This is the 4th year that final year students have been to the Heart of England Forest as an optional trip for their Environment course. On this occasion, accompanied by a member of the Heart of England Forest education team, the students spent the day thinking about forestry, climate change, human-nature relations and what it means to study the environment away from university. 

Starting at Middle Spernal, they were taught about the unique origins of the Heart of England Forest and about the many factors that contribute to decisions to plant specific tree species at different times and how to manage them. They quickly learnt to identify key species as they made their way along the blackthorn-edged tracks, before taking a moment to appreciate the captivating atmosphere of Windmill Hill. 

After a picnic lunch in the sunshine they headed to Alne Wood, stopping to learn about natural burials before going on to do some creative writing in the heart of the woods. For the students this was a chance to breathe and step away from the stress-inducing final university assignments; and for the staff, it was a chance to enable their students to play with new ideas beyond the restrictions of the classroom. With the help of the creative writer who led the afternoon session, they wrote poetry and stories, drew pictures and were able to reflect on their environmental ethic, by co-creating ideas with the natural world around them.

Both the Alne Wood Park team and Heart of England Forest team are really pleased that we were able to support the students and provide them with some interesting thoughts after their day out.

Special thanks to Professor Julie Gilson (University of Birmingham) and Phil Stickley (Senior Outdoor Teacher, Heart of England Forest) for providing the information for this article