Join us at our Epping Forest centre in Essex for our fun school holiday activities for children and families.
Activities are based outdoors, and explore the natural world. The sessions are a mix of games and activities that will inspire you to find out more and discover how you can help wildlife on your doorstep. To take part you do not need any experience or any expensive kit, just an enthusiasm for being outside and discovering nature.
Eco Tots: For families with children age 18 months – 5 years. Children under 12 months are welcome if accompanying a paying sibling. Children must be accompanied by an adult.
Eco Explorers: For children aged 5 years – 8 years.
Eco Adventurers: For children aged 8 years – 11 years.
Discovery Days: Events for families with children of any age. Children must be accompanied by an adult. These are free to attend for adults and children but please book your place if you intend on coming along.
Eco Champions: Events for families with children over the age of 7. Children must be accompanied by an adult.
John Muir Award: For young people age 10+. This is a 4 day course where children are unaccompanied at our non-residential day centres.
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Before You Attend
- Please bring appropriate clothing and footwear for being outside.
- Activities are subject to change, depending on the weather.
Opportunities to attend this course
Thu 06, April 2023 13:00 - 15:00
Eco Adventurers (8-11 years) Tree Trail - Join us on a walk and learn how to identify our trees using their leaves, bark and seeds. Discover how every part of tree, from seeds to logs contribute to our environment and landscape.
Thu 06, April 2023 10:00 - 12:00
Eco Tots (18 months - 5 Years) - Come and explore our beautiful environment. Aimed at 18 months - 5 years, we will spend our time outside discovering the natural environment with its woodland, grassland and ponds, an inspiring and exciting place to explore.
Thu 06, April 2023 13:00 - 15:00
Eco Explorers ( 5-8 years) - Discovering trees - Explore your area and learn about the trees living there. Use your senses to discover the trees, find leaves and seeds and learn about what makes their homes in the trees.
Sat 22, April 2023 10:00 - 12:00
Easter Family Nature Day - You could be pond dipping, helping your children discover an underwater world, sweep netting in our meadow or bug hunting at our minibeast hotel.
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Thu 18, May 2023 10:00 - 12:00
Eco Tots (18 months - 5 Years) - Come and explore our beautiful environment. Aimed at 18 months - 5 years, we will spend our time outside discovering the natural environment with its woodland, grassland and ponds, an inspiring and exciting place to explore.
Tue 30, May 2023 13:00 - 15:00
Eco Adventurers (8-11 years) Minibeast Safari - Search through logs, leave and shake the trees in one of our beautiful natural environments. Find and identify minibeast, find out how they survive and build them a new home.
Tue 30, May 2023 13:00 - 15:00
Eco Explorers ( 5-8 years) - Minibeast Hunt - Join us to look for minibeasts. Go exploring and look under rocks, and branches, search the grass and trees and discover the variety of insects and invertebrates we find. Use magnifying glasses to look closer, identify what we find and record them and discover why they are important and how to look after them.
Sat 10, June 2023 10:00 - 12:00
Eco Champions (7+ years) Insects and Creepy Crawlies - Join us to look for minibeasts. Go exploring and look under rocks, and branches, search the grass and trees and discover the variety of insects and invertebrates we find. Use magnifying glasses to look closer, identify what we find and record them and discover why they are important and how to look after them.
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Thu 27, July 2023 10:00 - 12:00
Eco Tots (18 months - 5 Years) - Come and explore our beautiful environment. Aimed at 18 months - 5 years, we will spend our time outside discovering the natural environment with its woodland, grassland and ponds, an inspiring and exciting place to explore.
Thu 27, July 2023 13:00 - 15:00
Eco Explorers ( 5-8 years) - Butterflies - Be inspired by butterflies and moths- play games, spot butterflies and make some butterfly crafts to take home.
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Thu 27, July 2023 13:00 - 15:00
Eco Adventurers (8-11 years) Butterflies and Insects - Find out about butterflies and other flying insects- search the grass and flowers for them and keep an eye out for pollinators. Be inspired by nature, play games and make some insect crafts.
Sat 29, July 2023 10:00 - 12:00
Eco Champions (7+ years) Butterflies and Pollinators - Butterflies are a beautiful sight as they flutter around our flowers. Join us as we learn about the different types of butterflies, how to spot them, identify them and look after them. Take part in a butterfly count and learn the skills to record more in your own gardens. Butterflies react very quickly to changes in our environment so monitoring their numbers is important in understanding changes taking place and protecting them for the future.
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Thu 03, August 2023 10:00 - 12:00
Eco Tots (18 months - 5 Years) - Come and explore our beautiful environment. Aimed at 18 months - 5 years, we will spend our time outside discovering the natural environment with its woodland, grassland and ponds, an inspiring and exciting place to explore.
Thu 03, August 2023 13:00 - 15:00
Eco Adventurers (8-11 years) Pond Dipping - Discover the life in the ponds as we go pond dipping! Using buckets and nets we will catch the invertebrates that live in the pond, then identify them and learn more about them.
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Thu 03, August 2023 13:00 - 15:00
Eco Explorers ( 5-8 years) - Exploring Ponds - Discover the life in the ponds as we go pond dipping! Using buckets and nets we will catch the invertebrates that live in the pond, then identify them and learn more about them.
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Thu 10, August 2023 10:00 - 12:00
Eco Tots (18 months - 5 Years) - Come and explore our beautiful environment. Aimed at 18 months - 5 years, we will spend our time outside discovering the natural environment with its woodland, grassland and ponds, an inspiring and exciting place to explore.
Thu 10, August 2023 13:00 - 15:00
Eco Adventurers (8-11 years) Bushcraft - Get hands on with nature and spend some time exploring the outdoors. Try making shelters, playing camouflage games, learning animal tracks and signs and cooking on a campfire.
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Thu 10, August 2023 13:00 - 15:00
Eco Explorers ( 5-8 years) - Introduction to Bushcraft - Look for animal tracks and signs, practice your camouflage, build a den and try and light a fire without matches.
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Thu 17, August 2023 10:00 - 12:00
Eco Tots (18 months - 5 Years) - Come and explore our beautiful environment. Aimed at 18 months - 5 years, we will spend our time outside discovering the natural environment with its woodland, grassland and ponds, an inspiring and exciting place to explore.
Thu 17, August 2023 13:00 - 15:00
Eco Adventurers (8-11 years) Fantastic Flowers - Explore flowers which come in all the colours of the rainbow. Look closely at plants and flowers, identify them and learn about their structure, their importance to wildlife and other interesting facts.
Thu 17, August 2023 13:00 - 15:00
Eco Explorers ( 5-8 years) - Discovering Plants and Flowers - Look for different flowers and find out about them. Explore colours and shapes of flowers in the area and have a go at making some flower-inspired art.
Thu 24, August 2023 13:00 - 15:00
Eco Explorers ( 5-8 years) Map Explorer - Learn about maps and compasses, play navigation games and use your skills to follow routes.
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Thu 24, August 2023 10:00 - 12:00
Eco Tots (18 months - 5 Years) - Come and explore our beautiful environment. Aimed at 18 months - 5 years, we will spend our time outside discovering the natural environment with its woodland, grassland and ponds, an inspiring and exciting place to explore.
Thu 24, August 2023 13:00 - 15:00
Eco Adventurers (8-11 years) Map Challenge - Enter the world of maps and practise your compass skills by exploring. Learn how to read maps, create your own map and have a go at orienteering.
Sat 02, September 2023 19:30 - 21:00
Eco Champions (7+ years) Nocturnal Walk - Discover the animals and insects that come out at night. We will be looking for insects and nocturnal life such as moths and bats! As dusk falls we will go out searching, and use our senses and detectors to look and listen and find out more about what we discover.
Sat 14, October 2023 10:00 - 12:00
Eco Champions (7+ years) Fungi - This fascinating fungi walk will explore the area and the amazing autumn colours. We will discover some of the fungi growing, learn about them and why they are important to the ecosystem.
Tue 24, October 2023 13:00 - 15:00
Eco Explorers ( 5-8 years) Autumn Nature Walk - Explore the amazing Autumn colours as we explore the woods and meadows. Leaves are changing colour and nature is starting to prepare for Winter. Learn about the plants and animals we find and how you can help wildlife over winter.
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Tue 24, October 2023 10:00 - 12:00
Eco Tots (18 months - 5 Years) - Come and explore our beautiful environment. Aimed at 18 months - 5 years, we will spend our time outside discovering the natural environment with its woodland, grassland and ponds, an inspiring and exciting place to explore.
Tue 24, October 2023 13:00 - 15:00
Eco Adventurers (8-11 years) Nature Walk - Join the team and go on an adventure around the area. Use a map and compass to find your way and discover more about the area around you. Learn some fun facts and find out about the wildlife making its home here.
Field Studies Council want to inspire people to be curious, caring and passionate about our environment. Our Eco Adventures are designed to do just that.