In September I had the enormous privilege of spending time with Marta and Naomi of https://www.facebook.com/enboscados/ who run their Forest School in Cantabria. Marta and Naomi have trained with us in recent years and run regular, all-year round after-school and weekend Forest School sessions for local families and children, along with a school-holiday club as well as nature-based events and CPD for adults.

Tacked on to the end of a family holiday exploring the northern Spain of my youthful backpacking days, we spent time with Naomi and Marta, exploring their local area and visiting their Forest School sites.

We talked about the challenges of setting up sites for children to risk-assess for themselves, to have agency over their play and learning and the challenges of getting a toe in the door of local education. It appears that between Forest School in Spain and in the UK, there is more in common than that which separates us. We know that, worldwide, there is a need and a desire for children to spend more time in free play in nature, everyone wants Forest School, but how can we convince those who “manage” education to fund it and make time for it?

As well as talking all things Forest School, Naomi and Marta offered heaps of local tips on wildlife, where to go on a real bear hunt (Michael Rosen eat your heart out!), wolf and wild boar watching, and where to find fabulous views and incredible flora and fauna, some of which is included below.

You can find more photos of the Aguayo and Naveda Forest School sites here, and of my emerging obsession with galls, or agallas, abogallas, bugallos, cecidias and other varied names across the Spanish nations – my vocabulary of nature and wildlife in Spanish is improving!