The programme is designed to engage and inspire young people and their guardians to connect with nature through practical outdoor activities, helping to develop the children’s confidence, emotional well-being, and skills in independent learning. These sessions are available across three of our reserves and you can book your space here:

Nature Tots events

On Thursday mornings, sessions take place at Woodberry Wetlands; the activities are focused around engaging the children in multi-sensory activities. All activities are based around and respond to the surroundings of the Wetland’s natural environment. Not only do these sessions help to build upon key skills in their learning, allowing children at an early age to have first-hand experiences with nature, they help to develop their appreciation and understanding of the natural environment. The staff members leading these sessions are extremely knowledgeable about London's wildlife, guiding the children through their learning.  

We joined a Nature Tots session to find out more about the activities to better understand the types of learning the children get to experience, and how the parents and guardians feel these sessions benefit their children.

Taking place on a cold day in January, the session began with the children and their guardians arriving. All were welcomed to join a circle to introduce themselves and talk about any wildlife they had seen throughout the past week. There were enthusiastic talks about all the species of ducks that were on the reserve and a special mention of a spider and a web that had taken residence within one of the children’s homes.  

Due to the cold weather - and ever-changing nature - the ponds that were used for pond dipping had frozen over. Nature Tots activities often respond to the environment and weather, so the children were asked to find a stick that may help to break apart the ice so they could pond dip in the waters below. Everyone was very enthusiastic about this task, and all worked together to help reach the water. Where some children came to the session feeling shy, this task helped them to bond and removed any inhibitions they may have been experiencing as they all took to admiring one another’s piece of ice they had retrieved. The leader of the session then used a tray to scoop water and the children were invited to look at the contents, they were thrilled to see larvae swimming amongst the reeds. 

“This is our third time attending after going to a weekend session with our older son, the sessions are great to get us both out in nature as we had tried before hand, it’s a great way to interact with nature especially with the activities like the water trays and getting to see what’s inside”  

After the pond dipping the children were given observation jars, which are small pots with a magnifying glass atop the lid that allows for a better view at any insect or creature that is collected. The children took their observation jars and began their minibeast hunt, starting off well the children found worms and a centipede underneath logs. The highlight of the activity was when a newt was found hibernating near the waters of the reserve. Our leader of the session showed this to one of the children, in the previous week they had been learning about amphibians and she was asked about the colour of the underside of the newt. She correctly identified this as being orange in colour and was thrilled to see the creature that she had been learning about previously.  

"This is our second week after attending with her brother as a baby, she can be quite shy, but she was really excited for the session this morning and keen to go. It’s such a lovely space to interact with away from the busy city and its loose structure has really allowed her to come out of her shell and interact and grow confident at her own pace and she can speak when she wants to without feeling intimidated like a spotlight is on her” 

After placing their found insects back, it was time for a short snack break in the round house. The children sat around the table with their guardians and after they had finished, got started on some crafts. They were asked to collect some fallen leaves or foliage and stick them to cards or paper to create a natural collage. The children worked busily around the table and were proud of what they had created, after this activity they were invited to re-join the log circle outside before a fire was lit. The children learnt about the safety precautions when near fire and about the types of wood that were being used to ignite the fire. Once lit, the children all sat around watching the flames keenly, after the fire had been burning for a short while, a wildlife story was read. The children listened intently to the story about a slug and participated when invited to.  

“It’s only our second week but I have already seen such a change from last week as he clung to me last time but this week he has gone off and explored on his own, it’s lovely getting to do lots of activities and spending a morning outside”  

The last activity involved the children and guardians joining in on the Forest School Song that has its lyrics changed dependant on the weather of the day. The children were asked to sing the song at a normal pace, a fast pace and a slow pace, the latter resulting in a lot of giggles. The session ended with all being content about what they had learnt children and adults alike.  

“It's such a wonderful space to be in and she would get to see things that she has never before so it’s great to interact with nature and new things” 

If you are a parent or guardian who would like to attend our Nature Tots sessions with your children, you can find out more about our sessions here: 

We host Nature Tots at three different reserves in London 

• Woodberry Wetlands 

Nature Tots information pack for Woodberry Wetlands

• Walthamstow Wetlands 

Nature Tots information pack for Walthamstow Wetlands

• Centre For Wildlife Gardening 

Nature Tots information pack for Centre For Wildlife Gardening 

Our activities vary on site and depend on the day / season, but you can expect activities such as minibeast hunting, woodland games, music, and nature crafts. All the activities will help develop children’s confidence, emotional wellbeing, and skills in independent working. 

London Wildlife Trust offers one free taster session for Nature Tots, but booking is essential even for the taster. Tickets can be booked on a pay as you go basis or as a block per half term. Our staff leading the sessions are all Forest School Level 3 practitioners, are DBS checked, are first aid trained and all of our activities have been risk assessed. 

We hope to see you soon at one of our sessions and look forward to welcoming you to Nature Tots!