Special needs students get to grips with ‘Forest Experience’

FIRE lighting, shelter building and campfire cooking were among the skills being taught by Forestry Commission rangers to special needs schoolchildren in Doncaster yesterday.
By The Newsroom
Published 12th Jul 2011, 07:00 BST

Pupils from Northridge Community School, aged between 12 and 18, signed up for the “Forest Experience” course which has been taking place in the 250-acre Bentley Community Wood.

The classes cover a range of fun woodland skills and run over four weeks.

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Ranger Emily Holmes, who learned woodcraft for herself while working on a red deer project on the remote Scottish island of Rum, said: “We have set aside a special area completely surrounded by trees. It’s another world altogether, where it’s bird song rather than traffic making the noise.

“The youngsters are doing really well. This is a great chance to learn new skills and also build self-confidence in a unique environment.”

Northridge Community School opened three years ago and caters for 106 pupils with severe learning difficulties.

Over the past year, 250 youngsters and adults have taken part in the Forest Experience scheme at Bentley Community Wood, which has been transformed in recent years from a derelict colliery site into a beauty spot.

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