From the trees in your school grounds and along the streets outside of your school to the big forests down the road, trees are all around us and provide endless opportunities for learning.
Bring learning to life through trees this National Tree Week 21 – 29 November. Organised by The Tree Council it marks the start of the annual tree planting season. This year’s theme is ‘trees near you’ and is the perfect opportunity to help students explore the trees they see every day while making meaningful links to the curriculum. Whether you are teaching science, geography, art or PHSE, trees can inspire curiosity, creativity and real-world learning.
Read on to discover our favourite curriculum linked activities that will help your students celebrate National Tree Week while developing knowledge and skills through hands-on outdoor learning.
Trees and wellbeing
Support your students to slow down, connect and savour special moments.
- For Early Years and KS1: Begin the day with some gentle movements inspired by Stick Man and Superworm. Move like Stick Man and be s-t-r-e-t-c-h-y with Superworm.
- For KS2: Start a nature and wellbeing journal. Download a template from our Nature and Wellbeing activity pack.
- For KS3: Try our reflective Tree of Life Wellbeing activity that uses different parts of a tree as a way to think about our lives and all the wonderful things in them.
Trees and timber
Too wet to take learning outside? Then why not create a colourful classroom display with our tree posters and learn how to identify some common tree species at the same time.
Look around you? From pencils to wooden buildings, how many objects can you see made from wood? Watch this short video to discover how the nation’s forests are managed sustainably to produce timber, a wonderful natural resource.
Trees provide us with so much and play a vital role in our lives.
They help reduce carbon emissions and pollution, soften sounds, provide shade and cool hot tarmac playgrounds and provide homes for wildlife. If that wasn’t enough, by connecting children with the trees around them we can support their emotional health and encourage a deeper understanding of the natural world and the benefits it brings.
Take inspiration from trees
Discover how forests change through the seasons with our KS1 and KS2 activity sheet and crack the Tree Alphabet Code.
Bring the outside into your classroom with this activity sheet. A perfect way to celebrate trees with your KS2 and KS3 students through poetry, descriptive writing and movement.
Explore the benefits of reading walks and how trees can stimulate imaginations and deepen understanding of the natural world in this blog.
Discover more about trees
- For KS1 and KS2: Download our Terrific trees lesson plan full of hands-on activities that look at different parts of a tree and what seeds need to grow.
For KS3 and KS4: Bring climate and environmental science together with fieldwork investigations. Have a go at...
- recording the growth of trees - measure growth over time and discover how this type of survey work is used for scientific purposes.- carrying out soil tests in your local woodland to discover more about soil characteristics and how they impact upon tree growth, Investigating your local woodland: soils.
Trees and careers
For KS1 and KS2: Download our Tree Explorer activity pack as an introduction to three forestry careers with fun hands-on activities. Could one of your pupils be a future forester or wildlife ranger?
For KS3 and KS4: Introduce your students to the many exciting job opportunities at Forestry England. From civil engineers and GIS technicians to forest managers and wildlife specialists these roles contribute to the management of the nation’s forests. They support biodiversity, climate resilience, recreation, conservation, commercial forestry objectives and much more.
Share these short videos with your students and hear what our staff enjoy the most about their roles.
