Each session takes approximately an hour and a half. However, some activities may take longer if the children are actively engaged. Don’t feel you need to complete all activities or stop the children and move to the next activity. It’s the process of engaging with nature and how you deliver the session that is important, rather than the outcome. We would recommend building on this pack to deliver a long-term outdoor approach to make a sustained improvement on children’s mental health needs. Talk to us to see how we can help you further
This is a FREE Member resource Purchase to download
