Empower Children: Help Fund Bursary Places at HARE

Charlie Berrow is organizing this fundraiser.

Donation protected

What is HARE Forest School?

HARE Forest School is dedicated to nurturing the physical and mental health and wellbeing of families, through mindful engagement with nature in the Forest of Dean. Forest School builds resilience, self-esteem, and confidence. It also improves mental health while educating and teaching life skills, supporting children to reach their potential.

Why do we need your help?

Where funding allows, we offer bursary places to make our services accessible to families with low incomes. Often, those who can least afford services are the ones who benefit greatly. Unfortunately, some of this funding has recently run out.

At present, we have 15 children from the Forest of Dean, ranging in age from 2 to 12 years, who are benefiting from Forest School through bursary placements. For many of these children, our weekly sessions represent their sole opportunity to connect with nature, particularly as they lack a garden at home. A significant portion of these children come from single-parent households, with many facing special educational needs. Additionally, most are being home-educated due to challenges accessing mainstream education.

To ensure that these children can continue benefiting from our vital educational and well-being services, we are reaching out for your support.

Securing funding for these placements from the Easter holidays until the end of the summer term will amount to £1,515. This sum covers the necessary materials for workshop activities and compensates experienced specialist staff for their dedicated service. Whether your donation is small or large, it will greatly impact each child's experience. If you are able, we kindly ask for your contribution to help maintain accessibility to our forest workshops for children in need.

What’s involved in the workshops?

Children with bursary placements currently participate in two of our public groups, which are open to all families. These are Forest Play, a woodland Stay & Play session for parents and young children held at 9:30 am on Mondays, and our Forest School for Home Educated Children, which takes place on Monday afternoons.

Each session follows a structured format:

Arrival and gathering at base camp.
Opening Circle: Includes introductions, an overview of activities available for the day, information on who to approach for assistance or support, and a break for drinks and snacks. For our afternoon group, this also includes lunch.
Our activities encompass a wide range of experiences, including crafts, bushcraft, sensory play, active outdoor games, den building, cooking over an open fire, and free play.

"Hare Forest School in Parkend has been and continues to be an invaluable resource for my three children, with my youngest daughter joining this term. Hare provides not only a nurturing and safe environment for children to learn, grow, and enjoy, but more importantly, a space for friends and socialisation away from parents."

- Parent of children accessing bursary placements

If you have any questions about HARE Forest School or this fundraiser, please don't hesitate to reach out. We appreciate any support you can provide. Thank you!