This week, Year 4 went on an inspiring trip to explore Epping Forest over in Essex, which sits just on the north-eastern edge of Greater London.
Once we arrived, we had a quick snack before heading out into the vast woodland area and going on a fun forest trail. Our first task was to stand in a circle and listen to our surroundings for 30 seconds to see the differences we could hear compared to when we are normally at school. We could hear birds chirping, the wind whistling, and bees buzzing around the place. We then looked out around us for another 30 seconds and spoke about what different things we could see, such as the trees, flowers, animals and the vast different colours that existed within the forest.
Next, we headed deeper into the woods and found an exciting secluded area to do some art sketching. Our task was to find a spot and pick something in nature that we could have a go at sketching using light and dark tones. Our next activity was to complete an art challenge, which was to create a piece of woodland art by using sticks, leaves and moss, in which we had to work as a team. We then presented our artwork to the whole class and explained what we had created and why. After all that work and walking, we headed back to the visitor’s centre to eat our lunch on the grass.
In the afternoon, we got to take part in an orienteering workshop that tested our map and direction skills. We met Joanne who was our instructor and she explained our task to us before giving us some extra tips on how to navigate the map, especially using a compass to check that we are heading in the right direction. We then headed out in small groups to try and visit all the different locations so that we get all the clues to answer the questions on our worksheets. This task was even harder as we only had 1 hour to complete it.
After all that walking and exploring, we were all very tired and we then got back on the coach to head back to school.
Thank you to the SVPA for funding our trip and all of the parent volunteers who accompanied us! Also, thank you to Miss Carruthers for organising this amazing trip for us!
Year 4, what was your favourite part of the trip to Epping Forest?
I loved building our own sculptures out of sticks! The orienteering was also really fun and we won! I really liked learning the history of Epping Forest.
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Thank for all the adults who helped with this trip!