Our outdoor classrooms are great for both the summer and winter, as here in the North of England it would be virtually impossible to schedule lessons around our ever changing weather. The removable roof (as pictured here) is designed and made in house, and can be tailored to any size, shape or specification.

Our innovative design also incorporates a number of educational features; the transparent sections of the roof are aligned to the points of the compass to teach navigation techniques, and we use a variety of tree species in its construction to help children develop their skills in tree identification. Where possible we support local businesses, regenerative woodland management practices and are always conscious of our environmental footprint. All of our wood products are sustainably harvested and the hardwoods are coppiced within the Arnside and Silverdale Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

Although den building areas are not a new concept, our design tries to emulate nature as much as possible, using sustainably harvested wood products throughout.

Building dens requires children to assess and select the materials that are most appropriate for each job, before moving and manipulating them to make them fit for purpose; making it a great way to improve team work and fine motor control skills. The den building area also teaches children responsibility and the finite reality of things, as at the end of the session they will need deconstructing for the next group.

We know that reading helps to develop emotionally, culturally, emotionally, intellectually and socially.  Phonics is a key element in helping children become successful readers but it certainly does not just have to be taught in the classroom.  By taking this essential form of learning outdoors it can really help bring the learning to life.  The outdoors as we know offers an exciting, engaging and stimulating environment

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We believe this is an a fantastic learning product for any forest school

These Tree cookies are compatible with our Phonics Board! We can create these in a way that completely suits your requirements - Letters, numbers, images! Or perhaps instead of a round 'cookie' you would prefer a different shape!

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Bring outdoor learning to life with outdoor durable items! Create a complete Bespoke package to suit you!

Contact us to discuss your requirements and we will be happy to give you a price!

I am sure we all remember making mud pies when we were children, but at Green Touch Landscapes we take it to the next level! Mud kitchens are fun, messy and a great way for kids to safely build up their immune systems.

We design and build each kitchen to order and preferably leave them outdoors to allow Mother Nature to do the dishes and wash the mud away. As pictured, the kitchen comes with all you need to make a great mud pie; a hob, an oven and a sink to ‘wash up’ in.We can repurpose and provide all of the utensils needed for the kitchen, but asking the children to stock the kitchen themselves can be a great idea too. It allows them to develop a sense of ownership whilst promoting the idea of sharing, as no one child will have everything they need to make a successful mud pie. The mud kitchen will also include a chalk board - the perfect place to write a recipe! I bet Jamie Oliver’s first dish was a mud pie!

Growing food can be one of the most rewarding and enjoyable experiences, for both children and adults alike. Planting, growing and harvesting fruit and vegetables teaches patience and responsibility, as well as being a great introduction to a variety of natural concepts including basic ecology, nutrition and global warming. This also creates a potential to take things further by teaching the children how they can cook the food that they have grown, demonstrating the whole process from earth to plate. Though we can now rely on supermarkets to produce our food, it is certainly still important that we all know and appreciate where it comes from.

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Fruit and vegetable growing areas can range from a small area with just one or two beds, to a much larger area where each class has an entire bed and/or section of a poly tunnel. This is entirely determined by the preferences and requirements of your school, and can be tailored specifically to your space. 

Willow weaving is a heritage skill that is rarely seen but universally admired. Each branch is woven into a structure during the winter months, before bursting into life in the spring.

We can create a wide range of structures including willow tunnels, arbours and domes which function as great places to play and explore. We can also add willow to any pre-existing structures –perhaps creating an arbour to shade a friendship bench, or weaving a fedge (fence/hedge) to create a natural barrier. The tunnels make a useful shade over a running track or creative entrance into an area. Though largely aesthetic, willow is a great introduction to the concept of plants as medicine. A little known fact is that willow bark is a natural pain reliever, and is the source of the primary component of aspirin. It and was used in beaver oil, as a headache remedy by the Victorians.

Bug hotels are a great way for the school and the pupils to give back to nature. Through consciously stacking pallets and using a wide variety of materials to fill it, we can generate micro environments for all those little beasties who spend their days pollinating our food and cleaning up our waste.

We can also design the lower section of our bug hotels to function as a home for hedgehogs, which in turn helps us to protect this rapidly declining species. With an increasing number of people incorporating patio and AstroTurf into their gardens, you can help to provide these species with new habitats and turn your school grounds into a veritable biodiversity hotspot.

However she can, Mother Nature will find a way to survive, but with the right help she will thrive. Most school sites have at least some areas that are not reaching their full potential; whether that be a grassy corner that is barely used, or a tree line that lacks diversity. 

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Green Touch Landscapes aims to use every bit of space to maximise the ecological value at each site. Not all species can be planted anywhere and within our team we have the knowledge and experience to make any space a little haven for wildlife. The children can watch and measure how the site develops; noticing the species that do well and those that struggle – a great exercise in mapping ecological changes. We also hope to involve and work with the children in creating these spaces, and try to give them as much understanding as possible about the benefits of what we are doing, and how the area will grow over time. There is something very inspiring about helping a child to plant an oak tree, and enlightening them to the fact that their great great great great great great grandchild could one day play under it in 500 years.

Ponds are great for wildlife and are home to a myriad of species. At some point most of us have dipped our nets into a river or the sea to see what we can find and remember the excitement of catching a little water boatman or larvae of some description. Much like a meadow or woodland, the ecology of a pond changes and develops over time, and provides a great visual resource to teach children about the natural world.

The dipping ponds pictured here can be made in a variety of depths and sizes, to accommodate for children of different ages, and to show how environmental factors can affect ecological development. The ponds can also be used to discuss water safety and come with removable wire mesh lids in order to make sure they are only accessible in the presence of a responsible adult. 

We make and install all our own bird and bat boxes in order to give their populations a helping hand. These boxes are made from all natural untreated wood that can accommodate a variety of our winged species, and can be placed in easily viewable spots to enable the children to observe their rich diversity. 

The run a mile initiative was actually launched in Green Touch Landscapes home village of Warton. It is self-evident that running and exercise are beneficial for mind, body and soul. We can construct any length of path from almost any material, though we prefer to use local compressed natural stone for hard wearing paths.

When it comes to paths in play areas we would always suggest a soft edged wood chip, as it stops well-trodden paths from becoming muddy and avoids installing potential trip hazards. A nice added benefit of wood chip is that as it decomposes it becomes food for all sorts of little beasties. It is a little known fact that the dead wood in a woodland is the most valuable as it is food for the rest of the ecosystem. It is also handy that wood chip is relatively inexpensive or sometimes free for some schools/teachers.

Within our team we have experience in constructing every size of shed and building; from your small bike store to full garden rooms. We can do the ground works, order the shed/building and install whatever you would like. No job too big or small.

Our Celtic ancestors living in the Iron Age used the wattle and daub technique to construct weatherproof walls and structures.

Wattle and daub houses are created using a woven lattice of wooden strips called wattle, and daubed using a mixture of clay, horse manure and straw to create the walls, and traditional Celtic thatching techniques to create the roof. This technique has been used for over 6000 years, and is still an important construction material in many parts of the world. 

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Bringing this old heritage craft to the playground is the perfect way to get creative like our ancestors, as the non-toxic materials are perfect for mud arts and crafts. Children are able to decorate the house inside and out with cave paintings and Celtic runes, or just have fun expressing their creativity!

Extensive research around the world has shown that trees have a special impact on our mental health. Having access to woodlands and nature has been shown to decrease anxiety and depression, and improve our mental, social and physical health. 

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To enable our children to reap the benefits of the natural world, we aim to maximise biodiversity wherever possible in the school environment. We can make full use of unoccupied spaces by planting varieties of standard tree, and potentially allowing the rewilding of the space around them. We hope that this will get children and teachers talking about how this might benefit the environment, whilst also helping to reduce the maintenance required in the outdoor space. 

We aim to create a diverse mosaic of trees that range in size and maturity, giving vibrant woodland with a truly natural feel to it. The woodland creation projects can also work alongside that of the Woodland Trust, who make woodland tree packs available to schools. 

Our design boards allow the children to really get their creative juices flowing. We provide chalk boards with an all-natural wood surrounding, which can be the perfect accompaniment to any mud kitchen or den building area.

Children can use natural chalk to draw and write while they play, before their art is washed away by the rainwater, ready for the next time. 

Our wood carvings are a beautiful accompaniment to a storytelling area, or anywhere within the school grounds. We can provide carvings of almost anything upon request; perhaps a favourite character from a book or film, or mushrooms and seats for a fairy circle.

Our woodwork expert is available to create any carving upon request on sight, allowing children to learn about the craft, and hopefully inspiring our next generation of artists. 

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To see more carvings created by Mike Burgess click here 

Bespoke handcrafted signs can be designed and tailored to exact requirements upon request. All being completely weatherproof, we use carving, painting and pokerwork techniques to create the signs that you need to enhance your outdoor experience.

If you would like a display board or memorial board, map or signposting, we can create the perfect piece to both inspire and inform. 

In a nutshell, we are your one stop shop for all things forest schools and/or outdoor work; you tell us your dreams, and we will make it happen. This is not an exhaustive list of what we can do but merely the highlights.

If you would like something that is not listed above please just give us a call and we will do our very best to help….because connecting little people with the planet is what we do!