BRISTOL MEMORIAL WOODLANDS OFFERS OUTDOOR PLAY OPPORTUNITIES TO LOCAL SCHOOLS AND CHILDRENS GROUPS A beautiful woodland location in Alveston, near Thornbury, is being offered up to schools and other play groups as a setting for outdoor exploration, forest schools and nature play sessions.
“We have been running outdoor sessions at Bristol Memorial Woodlands for a while now and it’s fantastic. We get a small grant which allows us to run two sessions a day for four or five days, a few times a year.
Bristol Memorial Woodlands in South Gloucestershire offers nearly 100 acres of woodland, meadows and picnic spots suitable for school, nursery and extracurricular groups to visit and explore.
“The children we take are pre-schoolers with autism and other additional needs and it’s amazing how much their language and communication skills come on during the sessions.
Primarily a funeral venue, the setting is also open to the public all year round for walks and the founders are keen to introduce more children to its unique and tranquil environment.
“We work on independent skills and confidence and just allow them to run around and be children without the restraints of parents or teachers. The children learn new skills, take risks and do things they wouldn’t usually have the chance to do.
One play scheme which already uses the site on a regular basis is aimed at pre-school children with autism and other additional needs, and the leaders say being out in nature has great benefits for the youngsters. Early years specialists Jane Gulliver and Karen Norton, who run the playscheme, said:
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“Bristol Memorial Woodlands have provided us with the space to set up a base camp with a log circle and a mud kitchen. We light a fire and toast marshmallows and do some cooking activities, it’s great fun and supports children’s play, development as well as their wellbeing.
