This blog is brought to you by some of the looks of horror that we catch every so often from new visitors to Wildwood Days when we mention the composting toileting facilities at the beginning of one of our sessions.

A composting toilet, it would seem, can induce some apprehension upon first consideration. Undeniably, it is a more rustic and rudimentary system of waste management in comparison to the amazing indoor flush toilets of our homes. However, at Wildwood we are careful to manage our toilet carefully to reduce any concerns that visitors new to this system may have initially.

Where We are Up to Currently:

The Building: We have been very lucky to have the composting toilet from almost the very beginning as our lovely landowner Peter built it in the first few months of our tenancy followed very shortly by the first incarnation of our shelter facilities. It is a simple construction which utilises the natural higher slopes of the old railway sidings. So the main building is on stilts sitting neatly against the soil banking and this creates a natural drop system which has clearance from underneath.

The inside of the toilet cubicle is luxurious by forest school or bush-craft standards. Indeed, there’s a normal toilet seat and lid set upon a raised lined wooden box to provide the pedestal seating we are used to at home. Moreover, there are a couple of steps for littler legs, a potty and a toddler seat that can be placed under the adult toilet seat for little bums. In addition we have squeezed a low set urinal for boys wanting to stand-up wee who struggle with the box pedestal. See – very hospitable! No wild weeing necessary here!

But quite seriously, as mums we understand having to go to the loo away from home can be trigger point for little ones (and big ones too – I’m not that keen on going to strange loos myself!) so we have tried to provide our version of a rustic, fairly painless, toileting experience…no hand dryers here! 🙂

Moreover, we use Who Gives a Crap 100% recycled toilet paper which we buy in bulk and recycle the toilet rolls and paper packaging into our sessions. Who Gives a Crap toilet paper uses no dyes, inks or scents and so is not only very environmentally friendly but a very gentle paper for your nether regions. What’s more, impressively they also donate 50% of their profits to building toilets in places of need.

Hygiene: This comes under two sub-headings: Users and Cleaning. So, users of our wonderful Wildwood Toilet have the option of alcohol hygiene gel which is positioned on the wall next to the door OR as not everyone big and small is into more astringent alcohol gel we provide a washing sink in the main shelter where there is warm water and soap on a rope available to wash hands.

Furthermore, for cleaning of the toilet block itself we do a combination of the following: the toilet seat, lid and box, potty, toddler seat and urinal are cleaned with disinfectant wipes at the end of every working day. The building is swept out with one of our homemade witch’s brooms every few weeks (sometimes we even sweep off the odd cobweb…we don’t tend to notice them anymore; I think we may have become a bit too wilded 🙂 ) Every so often the urinal and building floor are swilled out with soapy water but with all the mud on site it’s not long at all before you wouldn’t know.

Future Plans and Considerations:

We have been conscience for quite a while that we do not provide a designated baby change area. Our families are very understanding and in the way that we mums do they make use of what there is in the shelter area (our bigger wide bench area) or they use the boot of their car just before they leave when they are getting their little ones back into the car anyway. However, it is a subject that comes around during our planning and development meetings so at some point I’m sure we will come up with a suitable solution for everyone…Our main concerns so far have included issues like introducing an ugly plastic change table into an already cosy toilet cubicle which wouldn’t sit well in our rather rustic woodiness and the un-recyclable nature of wipes etc and our bid to become as waste free as we can as a business. Therefore, if you have any ideas we are open to suggestions so do shout if you can think of something we could try!

MUD. Well not just mud but it is a good place to start

MUD: Oopy, gloopy, crumbly, pie, paint and putty…mmm clay too.

WIND: Cold, whirling, billowing, swaying, sky, birds and flags flying.

WOOD: Knobbley, knarled, smooth, burning and workable.

RAIN: Feeling on your face, puddles that are ace and water collection that plays with forces and consistencies.

TREES: Climbing, hiding, dens, sticks and leaves. Shade, sun through canopy, bark and seed, nut and berry.

SUNSHINE: Warmth, growth, light, dry, flowers, bees and butterflies.

The list could go on and on…There is just so much to appreciate outside across the seasons.

Officially, Forest School is defined by the Forest School Association as: ‘an inspirational process that offers ALL learners regular opportunities to achieve and develop confidence and self esteem through hands-on learning experiences in a woodland or natural environment.’

It is facilitated by Forest School Level 3 Leaders who have trained and demonstrated their competency and understanding of all aspects of outdoor education provision including safe tool and fire management, adult/child development and needs, woodland management and conservation and creation and maintenance of all the many policies and procedures that enable successful, safe and legal Forest School practice.

So, to break this down a bit, Forest School is about the carefully facilitated opportunity to:

• Be inspired
• Achieve a personal goal
• Develop confidence and self-esteem
• Get hands-on and take risks
• Have regular access to a woodland or natural environment
• Grow an understanding and participate in conservation

In future blogs we will have a look at some of these elements in more detail.

Indeed, at Wildwood we really enjoy the imaginative creativity of designing an inspirational experience for our visitors and we plan thoroughly to facilitate plenty of opportunities for confidence and self-esteem building and achievement. However, for us, the most important element of Forest School, as an educational and environmental ethos, is that of consistent, regular and ongoing accessibility to a natural environment (preferably with trees), whatever the weather.

Why?

Because… we believe that people of all ages need to be outside experiencing nature as it changes and evolves around its fascinating year long cycle. Moreover, as people, big and small, we feel good outside. There are plenty of studies out there detailing all the health benefits of being in a natural environment; to name but a few benefits: we feel calm, our stress levels and blood pressure drop and we have increased feelings of well being and pleasure. At Wildwood, we think this can be achieved even in the pouring rain!! You just need to be suited and booted appropriately 🙂

But don’t get me wrong. It is fantastic when schools organize outdoor school trips and families get out on a good day and go for an outdoor event, a walk or picnic or build a mud kitchen in the garden. These are all great moves in the direction of Forest School! Each and every venture outdoors is fantastic and most definitely counts. Nevertheless, as Sara Knight in her book ‘Forest School and Outdoor Learning in the Early Years’ defines…

“Forest School is a long term process with frequent and regular sessions in a local natural space, not a one-off visit. Planning, adaptation, observations and reviewing are integral elements.”

…true Forest School is a solid commitment to week in week out, rain or shine, every season. It requires bags of enthusiasm and creativity to facilitate support and at times lead (more about how we plan our provision here) within an outdoor learning environment whilst managing all the logistical and practical elements that this entails. At Wildwood, we feel very lucky to do what we do and we really love the changes and gifts of every season. All the same, when the sun shines we feel we have earned that day’s gift through our dedication during all the rainy and cold sessions where we worked hard to keep everyone warm and able to enjoy the woods AND the wind, rain and snow 🙂  (Interested in how we look after ourselves and everyone else during the winter months the check out this blog)

This week we have been getting all outdoor arty which has been tremendous fun in the Autumn sun 🙂

Ha, ha! Poets and we didn’t know it…

Anyway, back to the art…Autumn is a fantastic time of year for foraged findings artwork. There is so much available on the ground to collect, dry and play with. You can just imagine what our houses look like with drying trays and varying receptacles everywhere containing said finds in their various states. I’m not sure how our families put up with us lol!

However, our particularly fantastic collection of natural treasure has inspired us this week to have a bash at some truly Andy Goldsworthy quality mmm maybe slightly ambitious there but…yeah damn good quality nature bug art:

Moreover, we’ve also had:

• a Picasso corner with mud and leaf paint which also doubled as a really cute peepo wall for our little painters
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• gross motor natural art construction with drift wood and fir fronds, pine cones and hazel wands
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• a weaving stump
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• pincer grip practice with charcoal – fresh from last week’s fire – drawing and leaf printing
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• and an interesting new experiment with Laural leaf embossing…I know, give me an oooooo. And who doesn’t need to wield a rolling pin every now and then. We loved the way the pattern deepens over time and forms a red tint against the green leaf – an unexpected but delightful outcome. We will have to test out some other leaves too
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It has been so cool seeing everyone’s unique creations and very absorbed concentration in their endeavours. Our toddlers and accompanying families always give it all their all and we were certainly not disappointed this week. Well done everyone!