Health & Well-being

1 CHILDREN, EDUCATION, LIFELONG LEARNING & & Well-being // Activities & Games Health & Well-being // Activities & Games 2 CHILDREN, EDUCATION, LIFELONG LEARNING & 1 Earthing ..4 ACTIVITY 2 3 Muddy Marvellous ..6 ACTIVITY 4 Tree Hugging ..7 ACTIVITY 5 Meet a Tree ..8 ACTIVITY 6 Edible Deadible ..9 ACTIVITY 7 8 Floating Bamboo ..11 ACTIVITY 9 Human Knot ..12 ACTIVITY 10 Squirrel Cache ..13 ACTIVITY 11 Wilderness Survival ..14 ACTIVITY 12 Wilderness Workouts ..15-17 ACTIVITY 13 Campfire Cooking ..18 ACTIVITY 14 Shelter Building ..19 Looking for more learning resources, information & data?Please contact: or go to format; large print or another language, please // 0300 065 3000 Health & Well-being // Activities & Games 3 Please ensure that your activities are sustainably resourced and have minimal impact on the natural environment.

2 For example: Be aware of prickly, poisonous plants Guard any protected species on site Don t over use one area Leave nothing but footprintsAIM To encourage everyone to spend time being in and connecting to nature through first-hand, positive aid the development of cross curricular knowledge and skills required to meet the four purposes of the Curriculum for Being outdoors is good for us in so many ways. Ideally, a connection to nature established at a young age will develop healthy, lifelong shows that being outside and connecting with nature can provide many Health and Well-being benefits including: opportunities to increase physical activity guarding against obesity and type 2 diabetes preventing Vitamin D deficiency reducing the symptoms of stress and ADHD contributing to dementia treatment minimising childhood short sightedness promoting academic attainment developing employability skills helping to prevent the loss of environmental knowledge and understandingPICK AND CHOOSE from the following activities to explore the environment to further develop a sense of place, encourage physical activity and promote booklet highlights the importance of sustainably managing our natural resources.

3 Focusing on exploring nature for Health and Resources Wales purpose is to pursue the sustainable management of natural resources in all of its work. This means looking after air, land, water, wildlife, plants and soil to improve Wales Well-being , and provide a better future for everyone. Introduction All the following activities and many more can be adapted for use in woodlands, coastal settings, local parks, school grounds, activities have come from many different sources and have been altered and adapted over the years. All the natural resources required to complete the activities listed are easily collectible from local nature spaces if your setting has none & Well-being // Activities & Games 41 Overview These activities encourage direct skin contact with the surface of the Earth with bare hands and/or 1 EARTHINGWhat to Barefoot Walking1 It is thought that walking barefoot on the Earth enhances Health and provides feelings of Well-being .

4 This practice occurs in diverse cultures around the world. 2 Walking barefoot on uneven ground helps to strengthen core muscles and supports balance Simply choose an appropriate spot, complete safety checks and encourage your learners to remove shoes and socks. Stand still on the grass, soil, sand, etc, and take a moment to check on how this feels. 4 What sensations are there? Now try walking around the chosen environment and and Branch1 Ideally, bare foot as per Barefoot Ask learners to stand still and feel their feet planted on the Earth. 3 Ask them to close their eyes and imagine that they are a tree rooted to the ground. 4 Now describe the following journey in a slow paced and even tone.

5 Feel the roots coming out from the soles of your feet and pushing down into the soil. The roots plough through the soil/sand, through to the rocks beneath. They continue through the fissures of the rocks, down into the centre of the earth and into the energy of the molten magma. Imagine that the energy of the magma now passes back up through the rock, through the soil/sand, up through the roots of the tree, up through the trunk and into the branches and out into the furthest points of your twigs and leaves. Now release the energy out of the top of the tree and let it reach up into the sky as a white light, up into the blackness of space and allow the light to touch the energy of the sun 5 This maybe enough or you can choose to continue a return journey to the heart of the & Well-being // Activities & Games 52 Overview These activities focus on grounding as a technique that helps us to stay connected to the present and reorient a person to the here and skills can be helpful in managing overwhelming feelings or intense anxiety.

6 They help someone to regain their mental focus from an often intensely emotional state. Grounding skills occur within two specific approaches: Sensory Awareness and Cognitive Awareness. Nature is a great space for this. ACTIVITY 2 GROUNDINGWhat to Special Spot1 Ideally, do this activity on a dry day so learners can make direct contact with the ground if they choose to sit or lie down. However, you can supply sit mats if the floor is Invite learners to choose a special spot that captures their interest, away from everyone Ask them to sit or lie quietly in any position they feel like. They can for example lie under or lean on a tree and stare up into its branches, sit on a beach looking out to sea or lie face down in a Explain that they can choose to look around their spot, focussing on the smallest details or just zone Choose the timeframe to suit the group and when finished allow time for everyone to gather together.

7 6 Discuss how the quiet time made them feel and what they observed during their time in the special spot. 7 This activity can be continued over any number of occasions with timeframes elongating as the group develops a relationship with their special and Roll 1 This activity allows learners to concentrate on a simple task, providing focus and developing Ask your learners to find two small stones. 3 Show them the route you will be expecting them to walk along for the Explain that they need to put the stones onto the back of each of their hands. 5 Then ask them to walk from A to B, turn around and return without dropping either of the If they do fall off, they need to stop, pick them up and replace before resuming the Discuss how everyone felt they did with the ABLE LEARNERS can be asked to travel up and down a more challenging & Well-being // Activities & Games 63 Overview The following activities provide opportunities for playing with than half your body is not human!

8 Human cells make up only around 43% of the body s total cell count. The rest are microscopic colonists. They are essential to your Health . Early exposure to dirt/germs helps to build up a more robust immune system. Friendly bacteria or probiotics present in the soil, can naturally increase the levels of serotonin in the brain resulting in a similar effect to prescription antidepressants. Getting your hands dirty can make you happier as well as healthier! ACTIVITY 3 MUDDY MARVELLOUSEXTEND THESE ACTIVITIES by asking each learner to bring in a small pot of mud from their garden or local area and compare colours and textures. Discuss what mud is made to PIT1 Encourage your learners to help you dig over a chosen area to create a mud pit for self-led play.

9 Provide a range of equipment such as: water, buckets and digging implements. Cover with a pegged down tarp at night to prevent contamination from local animals. MUD BALLS1 Encourage your learners to roll a handful of mud into a Natural materials such as leaves, moss and sticks can be collected to coat the balls, which can be assembled together to create a natural PAINTING1 Sticks or hands can be used by learners to make marks in mud, daub on paper, tree trunks or rocks. Chalk can be added for An old bedsheet can be used for a group mud painting art attack. Leaves and other natural objects can be used for printing and providing an outline for splatter CRACKS1 Learners should spread mud all over a hard surface such as a rock and allow it to If the mud has a high clay content the mud will begin to show a complex pattern of cracks as it dries.

10 3 The pattern can be copied onto paper or photographed to replicate MONSTERS1 To create a mud monster, learners will need a handful of mud each, which they should form into a The ball should be pressed it onto a suitable surface, wall or tree trunk, and the edges smoothed onto the surface to help it Natural objects can be used to create facial This activity can be developed into making mud sculptures and linked to many topics and stories including emotions, expressions and & Well-being // Activities & Games 74 Overview Scientific data shows that trees can improve the symptoms of many Health issues, including mental illness, ADHD, depression, the ability to alleviate headaches, improvements in reaction time and concentration act of hugging itself is believed to be beneficial as it can influence levels of happiness hormones, oxytocin, serotonin and 4 TREE HUGGINGWhat to HUG1 In an area with suitably sized trees, complete safety checks such as looking for low level Now choose a tree to Ask your learners to approach the tree one by one, holding hands with the next person until a complete circle has formed to hug the tree.