Pembrokeshire Social Forestry Progression Course
Written by Tir Coed / Wednesday 01 May 2019
Many of our trainees are captivated by the huge number of benefits working in the woods can offer but not all of them want to go down the tree surgeon route. By sharing insight into the possibility of working with groups in the woods, we hope to offer an alternative and with various initiatives like Forest School becoming increasingly popular, it can turn into a viable progression route.
Cath, a long serving and very experienced Tir Coed tutor, and Lymarie, a Psychology Lecturer with a research focus on mental health and wellbeing, brought complimentary expertise and experience to the delivery. It was designed to be a step up from what trainees had done previously with us encouraging them to reflect on and develop their own practice.
The key principals were shared by the tutors through practical activities; throughout the course trainees were invited to take part in activities such as mindful whittling and forest bathing with opportunity to reflect on these experiences after. Important activities such as writing risk assessments and ecological impact surveys were also introduced. Near the end of the course, each participant was given the opportunity to lead a short session for the rest of the group to put into practice the elements of facilitation that had been shared during the course.
The time for self-reflection also gave trainees time to reflect on their personal journeys and nature connections. All taking part in the sunshine made this amazing learning experience even better!
