Off Grid festival and Hennock Fayre.

Last weekend the webmaster got out from behind my keyboard and headed down to Devon to help out Sylvan Adventures in person.  Unfortunately I live over two hours away so am not able to help in person as often as I would like. 

Off Grid festival

Off Grid Festival

On Saturday we were on the road bright and early to help at the Off-Grid Festival.  Sylvan Adventures ran the Wild Wood area. The Wild Wood was a quiet, cool haven set away from the main festival. The weather was glorious so the shade of the mature trees was lovely and the area was busy all day with some folks just relaxing in the trees and nets or continuing to develop their skills with the shave horses in constant use. Throughout the weekend there were scheduled activities including bug hunts, green woodworking, shave horses, twilight nature walk, fire making and bat walks.

Off Grid festival Wild Woods and shave horses

Off Grid Festival firelighting and camp fire stories

 

Off Grid festival Wild Woods and shave horses

Off Grid festival Wild Woods chilling in the nets

Off Grid Festival Feedback

I taught archery all day mostly working one to one with children and adults to not only ensure they had a good time but also to help them improve their skills and technique. We had several regulars who kept coming back and they came on leaps and bounds with their skills and hopefully left feeling accomplished and satisfied. The day wound down with a twilight bat walk, fire twirling and marshmallows and stories around the camp fire led by Dan

20160813_105530Off grid festival teaching archery

Up early on Sunday we headed over to Hennock Village Fayre to teach archery. Another glorious day had me don a funny hat (better that than sunburn). I was on the go all day teaching everyone from 3 year olds and up. Once again aiming to deliver skills and fun and more often than not I guided the young archers to get a gold on their last one or two arrows which would lead to a round of applause from the spectators.

20160814_124726 Hennock Fayre archery range 20160814_112004

Hennock Fayre archery range, family shooting bows

Overall an excellent but tiring weekend!

This will be the first of a series of blog posts from me detailing what I have been up to over the spring and summer. Even though I don’t often work closely with the Sylvan team I aim to get out in nature with my camera as often as I can.

“I like this place and could willingly waste my time in it.”
William Shakespeare

http://www.hennock.org.uk/

http://offgrid-festival.co.uk/

 

 

Dangerous Dads Torbay launch event

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                      It’s not everyday you get to be involved in the birth of something, but we had the pleasure to support the launch event of  “Dangerous Dads Torbay” community group on Saturday 18th April between 1 and 4 pm at Primley Park in Torbay. This new community group is also being supported by Action for Children Torbay with its aim to provide free monthly activity events for Dads and male carers with at least one child under five.

                       We were joined by 18 children and 8 dads on a beautiful sunny spring afternoon, with the smell of wild garlic blowing on the breeze as we explored and play in Primley Park nature reserve in Torbay. There were requests for the old favorites like hide and seek, which we did. It was brilliant watching the dads and their children playing and interacting together, either as they hide amongst the undergrowth or supporting them in counting.

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            Then we made our way to base camp for den and fire making activities, with all the dads and their children busy playing, socialising and discovering the wonders this nature reserve has to offer. Some enjoyed the delights at lighting their first fire with a flint and steel, which is not as easy as it looks,

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        Whilst other undertook the challenge of building dens using natural materials and tarps, creating their own woodland palaces:

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          After all this fun and physical activity, they all were keen not only to toast some marshmallows, but to try some campfire popcorn, as you can see there was more then enough to go around, before heading home very muddy and tired.

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         For more information on Dangerous Dads Torbay, or it’s next event please check us out and like their Facebook page Dangerous Dads Torbay,  or email Dan on danbest@sylvanadventures.org

Summer Here.

Well the summer holidays is here and what lovely weather we have had so far.

Chilling in the sunshine
Chilling in the sunshine

So with schools out for the holidays, our activities have  also changed from Forest School sessions to outdoor play sessions and community workshops. It started with a beautiful sunny day for Preston Picnic, where we were helped at the event with young people from our Nature Explorer Project. The activities on offer included clay creatures, tree medals and whittling, we were busy all day long with excited children and young people.

For the rest of the holidays we are busy supporting outdoor  play sessions for a variety of organisations including:

Outdoor play sessions at  an adventure playground in Torquay for Play Torbay.

Birthday parties and woodland holiday club for A Touch of Wild.

Last couple of Nature Explorer Sessions in Torbay, a project funded by New Wave Torbay.

A Wandering Whittling craft workshop for Centre Peace in Paignton.

 

Sylvan Bear getting our workshop ready.
Sylvan Bear getting our workshop ready.

And lastly on bank holiday weekend in  August, we are organising and delivering the outdoor play session with Outdoor People at Exhale festival. More details to follow.

 

 

 

 

Lets Talk about Play

Well you know the old saying, “when one door closes another opens”. That is whats happening to me this March with my play opportunities.

Last September I was very lucky to be successful in gaining a place on a playwork study tour to Copenhagen, Denmark, investigating adventure playground, afterschool clubs and forest school settings with 7 other playwork professionals from around the UK. It was a very busy, but an exciting week with over 25 play settings visit and 350 photographs taken, were I had specific duties of using social media to record our playwork journey. Here is the web link for the mobility trip journal, I took of our amazing time in Copenhagen:

http://www.mobilytrip.com/user/sylvanadventures

One of the conditions of attending the study tour, was too attend the 12th National Play conference in Eastbourne, which of course I was happy to attend. But I didnt have any real duties to perform, because of doing the social media stuff on the tour or so I thought. Well I really enjoyed the study tour and still reflecting on what I saw and heard there, but didn’t expect anything else to come of it so you could say the door closed.

Well another door opened in February, when Dr Mel McCree (whom I met on the Danish study tour), had to cancel giving her presentation due to ill health. However she suggested I deliver the work on “Could play workers benefit from Forest School training?”, which of course I was delighted to deliver, so another door opened.

 

Jpeg

Whilst at the play conference on the 4 and 5th March, another workshop was cancelled. This time whittling, one of my favourite past times so I offered to deliver for it. Such an amazing opportunity with about 30 adults joining me and a friend (thanks Jem Collins for your help) for a one hour whittling session. Now that door has closed, two more have opened both involving me giving presentation on play and adventure playgrounds, one is happen on 28th March as part of the Somerset Play Forum . The other presentation is happening on 2nd April in Totnes, with the aim of raising the awareness of the benefits adventure playgrounds to the community.

totnes talk

Come and join me and some of my fellow playwork travellers, as we speak about our playwork discoveries from the study tours, on 2nd April.

 

Playful Memories, a seed is born?

Whilst building the website I found a document that dates from September 2012 during the Play England Exploring Nature Play Project South West. It was written by my colleague, Jane Hembrow, Project Officer for Exploring Nature Play South West for Play England. It may well have been the seed from which Sylvan Adventures developed. It made me smile so I thought I would share it.

Dan Best
Sylvan Adventures

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Listening to Chris Evans show this morning I was reminded of something that took place during the summer. Imagine if you will, a circle of people who have been brought together, prior to this week they were mainly strangers and are now sat (having received a “how to, how not to” brief) in a circle enjoying the late summer sun. They have sticks and knives, and the discussion goes like this .. where have you been on holiday? .. natter natter .. Is it true that the water that goes down the plug hole in Australia goes down the opposite way to here? … natter natter …Did you enjoy the theatre the other evening? .. natter natter .then one of the group gets out a ukulele and starts playing, slowly and quietly .. taking requests … the whittling continues, things are starting to take shape ….then a strange but rather magical thing happens .. a rather thoughtful, but shy member of the group “Robin” moves around the back of the circle and stands behind the musician, he is transfixed by the tune that is being played – Louis Armstrong’s “Wonderful World” – he starts to sing along, beautifully accompanying his new friend … a continued peace envelopes the group … and knowing looks are passed amongst some .. all very lovely you may think!

But what was really special about this is that it was a group of 11 year old boys meeting for the first time this week before they start secondary school as part of Torbay’s Summer school project. They had started the week, lively slightly disruptive, runners in the group had already been identified by the teachers, playworkers had through observation checked out those that would benefit from outdoor play. And here they were a group of such children including a “runner”, (a visit earlier in the week had allowed our “Robin” – from batman and Robin – his choice of name as Robin is always dissapearing!) the opportunity to show us what he liked doing and after a chat had made a really best friend of one of the playworkers) 2 or 3 “disruptives”, a couple so shy that they had not engaged with the sport or art on offer .. but here they were back with the playworkers ( their favourite place), whittling wood, careful thoughtful conversation, and the most beautiful musical offering .. it is indeed a “Wonderful World” and this group had certainly experienced it as part of their “Exploring Nature play” session! (During the session the school lead had popped out to check and make sure everything was OK and was totally amazed by what he found – this group totally absorbed in the wood whittling, high level conversation, afterwards he had told us that he was blown away! and just wished that the school could meet the needs of these youngsters in the same way… but he feared that this wouldn’t be possible …..Our Community Play Development worker is popping back to school soon to see how play can support them to make sure it continues to be a Wonderful world for these young people….

Happy new year and Sylvan Adventures Website live

New Sylvan Adventures Website live

Happy new year everyone! We’ve been stuck indoors beavering away for nearly the last week and the website is just about done! We can’t wait to get Sylvan Bear from Hibernation (Ashburton) and get outdoors. It may not be perfect so if you spot any mistakes or have any comments please let us know.

New Logo

We also have a new logo  (Thanks to Vicky Smith, contact us for her contact details), the lovely otter face has been moved to cover our family adventures so he isn’t far away!

Sylvan Adventures website Logo

Quotes!

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We’ve also created a libary of lovely quotes from John Muir and other adventurers and you will find a few quotes dotted around the site, I hope you enjoy them as much as we did finding them.  Do you have a favourite nature quote? let us know.

Dan Best
Sylvan Adventures

Volunteering opportunities

If you are interested in outdoor education or play you could volunteer with us, learn skills, help the community and possibly gain certificates. Please contact us for more information.

Dan Best
Sylvan Adventures