Sheffield & Rotherham Wildlife Trust’s Outdoor Learning Team can offer your students the learning experience of a lifetime!
“It’s really inspiring”

Sheffield Hallam’s PGCE Course Leader Sarah Williams tells us why she thinks it’s so important to get the teachers of the future outdoors; and why she chooses the Outdoor Learning team at Sheffield & Rotherham Wildlife Trust to deliver that training.
“Each year the Primary PE PGCE trainee teachers spend two days in the Grenoside woods with Chris Smith. This experience is now an important and established part of our summer school, and it serves as a great way for our students to get to know each other at the start of the course. Chris provides our students with a unique and bespoke experience that gets them excited about working in the outdoors as they start their teacher training journey. Chris challenges thinking and opens students eyes to the potential of working with children in the outdoors.” Sarah Williams, PGCE Course Leader, Sheffield Hallam University
Workshops are always tailored to meet the needs of the wide variety of courses who come to us and no two courses are ever the same. Recent workshops for Higher Education have included:
- An immersive woodland experience for PGCE PE specialists who got the chance to not only learn the skills needed to be a Forest School Leader but also took part in an obstacle course race and then learnt how to fell trees in order to build a shelter and spend a night in the woods!
- A large scale workshop for over 100 architecture students who got the opportunity to learn how to fell trees in order to construct some amazing structures in the woods to a pre-set design brief.
- Giving real-life ecological fieldwork experience to a group of science students, supported by a professional ecologist, woodland manager and ranger.
- A holistic approach to health, fitness and wellbeing for a wide range of students from the Sports Department, including learning all about ‘Green Prescribing’, working creatively with the PE curriculum in schools and even running a successful business.
“So much more than just PE”
Our Senior Outdoor Learning Officer explains why it’s so important to help future teachers understand that getting outdoors can support all areas of the curriculum.
“It’s been a fun-packed day”
A PGCE student’s perspective on learning on the Wild Side

Chris Smith – our Senior Outdoor Learning Officer – is also available to offer entertaining, inspirational seminars and lectures. He has recently delivered sessions on ‘Creativity in cross-curricular activity’, ‘Reaping the benefits of outdoor learning’ and ‘Embracing the wider curriculum through outdoor learning’.
Contact us to discuss your ideas and we’ll make them Wild!
If you would like more information or to discuss specific requirements, please contact us: schools@wildsheffield.com
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