"Rain or Sun,
Get your Wellies on!
TAKE A TOUR
Welcome to the natural home of Wild Wellies Forest School and the beguiling world of Wild Wellies (tales, and treasures!).
I brought Wild Wellies Forest School to life as a celebration of nature. But the delight of exploring it with children and families and seeing the multitude of benefits keeps me enjoying my work every day. I've added a few more feathers to my cap since then - outdoor first-aid, mental health first-aid, safeguarding and food hygiene certification too.
What brings me the most joy? At work-It's seeing children delve into a newfound passion and guiding them to transform it into a skill they can nurture. At home- making my teens laugh, hanging out with my pets, and tasting flavours from around the world!
My passion for nurturing children in the great outdoors has bloomed into various innovative ways to help them cherish it. I’ve got forest schoolsessions for everyone, treasure bags, books, and an annual art contest to fuel their love for and connect to nature. -Ema Lou Rowe
What interests you?
- *PreSchool TreeSchool*: A realm of joy and knowledge for both young ones and the wise. (Thursday mornings)
- *Embark on a journey to *Grown-up Wellness & Create*: A serene haven for personal reflection and artistic endeavors, exclusively for adults.
- *Venture into the *Family Forest School*: Discover woodland wonders, master tools, engage in activities, and kindle fires of adventure. (Holiday sessions)
- *All Fired Up!*: A tranquil haven for Tweens & Teens to unleash their creativity and spark flames of innovation.
- *Join the *Home Ed Forest School*: Let children lead the way through adventures with tools, fire, activities, and moments of serenity. ( Thursday afternoons)
- Celebrate with *Birthday Parties!*: Delight in tailored celebrations for children of all ages, promising unforgettable memories!
what people say..
From Families
At Festivals
“It’s been great having Ema and Wild Wellies on board at the Minehead Bay Festival for the last 3 years. She always delivers fantastic family activities with a real focus on nature and sustainability. She always goes the extra mile to ensure her area at the festival looks fantastic. Ema has been really easy to work with, which is essential for us to know we have local artists and creatives go above and beyond!”
Zara- Project Coordinator
“I can run and jump and be free.
The hot chocolate is yummy,
I feel happy here.”
-’I’ Home Ed
“We often go on wanders but when
he tells me about the insects he finds, I
realise how valuable Forest schools are!”
— PreSchool mum
In the Community
Beach photography-
link to Jame A photography
What is Forest School?
Forest School as a concept goes back to 1800’s in Europe. But it was picked up by the Scandinavians and became an integral part of early years Outdoor Learning, in the 20th Century.
In 1992 a team from Bridgwater college went over to Denmark and studied the teaching concept which they brought home and developed into Forest School.
Wild Wellies Forest School gives your child a chance to explore the world through a forest school environment. By following Forest School association 6 principles, guidelines and risk assessments, Wild Wellies gives your child the space to develop their language, social skills, motor skills and learn self risk. Your child will be encouraged to use own knowledge, which they bring to the exploration and connection with nature, this in turn helps to build their own self esteem. We then reinforce this with positive affirmations and open the doors, they have found to new worlds.
Wild Wellies Shopping!
Animal breathing cards
Help your child to support themselves when their emotions become over whelming with these animal breathing cards.
💚11 x animal breathing cards.
💚1 x 'my breath' card to personalise with their own animal.
💚1x instruction card.
💚1x cover card.
💚1x gauze bag
£6.50 per set
My books
💚My Favourite Tree - A keepsake Journal book to encourage a child to find, watch & celebrate their favourite tree. Includes story and activities .
💚The Snowdrop Tree- written in collaboration with child bereavement charity 'Slide Away ' A grief support book for adults with children. Includes a story, activities and support notes.
Treasure bags
💚They can be laid flat for collecting.
💚 No more pockets full of 'treasures'.
💚They can only take home what they carry ( you're welcome!).
💚Fully washable (take off bead if going in the tumble dryer).
💚 Natural string tie
♻️Made from recycled fleece
jumpers or blankets♻️. ✅
Two sizes:
approx 30cm diameter.....£5
Approx 52cm diameter....£8
To buy:
Wild Wellies Shopping!
Treasure bags
After I had my eldest, I couldnt find any activities to do with him outside. So I let families know I was going to be in certain places on Exmoor then we would walk, stop for an activity and story and…. Well, it was lovely, sociable exploring, learning and creativity . I did this for quite a few years part time (alongside working for a children’s charity and Youth organisation)in the holidays and then someone suggested that I should look at Forest school training and it’s ethos.
I’d finally found my tribe. 💚
I funded myself on my Forest School journey, training as a Level 3 Forest leader, under the watchful eye of John Blaney, a Forest School pioneer in outdoor kindergarten methodologies. But it took me another 12 years to actually take a leap into being self-employed.
Hard work driving the business but no regrets.
Evolutary new projects which have been created in response to a child’s needs to expand their enjoyment when they are outside such as my recycled treasure bags because children always fill their pockets with things on walks. But also a need to help children connect with the natural world around them, in their fast, busy worlds so I wrote and illustrated my first book ‘‘My Favourite Tree which In turn generated the ‘‘My Favourite Tree childrens art competition.
My work has always been child centred and nature surrounded. This sometimes means caring for the families too but also being an integral part of my community.
Evolution of Wild Wellies
My Favourite Tree
Children’s Art competition
Three years ago following the publication of my book ‘My Favourite Tree’ I realised that something else was missing.
Whenever I work with a new group of children I always do a warm up with some quick questions and quick drawings. I ask them what their favourite food is or what their favourite superhero is and they can always answer with lots of explanations why. So while walking my old dog I thought why can’t they name something as important as a favourite tree? It seemed important that actually this was something I needed to encourage. It would also educate the children about trees, tree health and the interaction with animals and insects too.
Hence I created the My Favourite Tree art competition. I approached my friends at Three Atop woodland services, Kerrie & Nick, and asked if they wanted to collaborate. And so it began.
This year I visited seven schools which was such a joy as children always make me laugh and always have something to say.
The first year we had 55 entries. Last year we had 222!
We also exhibited the winners in a local art gallery which was a wonderful addition.
It is really important to me that the children’s work is recognised. Who decides that you can only become an artist once you turn 18?
We hope this art competition will go on from strength to strength!
"Enchanted Quest"
Equipping children with the skills and wisdom to shape a dazzling future, with nature as their wise mentor, through stirring and playful activities.
Contact Information
Phone Number:
Email:
07973 392 394
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