Scouting
At Perivale Wood you can bring your scouting group for an environmental education session to help them complete one of their badges. The sessions are delivered by our environmental science teachers and forest school practitioners.
A two hour session costs £160.
During your visit you have use of our Bluebell Centre, which includes a classroom for 30 children, a boot room to store any belongings and toilets. Many of the sessions take place in the Central Clearing, which is in the middle of the woodland where there is a habitat area complete with a bug hotel and log seating area. We also use the wildflower meadow and pond areas during late spring, summer and autumn.
Summaries for each session can be found below.
Beavers
My Outdoors Challenge Award
At Perivale Wood, we can help Beavers to complete their Outdoors Challenge Award. Beavers can explore the different wildlife found in Perivale Wood. This could include a bug hunt in the ancient oak woodland looking at our own special bug hotel, and/or using sweep nets and pooters in the wild flower meadow to investigate the invertebrates found there. Beavers could even complete the OPAL national bug survey where they have the chance to collect important scientific data for. After exploring the wood the Beavers can take part in a craft activity such as: making a bird box to put up in the reserve for the blue tits, making a mini bug hotel to take home, making a pine cone bird feeder to take home, making a collage picture using material found in the reserve. We are happy to plan the session around your wants and needs.
My Adventure Challenge Award
At Perivale Wood, we can help Beavers to complete their Adventure Challenge Award. The reserve is 27 acres made up of ancient oak woodland, two meadows, hedges and several ponds. Beavers can have a den building session where they are given coppiced hazel, string and sheets with which to create their own den in the middle of the forest. We can also organise a nature themed treasure hunt along our nature trail finishing with a picnic in one of the wild flower meadows.
In the woods
At Perivale Wood we can help Beavers to complete their Explore Activity Badge. Beavers can go on a scavenger hunt as they explore the reserve. They can collect items and take photos, as they investigate their surroundings, and make a poster or collage back at the Education Centre.
Cubs
Adventure Challenge Award
At Perivale Wood, we can help Cubs to complete their Adventure Challenge Award. At the reserve, we have a nature trail. Cubs could follow this trail using a map and landmarks to guide them around the trail. Part of the trail could be done as a blind trail where the Cubs are blind folded and have to navigate through the woodland with a rope to lead them along the paths. Cubs should take responsibility to dress suitably for a hike through the woodland and to bring anything that they might need such as sun cream or water.
Naturalist Activity Badge
At Perivale Wood, we can help Cubs to complete their Naturalist Activity Badge. Cubs can complete a Magnificent Meadows activity provided by PlantLife. During this activity, they will explore our wild flower meadow and answer a series of questions which will enable them to determine the health of the meadow. As they progress through this activity, they will learn to identify many wild flowers. We can also use sweep nets and pooters to catch invertebrates in the meadow, which they can then identify. Alternatively, we could have a pond dipping session and possibly complete the OPAL investigation into the health of one of the ponds found within the Perivale Wood Local Nature Reserve. This is a citizen science project and the data collected by the Cubs would be uploaded onto the OPAL website to be used by scientists to learn more about the UK’s ponds. We could also walk through the woodland learning to identify the different trees found within the reserve.
Depending on the needs of the group there is a range of activities we can do at Perivale Wood to complete requirement 4 of the Naturalist Activity Badge.
Scouts
Environmental Conservation Activity Badge
At Perivale Wood we may be able to help Scouts to complete their Environmental Conservation Activity Badge. At Perivale Wood we have 27 acres of important wildlife habitat. The reserve has an ancient oak woodland and also has two wild flower meadows and several ponds.
Forester Activity Badge
Perivale Wood is an ancient oak woodland right in the middle of an urban environment. It is a unique site of 27 acres. It is owned and managed by the Selborne Society, which is thought to be the oldest conservation group in the country, and Perivale Wood itself is thought to be the second oldest small nature reserve in the country. At Perivale Wood, we can help Scouts to complete their Forester Activity Badge. Scouts could take part in a tree identification activity in the woodland. There are 24 species of trees within the woodland. Oak and coppiced hazel dominate and their management and the history of their management can be discussed. The group can take part in habitat management activities such as holly removal.
Naturalist Activity Badge
Perivale Wood is the perfect location for Scouts to come and complete their Naturalist Activity Badge. We can help Scouts to investigate the plants and wildlife found either in the woodland, the hedgerows or one of our ponds. Scouts can carry out a survey into the wildlife found in the hedgerows or the ponds. If Scouts choose to investigate the woodland we have a bug hotel and invertebrate area where they can explore the invertebrates found in the woodland and the Scouts can take part in an activity to identify and learn more about the plants found in the woodland.