My name is Katy and I have been in childcare all my working life.   I qualified as a Nursery Nurse in 1986, working in inner city State Nursery schools in St Anns, Nottingham; before becoming a home based childminder in 2005. Although homebased, we are outside every day with trips to country parks, the canal and woods. 

When I was a little girl, I remember my parents talking to me at length about trees, wildlife and flowers. I was always outside, collecting conkers, climbing trees and planting acorns and so I grew up with an interest in nature. I passed this on to my own children and am now passing it on to my child-minding children.

I regularly meet folk who cannot tell an Ash tree from a Beech Tree, or do not know what a conker or sweet chestnut will grow into.   One little girl at my setting, aged 5, who had just started school was doing an observational painting when she said to me, “my teacher doesn’t call them daffodils Katy, she calls them flowers”    : ( 

It is so important for children to learn about nature, a flower is not just a flower, the same as a tree is not just a tree. Trees have different bark, leaves, branch structure, each playing a specific role in the ecosystem. Learning these facts fosters a personal connection and encourages children to care for and protect the environment. Tree, plant and animal identification improves observational skills, memory retention and an understanding of biodiversity.

Because of my love for nature and my job, I have just bought a wood with my childminding colleague and friend, Caroline. It was called Ruddock wood.  [Cotgrave, near Nottingham, Nottinghamshire].  Ruddock is an archaic British term for Robin Redbreast, so we renamed it Robin wood.  

In Sept 2026 ,we will both be changing from home-based childminders to forest childminders, working in the wood with our eight charges aged 3 months to 4 years from early morning to evening four days a week, throughout the year.   It is this full forest experience, using the forest school ethos, where children are immersed in nature-based play, that results in the child being deeply engaged and involved, empowering them to explore their surroundings with curiosity, critical thinking and independence.  It allows them to be physically active, using their whole bodies, they take risks, which in turn promotes resilience, creativity and develops social skills, this improves their mental health and emotional well-being.

In Robin wood, the children are learning all the time, from tree identification, they understand what a beech husk is and search for beechnuts, they know acorns grow into oak trees and regularly use the word nocturnal when talking about night animals. Other skills normally not associated with preschool children include, whittling wood, sawing logs using hacksaws and bowsaws, they hammer nails into their sawn offcuts and use flints and steels to start fires, cooking lunch from scratch.

We aim to educate people on the benefits of outdoor learning to ensure our young people grow up as well-rounded individuals with a passion for the outdoors. Contact on 07817 972321