The Forest Education Network (FEN) was set up in 2012 as the successor to the Forest Education Initiative (FEI) in England.
Hosted by the Council for Learning Outside the Classroom, the FEN seeks to engage more young people in forest and woodland environments by supporting education in forest and woodland settings, networking and sharing good practice, and facilitating communication between the sectors and practitioners involved.
As a free networking organisation, FEN largely provides information and support for members that are themselves directly involved with providing or promoting forest education opportunities. FEN now has over 350 individual members, 28 local groups and another 150 or so interested individuals and organisations. It has a dedicated area of the CLOtC website, where you can access resources and information about woodland learning, find a network in your area, or sign up to become a member.
The latest news from FEN partners includes the launch of Sylva’s myForest for Education. This is a free online application that enables any educator, or young person, to generate straightforward woodland management plans, maps and ecological impact assessments for woodland sites and school grounds.
In addition, the Forestry Commission has produced a 2015 update to its National Learning Strategy, which further sets out plans to achieve its vision:
“to enable everyone, everywhere, to connect with the nation’s trees and forests so that they understand their importance and the role of the Forestry Commission in their management, and act positively to safeguard forests for the future.”
Information about the Forestry Commission’s Learning in your Forest activity can be found on its website
Further information and resources for supporting learning in forests and woodland can be found on the FEN webpages.