🌿 Home Education Science Forest School

Join Bugs, Bones & Botany CIC for hands-on science, woodland exploration and Forest School at Dorset Falconry Park, just outside Dorchester.

Our small, relaxed Home Education group combines the child-led ethos of Forest School with science, ecology, practical skills, play and discovery.

With our woodland base, ponds, meadow and The Field Lab, children have the freedom to investigate the natural world both outdoors and in, following discoveries from the field back to microscopes, specimens and resources in the lab. 🔬🌿

There will always be things to investigate and activities to try, but children also have plenty of freedom to explore, play, create, get muddy, follow their own interests or simply relax in a hammock beneath the trees.

📅 Sessions

Every Wednesday during school term time

⏰ 10:00am–2:00pm

During school holidays, keep an eye out for our special events, workshops and holiday clubs instead! 🌿🔬

🎟️ Flexible Booking

2-hour session – £10

4-hour session – £20

Sibling discounts available

🌱 Under 5s

Younger siblings under 5 are very welcome to come along for £5 for the full 4-hour session, provided a parent or responsible adult stays with them.

This allows them to join in with the activities, use our resources and enjoy hot chocolate and marshmallows too. 🔥☕

Under-5 places are intended for younger siblings attending alongside a booked Home Education child, rather than as standalone places.

The full 4-hour session includes marshmallows and hot chocolate, usually enjoyed around the campfire when conditions allow.

Sessions are deliberately kept small, with a maximum of 10 children, allowing us to adapt activities to the children attending and make the most of all the different spaces available to us.

🔬 What Do We Get Up To?

No two Wednesdays are exactly the same.

Activities change with the seasons, what is happening in the woodland, the things we discover and, importantly, what the children become interested in.

🪲 Bug hunting and investigating woodland ecology

🌳 Identifying plants and trees

🔬 Hands-on science experiments and investigations

🐾 Looking for tracks, signs and evidence of wildlife

💧 Pond dipping and freshwater ecology

🌦️ Recording weather and seasonal changes

🔬 Using microscopes to take a closer look at our discoveries

🦴 Investigating natural history specimens

🎨 Nature crafts, making and creative projects

🛖 Den building and woodland skills

🔥 Fire lighting, campfire cooking and outdoor skills

🪢 Developing balance, coordination and confidence on the slackline and tyre obstacle course

🧪 Creating gloriously messy experiments in the Mud Lab

🌱 Growing plants, creating habitats and contributing to our developing site

🌿 Or disappearing down an entirely unexpected scientific rabbit hole!

There is no expectation that every child participates in every planned activity.

Children can choose to investigate something else, build, play, explore or take some quiet time. Forest School gives children the space and time to develop confidence, independence, curiosity and practical skills through experience.

🌳 Our Woodland Base

One of the things we love about our Dorchester site is the variety of spaces available to us.

We're gradually developing our Forest School base with the children who use it, giving regular attendees the chance to contribute ideas and see their projects develop over time.

We have access to two different woodland areas, providing plenty of space for exploration, activities and free play.

Within our developing Forest School space you'll find:

🧪 Mud Lab

🪢 Slackline

🛞 Tyre obstacle course

🛖 Willow dome

💤 Hammocks amongst the trees

🦋 Developing butterfly garden and bug hotel

🌳 Woodland space for building, investigating, exploring and playing

The hammocks also provide somewhere to swing, chat, watch the canopy, read or simply take a quieter moment away from the main activity.

🦋 Projects We're Developing Together

Our current projects include creating a butterfly garden and bug hotel, with the children helping to shape and develop the habitat as the group grows.

We'll be able to plant, build, observe what arrives, record the species we find and continue adapting the area for insects and other wildlife.

Over time there will be plenty more opportunities for planting, habitat creation, woodland projects, experiments and children's own ideas.

Because children can return regularly, they can revisit their projects, watch them change through the seasons and see the results of things they've helped to create.

🌾 Beyond the Woods

We also have access to:

🌾 A large meadow for games, activities, wildlife watching and seasonal investigations

💧 Two ponds for pond dipping, freshwater ecology and investigating the plants and animals living in and around the water

🪑 Covered outdoor seating

🚻 On-site toilets, including an accessible toilet

And then there's our indoor base...

🔬 The Field Lab

The Field Lab is our dedicated indoor science and discovery space at Dorset Falconry Park.

It gives us somewhere to take our outdoor discoveries for a closer look, continue investigations, work on projects and delve deeper into whatever has captured our curiosity.

The Field Lab is developing alongside our woodland base and includes a growing natural history collection and mini lab, with microscopes, specimens, books and scientific resources available to investigate.

Inside we can:

🔬 Use microscopes and investigate samples

🦴 Examine natural history specimens

🧪 Carry out experiments and practical science

🎨 Make, draw, build and create

📚 Use books, identification guides and educational resources

🌱 Plan and record our longer-term projects

🎲 Play games or choose quieter activities

🪑 Work independently or together around the tables

Sometimes we'll use The Field Lab as part of a planned investigation, moving between indoor and outdoor science during the same session.

And when Dorset weather produces very heavy rain or high winds, it means the learning doesn't have to stop.

We simply change habitats. 🌧️➡️🔬

👧🧒 Who Are These Sessions For?

These sessions are for home-educated children who enjoy science, nature, making, exploring, playing and getting a little muddy!

Children don't need to arrive with lots of scientific knowledge. Curiosity is more than enough.

Through regular sessions, children have opportunities to develop:

🌱 Confidence and independence

🧠 Curiosity and problem solving

🤝 Social skills and collaboration

🪵 Practical woodland skills

💪 Resilience and appropriate risk-taking

🔬 Scientific thinking, investigation and observation

🌍 A deeper connection with and understanding of the natural world

Our small group size means activities can be adapted to the children attending rather than expecting every learner to approach something in exactly the same way.

Parents and carers are very welcome to stay – Forest School is for everyone! This can be particularly helpful during a child's first few sessions while they become familiar with the group and environment.

🌱 More Than a Weekly Activity

Our aim is to create a regular Home Education community where children become familiar with the woodland, The Field Lab and each other, and begin to feel that these are their spaces too.

Children can return to projects, notice seasonal changes, develop friendships, build confidence, learn new skills and contribute their own ideas about what we investigate or create next.

One week might involve microscopes and identification keys. Another might involve building something, cooking over the fire, pond dipping, creating a habitat or spending an unexpectedly large amount of time investigating one particularly interesting beetle.

That's part of the fun. 🪲

📋 Consent & Medical Form

A Consent & Medical Form must be completed before your child's first session.

The form only needs to be completed once, unless any of your details change, such as your address, emergency contacts or medical information.

Complete the form here:

https://forms.gle/A8PmBWkQmkJpxApJ6

If you have any difficulty accessing Google Forms, please get in touch and I can provide a Word version that can be completed electronically or printed and brought along to your first session.

📧 bugsbonesandbotany@gmail.com

We look forward to exploring with you! 🌿🔬🪲

Bugs, Bones & Botany CIC