What to do: resources

This page provides details of organisations offering resources for use in the outdoors. These include hands-on projects for children to build and make, lesson plans linked to curriculum areas, and factsheets, posters and information packs to download or send away for.

Photo of two pre-schol age girls writing together

Countryside Ranger resources

Great ideas for imaginative outdoor projects with younger children on our Early Years site.

Create-A-Scape

Create-A-Scape is a new website that provides free resources to enable teachers and pupils to create digitally-enhanced, personalised learning experiences. The mobile technology the resource uses makes it ideal for outdoor learning. The area for teachers includes some useful guidelines and tips for working with mediascapes in a school setting, an outline of the benefits of mediascape projects, information on the hardware and software required, and answers to some frequently asked questions.

Grounds for Learning

Grounds for Learning (GfL) offer a free resource pack to help you participate in Scottish School Grounds Week (June each year). In addition to a range of ideas and free resources available on the website, GfL offers three tailored membership programmes targetted at early years, schools and grounds professionals. Membership provides unlimited access to individual advice and support by phone or email; bimonthly mailings full of inspiration; online access to a comprehensive library of resources; and discounts on training, conferences and publications.

Growing Schools

Growing Schools is aimed at English schools but contains plenty of useful material for Scottish teachers too. Designed to support teachers in using the outdoor classroom across the curriculum, it focuses on food, farming and the countryside, on ensuring pupils are given first-hand experience of the natural world around them and on integrating outdoor learning activities into everyday teaching practices.

Illustration of a school building with arrows coming out of it

Learning in context

This unit from the Learning and Teaching Scotland Study Skills site demonstrates to students the benefits of having knowledge of learning that goes beyond what is provided in lessons and lectures. It looks at opportunities for informal learning outside the classroom, and provides links to the websites of organisations that provide opportunities for volunteering.

Learning Outside the Classroom

This organisation for England and Wales promotes experience of the world beyond the classroom as an essential part of learning and personal development. The website provides guidance and resources for a wide range of learning opportunities.

Let's Go Sailing!

Help Katy to navigate all the way around Scotland in this playable demo. Links with 5-14 National Guidelines on Mathematics, levels C-E.

Met Office resources

The Met Office website learning centre offers activites and learning materials for teachers and learners at all levels. It also has a resources page, offering weather-related DVDs, CD-ROMs and posters for sale.

Montanalingua - Outdoor languages

Montanalingua is a LINGUA 2 project of the EU Socrates Programme and takes learning foreign languages out of the traditional classroom environment to teach students outdoors through adventure activities such as hiking, orienteering and crossing streams. Montanalingua has created 25 innovative lesson plans for the target languages German, English, French and Swedish.

Numbers Count

Numbers Count is a series of posters and postcards showing 10 different people explaining why numbers are important to them. Examples of people working in the outdoors include Craig Mathieson, Antarctic explorer and Heather Reid, meteorologist.

Photo of a puffin with several small fish in it's mouth

RSPB Wildlife Explorers

The RSPB Wildlife Explorers website contains lots of useful information and guidance on a range of activities for children. The teaching resources section has activities bases around specific curricular areas and there is also an 'Out-of-classroom learning guide' to download, full of practical ideas for outdoor projects and activities.

Photo of three boys running up forest track

Tree trunk online

The tree trunk online is a guide to resources available about trees, woods and forests. It provides a wealth of information about resources selected to be most relevant and of most value to teachers delivering a range of courses in Scotland. There are links to the relevant curriculum, advice on how to use the materials, a listing of useful organisations, a bibliography and a glossary, as well as a guide to setting up a community woodland.

Wildlife Scotland resource pack

VisitScotland has produced a free wildlife pack aimed at P4 to P5 children. It is packed with informative educational materials intended to help pupils work towards 5-14 level C of Environmental Studies. You can see a summary of the pack online and also place an order. Every order will also go into a prize draw to win a day out for pupils to Highland Spring in Perthshire - an interactive way to learn about the interdependent role of the water cycle and the environment, first hand.