Two teachers from Witton Gilbert Primary School attended our ground breaking Accredited Forest Bathing Leader course, the first course in the country to focus on Forest Bathing for children. They were part of the Durham AAP Nature for Wellbeing Project. They attended the 6 day course at Ushaw, experiencing the calming effect of Forest Bathing, learning about the woodland and health and safety, and adapting the approach for their own groups. They then carried out a programme of sensory woodland sessions with their own group back at school, and reflected on the benefits they saw in the children’s wellbeing to complete their coursework. They were both awarded Level 3 accreditations from NOCN. Having seen the huge benefit to the wellbeing of the children and the staff, they are now planning on continuing this approach and involving families throughout the school.
“I absolutely loved doing the course. The activities were fantastic and the location was really conducive to the learning. I really did not understand the concept in much detail at the start but the process has been fantastic and has changed my practice significantly. The group of children really connected with the environment that they experienced. The responses of children who were extremely anxious have been so positive.” (Witton Gilbert Primary School)
