Using nature to develop the capacity of communities.

Summer Camp 2022

Summer Camp 2022

This exciting camp programme will be sure to give your child the best school holiday ever!

Our summer camps are based on a sense of family. We spend most of our time outside going on walks, resting in hammocks, designing projects like the longest water flume, wood whittling, fire starting and home-made cooking among much more!


Children between 3 and 11 can attend Auchlone between 9.00am and 4.00pm for 2 weeks in the summer.


Spaces are limited, registration and booking is required and can be made for any number of days.

Living Classrooms

About Living Classrooms

Living Classrooms was originally established as a charitable company in 2010. It was set up to deliver educational programmes for a diverse range of client groups, including children's centres, adult community groups and schools and has done so with additional support from a wide range of external funders.


One of its principal activities from this time was the hosting and support of the Forest Education Initiative - Forest School Co-ordinator post. It is able to draw on a multi-disciplinary team, derived from backgrounds in early years education, primary education, secondary education, youth work, outdoor education, forest school, social work, environmental education and landscaping.


Living Classrooms became a Community Interest Company in 2016 and is actively supported by Mindstretchers Ltd, which is a leading provider of early years and primary school sector CPD training in the UK. Mindstretchers also runs the award-winning Auchlone Nature Kindergarten and has regularly supported Living Classrooms through the use of these facilities and expertise. Claire Warden also actively supports Living Classrooms both through her own company and through direct support and involvement.


Living Classrooms, as a result of Claire Warden's direct support, undertook in 2016 its most ambitious project to date. It established and operates the International Association of Nature Pedagogy, a professional organisation which aims to promote and support all forms of nature-based education and associated activity and research around the world.

Principal Aims

In addition to its work through the International Association of Nature Pedagogy, Living Classrooms is continuing to develop its role in the not-for-profit education sector and in line with this its principal aims are to:

To promote excellence in play and learning, through innovative, nature-based experiences.

To develop the capacity in communities through play and learning outdoors.

Promoting the use of naturalistic, open-ended resources with high play affordances.

Enable volunteers and workforces to become motivated, skilled and confident in working outside and promoting children’s play.

Facilitating consultation processes throughout all projects to include all stakeholders and to deliver meaningful outcomes.

Supporting communities, advising on infrastructure and landscaping in developing play and learning spaces inside and out.

Delivering training to support play and learning through reflective, motivational, individualised and workplace related delivery.

Raising the profile of the purpose and style of naturalised play spaces for children and young people, so that adults can identify and understand the play and learning that they see.

Our Projects

Virtual Nature School

Virtual Nature School promotes the flourishing of children's learning in, about, with and for nature.


We provide both practitioners and families with the learning resources they need to confidently explore nature with children.

International Association of Nature Pedagogy

We're a professional organisation designed to promote and support all forms of nature-based education for children aged 0 - 8 years throughout the world.


This includes Forest Kindergartens, Forest Schools, Nature Pre-Schools and Nature Kindergartens.


The IANP was founded by Dr Claire Warden in Scotland, U.K. The board is made up of innovative leaders and academics in the field of nature based education including Richard Louv, David Sobel, Wendy Lee and Sara Knight.

Auchlone Nature Kindergarten

Auchlone Nature Kindergarten is Scotland's first outdoor Nature Kindergarten where the children spend over 80% of their time outdoors whilst at Auchlone.

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Whether we are inside, outside or offsite we take a consideration to nature in any learning experience. We want to use nature to provide children with authentic learning opportunities that will benefit them for the rest of their lives.

Other Projects

Living Classrooms has spent many years working on a plethora of projects focused on communities, minority groups and how they can engage in the natural world. Here are some examples of the other projects we have undertaken.

Children & Youth

Racial Equalities council

Integration project with West of Scotland Racial Equalities council to set up a Forest Club with three community groups for girls aged 8-18.

ERASMUS Project

Erasmus+ is the EU's programme to support education, training, youth and sport in Europe. It has an estimated budget of €26.2 billion. This is nearly double the funding compared to its predecessor programme (2014-2020). The 2021-2027 programme places a strong focus on social inclusion, the green and digital transitions, and promoting young people’s participation in democratic life. It supports priorities and activities set out in the European Education Area, Digital Education Action Plan and the European Skills Agenda. The programme also supports the European Pillar of Social Rights implements the EU Youth Strategy 2019-2027 develops the European dimension in sport.

Primary School Woodland learning programme

In partnership with the Forestry Commission, the key goal of this project was to motivate pupils  to value literacy, to raise the awareness of it throughout the school environment and to generate cross-curricular links. 


 The project will provide pupils with a range of active sensorial experiences both in the woodland environment and classroom to promote the development of talking and listening, reading and creative writing.

The Bridges Project

Youth engagement programme with the Bridges Project to provide young people with experiential opportunities in local woodland spaces.

Adults & Families

'At Home in the Woods' Integration project

Providing the Eritrean group (East Glasgow) and

GPIN (West Glasgow) with support in the delivery

and management of an integrated outdoor experience programme in the woodlands of Glasgow and surrounding areas. The project was used as a case study to explore: 1) barriers effecting integration between different race groups 2) the opportunities for future integration projects and the capacity for such groups to work together in the future.

Minority Ethnic groups 'Simple Pleasures'

Supporting Minority Ethnic groups to access local areas of nature in partnership with the Scottish Natural Heritage ‘Simple Pleasures’ campaign.

Experiential Woodland Programme

Experiential woodland programme to engage four BME groups with local  woodland spaces.

Family Forest

Our Family forest philosophy is grounded in the

belief that the more outdoor experiences that

children are able to share with their families and

communities then the more likely it is that such

experiences will become more frequent throughout

family and community life. We create joined up

outdoor experiences for children and develop

projects that encourage parents, carers, extended

family and community members to engage in

outdoor experiences. We continue to run our family

forest camps at Auchlone Nature Kindergarten  that give families the chance to enjoy the  woodland environment together.

Diwali faith project

Diwali faith project in partnership with Stories for life. Linking woodland experiences with religious and moral education.

Family Forest camp out

Family Forest camp out at Auchlone Nature Kindergarten.

Our Partners

Scottish Government

Scottish Wildlife Trust

International School Grounds Alliance

World Forum Foundation

Children and Nature Network

Scottish National Trust

Forestry Commission

ABOUT DR. CLAIRE WARDEN

Dr Claire Warden is an educational consultant who has developed her approach to Nature Pedagogy in her doctoral research and experiential learning through a variety of experiences including working in a variety of settings including her own multi-award-winning nature kindergarten Auchlone, advisory work, and lecturing in further education. Claire is currently based in Scotland but frequently travels to Australia, the United States and elsewhere.


Claire is an author of over 20 books relating to early years methodology. Claire’s book, Learning with Nature – Embedding Outdoor Practice, was well received and has gained a place as required reading on many academic education courses. In her book 'Nature Kindergartens and Forest Schools' Claire explores children's connection to nature and naturalistic spaces such as forest schools, forest kindergartens, woodland camps, nature kindergartens.

Claire is closely involved with her own nature kindergarten, Auchlone Nature Kindergarten, in Scotland. This outdoor nursery works with children from 2-6 year olds, who spend up to 90% of their time outside. The three spaces of ‘inside’, ‘outside’ and ‘beyond’ are mindfully linked to developing skills and confidence in a predominantly natural environment.


In addition to Claire’s international and consultancy work, she runs a Community Interest Company, 'Living Classrooms', through which the Virtual Nature School is being delivered. Additionally, she set up the International Association of Nature Pedagogy, a professional organisation designed to promote and support all forms of nature-based education for children aged 0 - 8 years throughout the world. This includes Forest Kindergartens, Forest Schools, Nature Pre-Schools and Nature Kindergartens.

Claire is one of a leadership group of consultants who make up the World Nature Collaborative, a working party of the World Forum Foundation. The purpose of the group is to develop a cohesive network and approach to experiential learning in outdoor spaces in a variety of climates. The nature collaborative brings together educators, landscape architects, environmentalists and health workers to support a multidisciplinary approach to outdoor educational provision.

CONTACT US

E: enquiries@livingclassrooms.org.uk

T: +44(0)1764 650030


Registered office: The Old School, Fowlis Wester, Crieff PH7 3NL | Registered in Scotland: Company Registration SC382632

© Copyright 2022 Living Classrooms CIC (Community Interest Company). All rights reserved |

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