Not quite a teddy bears’ picnic, but if you do go down to the woods on Thursday mornings, you may find a bunny called Mary and a group of children nestled on a ring of fallen logs waiting for the Move and Explore, Forest School to begin.

James and Matt are running a 90-min session the morning I visit.  James explains it’s an unhurried, child-led approach to learning.  Children can explore the outdoors safely, learning about plants, animals and the basics of using simple tools.  Today the kids try Hapazome, which involves hammering down paper over ferns and grasses to make delicate naturally inked prints.

The sound of hammering gets going and Matt encourages older children to tree climb. Forest School is mainly aimed at pre-schoolers but today school is closed for polling day, so they’ve come along.  Matt’s a climbing instructor as well as Forest School leader and I listen to his conversations while clambering continues.  Unselfconsciously, they chat about safety, asking for help, and whether you can borrow someone else’s bravery.  It’s a conversation that Matt is gently steering beyond just tree climbing.

In nature, our brain produces more dopamine, oxytocin, serotonin, chemicals that make us feel good while lowering cortisol and adrenalin, the chemicals that keep us on high alert.  The Japanese call it “forest bathing” and as James puts it, children are simply “calmer and nicer”, at the end of Forest School.

Katy arrives with her mum, Liz. She’s younger than the others and feels shy, so opts to go with Mum to watch Boxing Circuits beneath the Oxleas cafe because this is Forest School with a difference. Carers can drop off children while they head for their own exercise, far enough away for an hour to themselves, close enough if needed.

I wander over to watch circuits. Liz is kicking big red boxing pads held by Tania, a blackbelt Tae Kwando and former ABA National Champion who runs the session. “Push, push” encourages Tania. Liz gives more wellie.  Leanne, who welcomed me this morning when I first arrived, is alternating kicks with punches, her face tense with effort. Someone else is lifting weights, another sprints back and forth and a third is doing an impressive number of burpees.  “2 mins up”, calls Tania and Liz, face red, brings her hands to her thighs and catches her breath, laughing.  Leanne smiles broadly too while the sprinter lies like a starfish panting on the ground.  There’s the smell of crushed grass in the air and parakeets call over the trees.

“It’s such a stress reliever” Leanne tells me, “so much fun and we’re chatting away while we do it”.  She’s a regular.  I can tell how much she loves it.

Katy, meanwhile, has left Mum to it because, Sally, from Gaia Collective, who masterminds this whole scheme has distracted her.  They’re blowing dandelion clocks into the breeze.  By the time I catch up with them, they are back at Forest School.  Children clad in neon yellow and wellie boots have arrived from Dee’s Childcare and are dragging branches and sticks into the log circle.  It’s a hive of activity.

This free programme started with funding from Sport England a few months ago.   Sally’s firm about their philosophy.  “It’s free because it’s so good for wellbeing.  Carers get space to exercise, be themselves, let off steam and connect with other adults, while children get freedom to play, cared for, outdoors, in the woods with all the benefits that gives.  We’re here all year round, even in the school holidays”.

When Liz returns to pick up Katy, I ask them what they thought.   “I loved it”, says Liz but Katy is too busy jumping up and down, waving her Hapazome print to answer, “Look what I did!” she’s saying, eyes wide, which kind of says it all.