Is online forest school training any good?
Doesn't it sound weird, 'online forest school training'? I mean, how can you learn something like firelighting or tool use online? It's a question I get asked a lot and there's plenty of discussion around whether this is possible, or even valid.
Here's my take on it:
🌿 Distance learning is nothing new:
Since the pandemic, online learning has seen a massive boom but the concept of distance learning has been around for decades. In fact, 'correspondence courses' have been around since the 1850s and I'm sure that you've heard of the Open University. The difference nowadays, it that you can receive more than just written information, you can actually watch someone doing a task. And you can watch it as many times as you like, wherever you feel safe to learn (for me that's curled up on a sofa with a blanket and a cup of tea) and at a time that works for you. And when it comes to us assessing your skills, a simple video recorded on a mobile phone will show us all we need to know!
🌿 You can learn anything online, but you still need to give it a go in real life:
One of my favourite outdoor skills is cooking over a fire. In fact, I love cooking for family and friends and I'm really quite good at it. The thing is, no one has ever taught me how to cook! So how have I acquired my skills? I'll tell you - it's from years and years of watching River Cottage, Bake-Off and other such shows on TV! Of course, I've had to get into the kitchen and have a go (with a few 'interesting' results along the way 🤢) but I've learned loads of skills, tips and tricks along the way. It's exactly the same with the practical skills for forest school. You can watch my videos and then replecate them in real life (I recommend pracitsing on your own first before you try them out on other people!). In fact, looking at my students' portfolios, there is no discernable difference between the practical skills (or any other forest school skills) between students who have trained 100% online or those who have attended a workshop.
🌿 Practical skills are only 25% of the qualification:
I'd love it if the forest school qualification was simply about being able to light fires, use tools and run safe sessions, but as you may have spotted in your free trial, there are a lot of other elements to forest school. There is the ethos, and the theory of woodland stewardship, how learning theories are applied, risk assessments, policies and procedures and play theory along with a lot more. This means that there is a lot of the forest school qualification (whoever you train with) that looks a lot more like traditional classroom learning (oh, the irony!). I guess that goes hand-in-hand with a regulated and accredited qualification and we positively encourage people to move away from essays and send us discussions and videos to make it simpler for you and more interesting for us!
I could go on and on about this, but hopefully I've given you a good idea of the possibilities for you for joining this course. Here's what Jemma, a qualified student of mine, has to say aout the online part of the course:
"“Your course, its layout and the videos are just brilliant. I'm thoroughly enjoying it and learning loads. I feel so inspired by this course, it's so clear and learner-centred. It offers so much diverse information and has lots of really usable information. The reading list is excellent and really enhances your learning. It certainly has been an eye-opener to see how well things can be delivered online” - Jemma, Level 3 student
You can check out my forest school training, including the online element, by clicking the link below. You can also sign up to 14-day free trial to see if the training is for you.