the wilderness is a forest experience…
...our tamariki fill up their tanks with fresh-air energy, soul-filling wellness, and the heartwarming experience of being included in something bigger than them....
we're a nature experience...
Here at Tūhura Wilderness, we don’t do alphabets, trigonometry or anything that resembles school – no pens, no screens, no homework, no classrooms – in fact, we don’t even have buildings!
Child-led free play is our aim – building huts, damming a stream, making gourmet mud cakes, stringing a forest-made bow and arrow, foraging, damper over the campfire…
Play that is led by the children and free from adult intervention is proven to create opportunities for the best learning. Whilst problem solving, exploring, working together, strengthening their resilience skills, and developing a sense of confidence in the forest, our tamariki fill up their tanks with fresh-air energy, soul-filling wellness, and the heartwarming experience of being included in something bigger than them.
Our kaitiaki support our tamariki to be safe and well through free play – providing an opportunity to empower our young people to make decisions, grow together, lead their peers, encounter challenges, find resolutions, experience mistakes, work through their emotions and feelings, and love the world around them. Our kaitiaki are all experienced, qualified and passionate.
a back story on forest initiatives...
A Forest School is an initiative that gives children a means to substantially engage in hands-on learning in a natural environment. Well known in Scandinavia, Germany, and the United Kingdom, Forest School is often incorporated into mainstream preschool and elementary schools where children access local woodlands during the school day to engage in nature-based activities that support healthy development. Previous research suggests that benefits from Forest School participation include increases in motivation, concentration, confidence, knowledge of the natural environment, and awareness of others...
The Forest School experience: fostered a greater awareness of the play affordances offered in a natural environment…; gave the children opportunities to challenge their own concerns about and develop a greater sense of comfort and safety with nature play; develop their knowledge and understanding of the environment, such as learning the names and habitats of local wildlife; helped nurture children’s biophilia by encouraging them to “emotionally connect with and develop and appreciation of the natural world.”
This study – Encouraging play in the natural environment: A child-focused case study of forest school – can be accessed here.