News & Blogs

Suntrap Tutor, Louise, reflects on some memorable comments and how they indicate the importance of children's outdoor experiences.

Are you're a member of school staff who can't wait to be one of the first visitors to be shown round our stunnng site?

Here's your chance to book a free guided tour, hurry as limited to two spaces per school.  

Last updated a decade ago, the revised Countryside Code provides simple guidelines to help visitors to enjoy and respect the natural world and contains new guidance on things such as foraging, feeding livestock and bagging dog poo.

It's the time of year when we notice many signs of spring all around us. Did you know that you can submit your findings to help scientists protect biodiversity?

Environmental degradation, whether close to home or further afield, can have a profound effect on us. We explore possible emotional responses and how to turn these into positives, especially for young people.

Nature is in trouble. In the UK, almost half of our wildlife is in long term decline. We are one of the most nature- deprived countries in the world. To combat this, please help us to urge the government to enshrine their nature recovery targets in law and so be held accountable for them. Sign up to the linked petition set up by RSPB on behalf of the Wildlife and Countryside LINK Coalition.

In celebration of World Wildlife Day we are keeping our ponds clear of plants which would otherwise choke and degrade the habitat.   We found a couple of toads that we gently returned to the water unharmed.

The outdoor classroom is progressing well and is now ready for the roofing to be installed.  Our terraced garden at the back of the building has its top soil ready to be seeded.  A gently graded path leads from the main building up through the garden to the outdoor classroom. 

Suntrap plans to be part of the Big City Butterflies project launched Spring 2021.  We're getting involved as findings will play an important part of conservation practices.   The project presents a huge opportunity to test new approaches to conservation and inspire Londoners to discover butterflies and moths.  

Has your school joined Let’s Go Zero?

This national campaign is demanding the government to  back zero carbon schools. Every school that signs up is pledging to work towards a more sustainable future, while also urging the government to support this vital mission.

Visit our Suntrap at Home page and find a checklist of activities for February 2021 half term.

Not everyone is brought up with a love of nature and getting outside. To help you we've put together our top tips to encourage outdoor learning.
 

We're offering out free outdoor learning support calls for schools and teachers.

These short 15 minute calls allow us to share ideas, resources and training all specially selected for you. If this would be of benefit contact us to book a time that works for you!

We're being encouraged to make art on themes chosen by famous names and display them in our windows. Sculptor Antony Gormley is the first artist to choose a theme running for the first two weeks in February 2021 and he's picked animals. In Suntrap tradition, artworks can be made out of what you have at hand. The results – be they paintings, sculptures or something less traditional – are to be displayed on our front porches, balconies or windows.

Guidance coming out in February 2021 from the Department for Education jointly with Public Health England on restarting residential school travel sector in Easter 2021. New protocols to show we’re safe to operate. Development of a bespoke school cancellation insurance scheme to allow schools to book with confidence.

Book your space now! Come and join us every other Monday during term time, from 10am-12 noon, for fun and adventure in Epping Forest. Squirrels Forest School is for children from 18 months (who are walking confidently) up to school-age, along with their carer. Explore, play and make friends and best of all you get to encourage your children early to have a lot of nature. 

Book your space now! Discover family forest fun and be inspired at our Be Wild Club. A wild adventure on the first and third Saturday of each month, for children aged 4-11 years old and their carers. Have fun exploring Epping Forest come rain or shine! Join us to discover more about this amazing wild space on the edge of East London.

On-line in January, the Suntrap team met young people from the Waltham Forest Young Advisors and the Youth Independent Advisors Groups.

Plans for the future include:  Guided walks in Epping Forest Setting up a Youth Group Support in eco-activism.

A sedum garden roof has been used for our recycling store. A living green roof that'll improve air quality and provide a fabulous habitat for wildlife. One of the many ways Suntrap will be tackling the effects of climate change.

In JFebruary the RSPB Big Garden Birdwatch is happening.  Join in and contribute to an impressive amount of comparative data., the findings provide an important insight into how our wildlife is faring. Click to read top birdwatching tips from our patron, David Lindo, 'The Urban Birder'

One of the recommendations is to educate young people about the Climate Emergency and empower them to take action by embedding it within the school curriculum and providing them with a platform to lead the borough. Suntrap wholeheartedly supports this recommendation and will aim to play a a pivotal role in 2021.

At Suntrap we’re always looking at new ways to encourage young people to get involved with the natural world. We’ve got lots of plans in 2021 to make this happen but in the meantime sign up to the Trees for Cities London Youth Panel. You’ll get the chance to share your ideas and feelings about climate change, nature and making cities greener.

Here at Suntrap we love using nursery rhymes when out in Epping Forest with younger groups.  They help develop an interest in the natural world and encourage a familiarity to things that might be perceived as scary such as spiders, birds, frogs, ants and bees.  

Google maps has revealed the most popular outdoor locations for a stretch of the legs for residents in the UK's major cities, based on what people search for using the tool from February 1 to October 20 2020. In London the No 1 spot is Richmond Park  and our Epping Forest cam in 5th.  Visitors to Epping Forest have increased by 10 million now up to 14 million.

Has Epping Forest helped to get you through the lockdown this year?

If so take a moment of your time to give something back to this ancient woodland and vote for our special forest in the Green Flag Award People's Choice Awards. Deadline Wednesday 25 November 2020

Recent research has shown that lack of access to outdoor space during lockdown has caused disadvantaged young children to miss out on activities which play a vital part in child development.  In particular anything requiring outdoor space and access to books.

Help us to share our activities within your local community. 

A small study in Finland has found that children whose outdoor play areas were transformed from gravel yards to min-forests showed improved immune systems within a month.  Scientists believe the improvement is related to the diversity of microbes that the children are exposed to in the natural environment.

David Lindo, President of Friends of Suntrap, broadcaster, author aka The Urban Birder advises us to 'look up'.

Read a thought-provoking article about breaking down the stereotypes in birdwatching featured in the November 2020 issue of the Waltham Forest Echo

Great opportunity to take learning outside.

Visit the Suntrap Youtube channel; be inspired by demonstrations of resource-minimal activities, which can be used in most outdoor spaces with very little planning. Explore some practical steps to make the transition to outdoor learning simple and enjoyable for children and staff/carers. For everyone, Outdoor Classroom Day will act as a catalyst for more time outdoors every day. 

Find our where you can spot the iconic red and white spotted mushrooms (Fly Agrics), what jays and squirrels have in common and why beef steaks aren't just found on the grill!

Watch our YouTube video on an autumnal walk in Epping Forest with top tips on what to look out for.

Suntrap's aim is to encourage our visitors to develop a strong sense of guardianship for Epping Forest, with an understanding, love and respect for the natural world.

For some this has developed into a lifelong legacy and for others fond school life memories.  To share these stories we've created a space on our website.

Horizons is a quarterly publication published by the Institute for Outdoor Learning.

In Autumn 2020 issue Head of Suntrap, Kerry Rolison  shared her learning experiences during lockdown including filmmaking, bug hotels, naturel dyes and much more. 

Photo: Kerry Rolison and David Lindo, President of Friends of Suntrap

Time is already running out to tackle the climate and ecological emergency, young people are refusing to let it drop off their agenda.

Youth Climate Summit is a week-long virtual festival (Monday 9 November - Friday 13 November 2020) of days of themed discussions and activities.

Suntrap is running a session ‘Street trees: a breath of fresh air‘ on Tuesday 10th November at 12.40pm. 

Make some great family memories at one of our nature themed overnight stays in our truly unique sustainably heated wooden camping pods.

Enjoy new experiences and learn together in the beautiful setting of Epping Forest.

Explore the flora and fauna in the forest and learn new outdoor skills, at our family friendly camp.  

Sign up to our newsletter to keep up to date with info on our Forest Explorer Camps. 

Launching on Friday 16 October 2020  The Promise is a new BBC film based on the children’s picture book by Nicola Davies and Laura Carlin. If you’re a primary school that wants to get involved register your interest to be gifted books of The Promise and an exclusive film screening toolkit creating a whole morning of nature connection activities and actions. Deadline for nominations is Friday 2 October 2020.

October is Black History month, and we take the opportunity to acknowledging our inspirational Friends of Suntrap President, broadcaster and author David Lindo, aka the Urban Birder.

As David has explained ‘Nature is for everyone and it starts at all our doorsteps. We should all be encouraged to appreciate nature - especially those who live in urban areas. We can all help to engender change that leads to a greater appreciation and understanding of our world. Indeed, it is our responsibility to do so.’

To support schools with their outdoor learning skills we're producing films for the EYFS, KS1 and KS2 stages.

Each film will feature different outdoor activities and information on how to further develop these ideas.

The films will then be put up on the Waltham Forest education support website page, The Hub and also on the Suntrap Youtube channel.

No such thing as bad weather just the wrong clothing!

Recently the Suntrap team ran a free outdoor learning training session for staff at George Tomlinson Primary School in Leytonstone.

The hardy bunch braced the wet weather and feedback included: 'The children will love doing this' 'You've given us so many ideas we wouldn't have thought of. Thank you.'

Here's a sneak peak of the inside one of the classrooms in our main building.

There's still work to do, but the new windows look very impressive and will keep out the draughts. New lighting, cupboards and workbenches are all being currently installed.

Our newsletter has all the latest refurbishment news. 

Did you know mushrooms that are in a close group but not close enough to be called a cluster are said to be in a troop? Mushrooms in a group that is a bit more scattered and irregular are said to be gregarious.

Autumn is the perfect time of the year to get out into the forest to do one of our favourite activities... fungi spotting. Take a photo but don't pick a mushroom, it's against Epping Forest byelaws and you're stopping the important role mushrooms play in the sustainability of our local nature.

Eco-Schools and Frugi clothing company have produced the Frugi Challenge, 10 days of eco-activities – differentiated for early years, primary and secondary schools. The challenges can be completed in school or at home. Also 150 schools applying for the first Eco-Schools Green flag are eligible for their accreditation fee to be paid. Funding applications close on Friday 18 December 2020 and schools must submit a successful first Green Flag application before Friday 26 February 2021. 

Did you know we have an instagram account - @suntrapforestcentre?

Recently we were pleased to welcome long time supporter of Suntrap, Sir David Attenborough to the Instagram community.  We look forward to sharing our nature photographs with him!   

In September 2020 the foundations for our new outdoor classroom have been completed.

Visitors will be able to use this outdoor covered space when using the back garden, including exploring the creatures they find in our raised pond.

Our newsletter has all the latest refurbishment news.

Refurbishment update. The new schools' entrance and corridor at the back of the building is taking shape. The glass fronted foyer will have great views across our new terraced garden and there will be new toilets along the corridor. We think the new roof looks really smart, let us know what you think via our social media! want to keep up to date, then subscribe to our newsletter.

Epping Forest Visitor Centre in High Beach is reopening on Friday 2nd October.  Opening hours Friday to Sunday 10.00am-4.00pm.

On display are our beautiful illustrations of Suntrap drawn by artist in residence Emma Bond before the refurbishment closure.

During the summer Suntrap produced nature activity packs for 19 schools in Waltham Forest.  'This looks very exciting. Thank you for the huge effort to make this happen for our children!' Maretha Cilliers Deputy Headteacher Thomas Gamuel Primary School

Photo: Children from Coppermill Primary School

Our new Ken Hoy Lodge in the wild meadow is starting to take shape!

Installation of toilets and showers - no more toilet tent at night!

The weather-proof Ken Hoy Lodge with sliding doors will be fit for up to 80 people to eat indoors or al fresco! 

We're called "Suntrap" as no matter time of day or year, our south facing building gets a lot of sun. To minimise our carbon footprint we've had installed two huge sets of photovoltaic (solar) panels. This renewable source means we can produce much of our own electricity.

There are many ways to teach children to take care of the natural world, and one simple yet powerful approach is through books.

We've put together our favourite inspirational children's books that offer meaningful messages about nature and the environment.

Happy reading!

Remember the Green Hut and animals cages?  These have been removed for much needed landscaping work. 

Our new terraces will make the whole site accessible for all our visitors plus we get so much more space to use!  

In August 2020 we supported Frederick Bremer community school in Walthamstow with their forest school outdoor learning.

They're running this during the holidays, exploring habitats and developing team work through den building.

Drainage in our camping field has been a challenge for our landscape architects. As a preventive measure the kidney shaped excavation gives a natural low point for water to collect during wetter weather.  In a few years we'll have a wet meadow rich in biodiversity and a much drier field!

Suntrap is part of the Waltham Forest Summer Holiday Activity programme.

This year we went virtual and ran lots of fun online indoor and outdoor nature activities for children and young people. 

Close up shot of one of the new cedar-clad camping pods. Currently twenty pods each sleeping four people are being built off site.

Soon to be moved to their new homes in our Wild Wood and Wildflower Meadow. 

The Walthamstow Garden Party is a virtual event this year, in the spirit of the festival we've put together projects about some of our animals. For each there's a film, fact sheet, a craft or art activity and a test your knowledge quiz. 

Which animals did we choose? There's a clue for one in the photo!

During the summer to support families with children under five we're working in partnership with Chit-Chat Pitter-Pat a home learning project. Each week on Sharing Saturday on their Facebook page we'll be posting a one-minute nature activity video.  

Foundation for the camping Meadow Lodge is completed and steels have arrived for the walls. The windows in the main building have been replaced with draft free well fitted double glazed units. Not only will they help to keep the building warm but they look really smart!

Saturday 4th July is not only about lockdown restrictions being lifted but also National Meadows Day.  In 2017 Tesco Bags of Help scheme funded Friends of Suntrap a grant to develop our stunning Wildflower Meadow Walk. This haven has provided tranquility, peace and quiet and sense of mental well-being for us all.

Kerry Rolison, Head of Suntrap featured in article about benefits of outdoor learning. ‘Thanks to funding from Waltham Forest council, we’ll be able to support schools across the borough with free training, consultancy and ideas to provide curriculum based outdoor learning in school grounds.’

Photo credit:@yiodawoo

To celebrate Nature Photography Day on Monday 15 June at 11.00am join us with Friend of Suntrap wildlife photographer Gary Schwartz for top photography tips and techniques.

Let's take a look at who has won.

As part of the borough’s support for schools reopening, Suntrap Forest Centre is offering teaching staff free consultancy and training to move learning into the fresh air.

This is in line with the Department of Education’s returning-to-school guidance to 'Consider which lessons or classroom activities could take place outdoors’ and 'Schools should also make use of outdoor space in the local area to support the curriculum'.

Outdoor Classroom Day a global movement to inspire and celebrate outdoor play and learning at home and at school is celebrated on 23 May. 

Now more than ever we need to promote the many benefits of getting children learning outdoors!

May 20 is the international day to acknowledge the role of bees and other pollinators for the ecosystem.

Every year on this day, the global public focuses on the importance of preserving honey bees and all other pollinators. 

We'd bee lost without our hardworking bees!

Have you noticed more butterflies in your garden this spring?

Due to climate change butterflies are emerging earlier and in different parts of the UK.

You can take part in this citizen science project by Butterfly Conservation and spot butterflies in your garden and record them on an app. Sign up on their website.

On Wednesday 20 May 11.00am on the Suntrap YouTube channel we hosted a 30 minute live photography workshop with expert wildlife photographer Gary Schwartz.

It gave budding documentary makers a chance to ask questions and learn some handy film editing techniques. 

Deadline for At Home Safari Film Challenge Sunday 31 May 2020.

On Wednesday 6 May 11.00am on the Suntrap YouTube Channel we'll be running a 30 minute live photography workshop with expert wildlife photographer Gary Schwartz.  Chance to ask questions and learn some handy filming techniques.  Deadline for At Home Safari Film Challenge Sunday 31 May 2020.

Are you taking part in Plantlife's #nomowmay? After a few weeks our gardens are full of a variety of flowers creating lots of nectar for our pollinators. 

Dave Goulson in his book 'The Garden Jungle' tells us that we can remove weeds from our garden by simply rebranding them as wildflowers. If you're taking part too, we would love to see pictures of the wildflowers now growing in your garden,

On Wednesday 22 April we celebrated Earth Day 2020.  The theme of climate action is very close to our hearts.  Education is essential for the global response needed to address climate change. Through education children and young people can understand the impact of global warming, with this knowledge they’re then able to make changes in their attitudes and behaviour.

On April 20th we joined the Waltham Forest Council's Virtual Culture programme, that build on the success of being the Mayor's first London Borough of Culture in 2019. 

We're excited to launch the At Home Safari Film Challenge deadline for entries Sunday 31 May 2020.

During the COVID-19 lockdown Suntrap is here to help. On our Suntrap at Home page you'll find a whole range of fun, educational projects you can do with your children safely indoors and outdoors at home. All with a focus on nature and the environment. 

New activities will be added regularly so keep visiting this page for ideas of how to Bring Nature Nearer.

Visit our Book club page to find our recommendations for books to inspire children and young people to a love of nature. During the COVID-19 lockdown take advantage of Amazon. They've cancelled the subscription of books and audio stories for children and students of all ages as long as schools are closed, kids everywhere can instantly stream an incredible collection for free! 

In March we're out and about round the forest; being 'Plant Explorers' with Greenleaf Primary School and 'Discovering Habitats' with George Mitchell and Edinburgh Primary Schools.

We're sharing our knowledge of 'Treemedous trees' with George Tomlinson Primary School and at Chapel End Infant School we're going deep into the 'Wild Wood'.

In March Waltham Forest Conservation Volunteers (TCV) invited us to join them at two of their regular sessions run in Lloyd Park, Walthamstow.

We brought some of our animals to meet The Sharing Heritage over 50's group tea and chat session while the under 5s Nature Explorers met some very unusual animals while exploring the park! 

Love Your Pet Day is a great day to show your love for your pets. We provide opportunities for children to get up close to animals to learn more about looking after them and the importance to respect them. If you don't have any yourself, get involved by calling your local RSPCA or pet rescue centre and make a donation of food or treats or volunteer. 

At Suntrap we’ve always known that being outdoors can be good for your mental health, but that’s only one reason to visit our local green spaces. A study published in 'Environment International' shows that people who have access to nature or urban green spaces are much more likely to behave in environmentally friendly ways. The findings also identified that people who were not exposed to green spaces were less likely to adopt eco-friendly behaviours, such as recycling.

In February through Great Place: Connecting Communities the team continues to deliver free programmes with local schools including Roger Ascham primary school in Walthamstow and Yardley primary school in Chingford.

Bookings available for a range of outdoor learning experiences in school grounds or in local green spaces

 In January we attended an Essex Learning Outside the Classroom Providers group meeting at RHS Hyde Hall. On a beautifully clear, but cold evening, we explored the night sky using binoculars and telescope, learning to identify star constellations and naming some of the craters on the moon. The evening gave us lots of stargazing ideas for our residentials under the dark skies in winter. Warm clothes and binoculars are all you need!

The Suntrap team including some of our animals are visiting primary schools including Yardley and C of E in Chingford and Edinburgh in Walthamstow. We're also looking forward to working with students from Waltham Forest College. Bookings available for a range of outdoor learning experiences in school grounds or in local green spaces

In January the RSPB Big Garden Birdwatch is happening.  Join in and contribute to an impressive amount of comparative data., the findings provide an important insight into how our wildlife is faring. Click to read top birdwatching tips from our patron, David Lindo, 'The Urban Birder'.

We’re making good use of some of our fallen logs that by inserting ‘mushroom plugs’. These are small wooden dowels that have been inoculated with mycelium of edible fungi. To harvest will typically take  12 months so we’re looking forward to watching mushrooms emerge when we're reopened.

Helen Bigham urges children and young people get out and about for Outdoor Classroom Day on Thursday 7 November 2019.

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) is collating data on Outdoor Education visits to natural environment sites for their work on Natural Capital.  Recording this information is important for environmental decision making. 

Our commissioned illustrations produced by Emma Smith have been so popular we've joined with All Colours Only a specialist art print company to enable fans of Suntrap to buy prints in a variety of sizes.