In this reflective, good-humoured episode of The Forest School Podcast, Lewis and Gemma wander from hornets and sweet chestnuts to big ideas in space design and session planning. They unpack a fresh “great board experiment” that swaps linear timetables for an Eight Shields-inspired planning wheel, then dive into a beautiful Japanese coffee-table book, The World Designed for Children, to ask how architecture can invite play. Along the way: apples, dehydrators, built-in play features, minimalism versus loose parts, logos and community identity, and a brand-new concept Lewis coins on air — Ludo Botany — matching kinds of play with specific plants and woodland management over time. It is a lively mix of practice, philosophy, and proper woodland gossip. 🌳
⏱ Chapter Timings
00:00 – Wind, wildlife, and sweet chestnuts: back in the woods
03:10 – Glut season: apples, dehydration, and preserving abundance
06:16 – The great board experiment: why ditch the linear plan
08:20 – Planning with Eight Shields energies instead of activities
11:21 – From checklists to a “spoked wheel”: transparency and crossing things out
20:42 – The World Designed for Children: minimalist nurseries and built-in play
24:54 – Ponds, sandpits, stairs you can climb: architecture as invitation
29:16 – Loose parts, display culture, and what “the space is the resource” means
34:36 – Brand, logos, patches, shared rituals: identity without uniforms
45:06 – Introducing Ludo Botany and “plant baby plant”: designing for play yields
🌲 Keywords
Forest School planning, Eight Shields, session design, Japanese early years architecture, built-in play, loose parts, brand and community, reflective practice, woodland management, Ludo Botany
🔖 Hashtags
#ForestSchool #OutdoorEducation #ReflectivePractice #LooseParts #NaturePlay
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