Primary Woodland Pilot Programme

At Urban Pursuit, we pride ourselves on building lasting relationships, giving young people the opportunity to develop trusting and respectful connections, and to know and be known by adults they look up to. We deeply believe in the power of outdoor adventure and have seen the social and emotional growth that is possible when children are placed in fun and challenging environments and encouraged to work together as a team.

It was with this in mind that Hamish and Martha, two of our Senior Adventure Youth Workers, set out to pilot a new provision building on the strengths of the work we already do at Urban Pursuit. Thanks to funding from the Alfie Nick Foundation, and the opportunity provided by Beard Construction’s woodland space, we were able to run a 12-week nature connection programme for a group of four Year 5 and 6 children.

This was a younger cohort than we usually work with, presenting a valuable opportunity for early intervention. All four of the boys were already experiencing significant behavioural challenges at school, linked to adverse childhood experiences, neurodivergence, and additional learning needs.

We began by establishing the group culture, with the children discussing and agreeing on the values they felt were important to uphold as a team. We placed strong emphasis on the boys having agency within the group, communicating openly about the reasons behind the decisions and boundaries we set, and being willing to engage in constructive conversations and negotiations with them.

The boys were actively involved in setting their own targets and were encouraged to reflect on them each week. At the end of each day, we held group reflections where the boys exchanged beads, which they kept on bracelets, to represent gratitude or recognition for something a peer had done. By the end of the programme, each of them was giving a bead to every member of the group, as well as to their youth workers, in celebration of one another’s achievements.

The sessions were thematically designed around the four elements: Fire, Air, Earth, and Water. Bushcraft is a key part of what we do at Urban Pursuit, and it was great to have the opportunity to focus on fire lighting, teaching the group how to build their own fires using matches, flint and steel, and even a bow drill.

During the Air weeks, we explored sound and breathing exercises to support emotional regulation. We visited high points across Bristol and experienced the thrill of jumping (on bikes), swinging, sliding, and running.

The Earth theme led us to explore maps, the native flora and fauna of the forest, and how to camouflage ourselves in the woods. We built shelters, visited a city farm, and learned more about where our food comes from.

Finally, during the Water sessions, we explored Cumberland Basin and Conham River Park, raced through muddy puddles, and finished the programme with a canoeing trip on Bristol Harbour.

We saw fantastic developments in all four boys, with particularly strong progress in safer risk-taking, improved self-esteem and self-talk, a greater willingness to try new things, better impulse control, increased emotional resilience, and the ability to build strong, caring, and communicative peer relationships.

We also heard from parents and the school that they had seen marked improvements in the boys’ ability to engage in school and regulate their emotions at home. All four consistently expressed enthusiasm for the sessions, reflected in almost 100% attendance.

For one of these young people particularly, the programme represented a huge transformation. Having struggled for months to leave the house or interact with peers at all before the intervention, he began bounding out of the house every Wednesday morning. He participated with delight, pushing beyond his comfort zone, making close friends, and achieving things he had never thought possible.

Building on the success of this programme, we have begun dreaming up ways to continue and develop this work further. One idea we are currently exploring is a transition group designed to support young people moving from Year 6 into Year 7, using similar outdoor, relationship-based approaches to help them build confidence, resilience, and a sense of belonging before starting secondary school.

If this is something that might be of interest to you or your school, we would love to hear from you as we begin gathering interest and shaping what this programme could become.

A huge thank you to the Alfie Nick Foundation for their generous funding support, which is helping make this programme possible and creating new opportunities for young people who need them most.

Check out OUR PROGRAMME or drop us a line to chat about how we can support your students: 👉 0117 239 0932 | office@urbanpursuit.co.uk