fire, water & shelter bushcraft
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John Muir Award

Bushcraft For Schools

At Badger Bushcraft we feel it is a privilege to be so involved in a high-quality educational and supporting role to so many children and fully embrace the philosophy that "every child matters". Over the last 10 years Phil and the team have been employed by many schools all over the United Kingdom where we have been fortunate enough to work with many thousands of young people.

Changes to the National Curriculum History for Key Stage 1 and 2 have seen our primitive technology, stone age life, Neolithic hunter-gatherers and early farmers, caveman living, the Bronze Age, Iron Age, scavengers and settlers programs and hands-on history sessions becoming evermore popular. 

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We have an exceptionally high volume of repeat business from schools and have not only provided bushcraft and nature based learning days but have designed and delivered events, activities, courses, enrichment and intervention programmes of work tailored to all learners.

Badger Bushcraft can help delivery of key elements of the National Curriculum providing your pupils with:

  • High quality history education experience
  • Coherent knowledge from a range of sources
  • Inspire curiosity leading to a chronologically secure knowledge of British, local and world history
  • A desire to ask perceptive and historically valid questions
  • Think critically, weigh evidence and construct informed responses
  • Develop perspective and judgement
  • Understand the complexity of people's lives and the process of change
  • Explore diversity of societies developing a deeper understanding of one's own identity

 

"Dear Phil,

Thank you so much for the fantastic “Badger Bushcraft” day yesterday. All the children loved every moment of it, and were totally enthused by all the wonderful artefacts, tools and objects you provided for them.

It was lovely to learn so much about our village environment as well as the amazing properties of local plant life!

I think this kind of learning is so important for the children and I am sure should ever the opportunity arise, they would love to know more!

Thank you again for a wonderfully informative and professionally planned and presented day.”

Jane Voller

Egerton Church of England School - School Based Project

Badger Bushcraft not only offers an exceptional quality of service to all age groups allowing us to meet the individual learning needs of children but exceptional value for money.

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Our work consistently engages all learners developing awareness and understanding of, and respect for, the environment in which they live.

Over the years we have devised bespoke programmes of work that have catered for all school Key Stages and age groups including:-

  • Key Stage 0 Early Years Foundation Stage
  • Key Stage 1 Years 1 and 2 Infants
  • Key Stage 2 Years 3,4,5 and 6 Juniors
  • Key Stage 3 Years 7, 8 and 9
  • Key Stage 4 Years 10 and 11
  • Key Stage 5 Sixth form Secondary and FE College

By listening to the needs of schools, teachers, head teachers and on occasion school governors we have, through bushcraft and nature education, helped deliver and strengthen the core and foundation subjects of the National Curriculum including:-

  • English
  • Mathematics
  • Science
  • Art and Design
  • Citizenship
  • Design and Technology
  • Geography
  • History
  • Information and Communication Technology
  • Physical Education
  • Work Related Learning

As an External Provider and Consultant in Outdoor Education for Kent County Council, via Kent Top Temps, Phil and Badger Bushcraft have offered a variety of options for schools and other establishments to enhance their exiting Extended Services, Study Support and Family Learning opportunities.

We have produced a Power Point presentation for our school clients which is avialable to open or down load here.

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Primary Schools

mersham primary 1Badger Bushcraft has an exceptional track record liaising and working with Primary Schools delivering courses and programmes both in school and in our outdoor classroom. Our initial consultations with Class and Head Teachers have enabled us to design and deliver bespoke Bushcraft and Nature Based Learning events aimed at supporting, enhancing and fulfilling key criteria of the National Curriculum and ECM (Every Child Matters). Our programmes of work have also been recognised as a valuable resource to compliment PSHE and C (Personal, Social and Health Education and Citizenship) and SEAL (Social and Emotional Aspects of Learning)

Successful Learners

  • Inspiring imagination and creativity
  • Tackling new experiences and learning from them
  • Learning independently and as part of the group
  • Encourage and apply different types of learning

Confident Individuals

  • To promote success and satisfaction in all activities
  • Understanding safety
  • Learning to deal with risks by making informed decisions
  • Turning setbacks into positive learning outcomes

Responsible Citizens

  • Learn to be a part of the decision making process
  • Encounter different ways to "see" our world
  • Learn to understand the importance of our world locally
  • Appraise environmental and moral issues
  • Learn to respect themselves and others

Effective Contributors

  • To work in teams and partnership with fellow learners
  • Tackle problems and discuss, extending communication skills
  • Learn to respect the opinions of others
  • Develop confidence to take the initiative

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School Based Projects

furley park 3School programmes and courses can vary in length to suit your requirements, be that from a half day to a full week and beyond. Back in 2007 we pioneered a one day, hands on, interactive, informative and fun school based event which has gone from strength to strength and been delivered in many schools in London and the South East. The focus of the day is to create an interactive stage within the classroom to engage and involve all learners regardless of age or ability.

An example of a one day in school programme, that we designed and first delivered over a decade ago, has been delivered many times with tremendous success. This project can beautifully support KS2 history topics such as primitive technology, the Stone Age, Neolithic hunter-gatherers and early farmers, caveman living, the Bronze Age, the Iron Age, scavengers and settlers. A hugely successful and popular example of a day per class session is detailed below:-

  • History – a look at primitive technology including primitive flat bows and flint tipped arrows, flint tools including knives, scrapers, arrow heads and a hafted axe, bark containers, wooden spoons and cups, animal hides and buckskin, cordage and textiles, use of plants and fungi, exploring the differences in animal skulls including some prey and predators.
  • Shelter Building  –this is great fun and very hands on for the pupils. We provide materials for the class to be divided into at least four groups where they can work as a team to design and build a shelter. This encourages pupils to engage in active discussion to understand what they are designing and building, understanding of geometric shapes, supports the 4 R’s (Resourcefulness, Resilience, Reflectiveness and Reciprocity) and always goes down a storm with the children.
  • Art and Literacy Session – some still life drawing of artefacts including stone tools, flint axes, bark containers, spear throwers (atlatl), animal skulls, etc. from the previous history session. Time is built into the session to allow the learners to ask questions and discuss their drawings and write about each sample or drawing.
  • Survival and Survival Kit – a look at some of the kit I carry, why and how it is used. We can discuss the differences and various possibilities and hazards of different environments following the direction of active class discussion. Items we look at includes maps and navigation equipment, food and food groups, clothing, first aid equipments and kits, packing a rucksack and a host of other topic in what always turns out to be a very lively, active and fun session.

Our projects can dovetail beautifully into some amazing books that you may be using to support these exciting KS2 History topics. These include:-

  • How to Live Like a Stone-Age Hunter by Anita Ganeri "Team up with Dar, who lived around 15,000 years ago in the late Stone Age. Find out what it takes to survive in prehistoric times as he teaches you how to: 

● trap animals 
● make fire 
● build shelters 
● hunt a mammoth 

Do you have the skills and guts to be a Stone-Age hunter?"
  • Hands-on History! Stone Age: Step Back in the Time of the Earliest Humans by Charlotte Hurdman "Travel back two million years to discover fascinating facts about the life of Stone Age people - where they lived, what they ate, and what they looked like. Marvel at the fine tools and weapons they made, and at their survival alongside creatures such as mammoths. This title features 15 easy and fun projects that enable you to re-create the past - build a shelter from clay mammoth bones, paint your own cave art, make Stone Age hunting tools such as a bow and arrow, fashion a leopard's tooth necklace, prepare a prehistoric meal, model a clay pot, and construct a miniature stonehenge. More than 380 photographs and illustrations include cross sections, a historical map and a pictorial timeline. It is ideal for home or school use for ages 8 to 12. Our earliest human ancestors were making tools from stone at least two million years ago, but our story really begins with the arrival of modern humans, called Homo sapiens sapiens, about 100,000 years ago. This fascinating volume delves into the mysteries and wonders of this distant past. From social structure, communication, hunting, the discovery of fire and types of shelter to crop-growing, crafts, clothing, the first religions and primitive art, this book explores every aspect of the people who shaped the first stages of our civilization."
  • Wolf Brother by Michelle Paver "Six thousand years ago.  Evil stalks the land.  Only twelve-year-old Torak and his wolf-cub companion can defeat it.  Their journey together takes them through deep forests, across giant glaciers, and into dangers they never imagined.In this page-turning, original, and spectacularly told adventure story, Torak and Wolf are joined by an incredible cast of characters as they battle to save their world, in this first book in the Chronicles of Ancient Darkness series."
  • Stig Of The Dump by Clive King "Barney is a solitary little boy, given to wandering off by himself. One day he is lying on the edge of a disused chalk-pit when it gives way and he lands in a sort of cave. Here he meets 'somebody with a lot of shaggy hair and two bright black eyes' wearing a rabbit skin and speaking in grunts. He names him Stig. Of course nobody believes Barney when he tells his family all about Stig, but for Barney cave-man Stig is totally real. They become great friends, learning each others ways and embarking on a series of unforgettable adventures."
  • Skara Brae: Northern Europe's Best Preserved Neolithic Village by D.V. Clarke The illustrated guide to the World Heritage Site of Skara Brae "Today, Skerrabra - or Skara Brae as it has become known - survives as eight dwellings, linked together by a series of low, covered passages. Because of the protection offered by the sand that covered the settlement for 4,000 years, the buildings, and their contents, are incredibly well-preserved. Not only are the walls of the structures still standing, and alleyways roofed with their original stone slabs, but the interior fittings of each house give an unparalleled glimpse of life as it was in Neolithic Orkney."

“Phil,

The thanks must really go to you! I know from the shining, excited faces that they all had a fantastic day. It is such a treat to see ALL children engaged in an activity and it couldn’t have fitted more perfectly with our topic and I know you have given the children something they will ALWAYS remember.”

Chris Drage

Furley Park Primary School, Ashford School Based Project - based on Wolf Brother

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Secondary Schools

Badger Bushcraft also provides bespoke Bushcraft and Nature Based Learning events for older learners from secondary level through to adults. These events can either be hosted at one of our outdoor classrooms or we can travel to your school saving you both time and money.

Bushcraft, Survival Skills and The Laws of Science

Our practical approach to delivering of high quality sessions for Key Stage 3 and 4 brings a very real and exeptionally hands-on experience. We can bring these activities to your school anywhere in the United Kingdom or join us at our woodland based expedition camp set on a 3,000 acre private estate in Kent with easy access from London and the M2.

Some of the most fundamental and fun bushcraft and survival skills develop scientific knowledge and conceptual understanding of the Key Stage 3 National Curriculum especially helping to engage pupils into the magic of science. The bushcraft platform and the outdoor classroom engages everyone with science and develops a thirst for knowledge, occasionally albeit by stealth, with the three scientific core subjects -biology, chemistry and physics. 

The cross curricular links in a single bushcraft and survival skills session are really quite impressive and this practical and exceptionally “real-world” subject never fails to engage all learners and especially caters for those who favour a hands-on learning style or those who find it a challenge to respond, engage and perform in an academic environment. If we look at the Key Stage 3 National Cirriculum links for a single firecraft session it covers:

  • Working Scientifically
  • Scientific Attitudes
  • Experimental Skills And Investigations
  • Analysis And Evaluation
  • The Particulate Nature Of Matter
  • Chemical Reactions
  • Energetics
  • Materials
  • Earth And Atmosphere
  • Energy Changes And Transfers
  • Motion And Forces
  • Current Electricity
  • Physical Changes With Matter

 

Please contact us to discuss your requirements and enable Badger Bushcraft to work with you in designing the programme that you require.

 

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Contact Badger Bushcraft

T:01233 756447

M:07768 201177

E:info@badgerbushcraft.com

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A Classroom Without Walls or Boundaries

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Join us at our Kent bushcraft school where we deliver many courses including the NCFE Level 2 Intermediate Bushcraft Award

"Year 5 took part in a ‘Badger Bush Craft’ workshop. This was a whole day of practical activities led by Phil Brown, a specialist in outdoor learning. Following this a number of children together with their families were invited to take part in a Saturday workshop to learn survival skills, building shelters, lighting fires etc. This was part of an extended services project."

LENHAM PRIMARY SCHOOL Headteacher’s Report to Governors
May 2010

Bringing Learning to Life

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We work hard to deliver in all aspects of our business and our feedback has always been exceptionally positive.

Badger Bushcraft In Your School

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Phil has extensive experience teaching bushcraft, survival skills, natural history and primitive technology both in schools and our outdoor classroom.