Trees and woodlands

On this page, you will find resources and activity plans from Foundation Phase to Lifelong Learning, covering everything from how to measure a tree’s height to calculating how much carbon is locked up in an individual tree.

Curriculum links are included in the documents and all the activities will help you deliver many aspects of the National Literacy and Numeracy Framework (LNF) and Digital Competence Framework.

Why are trees important?

This activity plan explains the many benefits that trees and woodlands provide for both people and the environment.

Why are trees important (activity plan)
Why are trees important (resource cards)

Seed dispersal 

From learning about how animals help seeds disperse to understanding what a seed needs to successfully germinate, all these activities are interactive and designed to get your learners moving.

• Seed dispersal (activities and games) 
• Seed dispersal (resource cards)
• Get set, grow (resource cards) 
• Seed, leaf and tree (resource cards)
• Trees and seeds (quiz)
• Seed dispersal (information note)

Our information note explains how and why plants disperse their seeds. From ‘bursting’ to ‘drop and roll’ there are many different methods of seed dispersal.

Measuring trees

From measuring tree height to discovering the age of a tree, these activities can help embed an understanding of numerous mathematical concepts whilst making the most of the outside classroom.

Tree measuring activities (activity plan)
DIY tree measuring kit (template)

Woodland management - the tree cycle

This activity plan looks at the life cycle of trees and the cycle of sustainable woodland management.

Woodland management tree cycle (activity plan)
Woodland management tree cycle (resource cards)

Spotlight on oak

From its excellent wildlife value to how its timber is used, check out our presentation for everything you need to know about oak trees. The accompanying notes for each slide gives detailed information for you to share with your audience.

Focus on oak (PowerPoint presentation)

Want to be able to tell a pedunculate oak from a sessile?

This information note explains the physical differences between these two native British oak species. 

How to distinguish a sessile oak from a pedunculate oak (information note)

Want to try and grow an acorn from seed into an oak tree? 

How to grow an acorn (information note)

Growing trees from seed - Operation Acorn

This presentation highlights how acorns are grown from seed to tree in a tree nursery. Acorns are highly perishable, so with thousands of acorns to plant, it's a race against time to get them in the ground.

Growing trees from seed - Operation Acorn (PowerPoint presentation)  - coming soon

How a tree works

The secret life of a tree uncovered.  This activity plan will get your learners moving by getting them to build a human tree and acting out the various functions of the tree’s parts.

How a tree works (activity plan)
How a tree works (poster)

Use our poster as an aid to the ‘How a tree works’ activity or as a reference for learners.

Trees and carbon 

These activities highlight the important role trees have in absorbing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere through photosynthesis and storing it as carbon in the form of wood.

Carbon footprint  (activity plan)

This activity plan explains how to calculate your learners’ carbon footprints using measurement, calculations and a graph and how to measure how much carbon is stored in trees.

Carbon (information note)
Carbon footprint (worksheet)
Carbon footprint (resource cards)
Carbon storage calculator  (activity plan)

This activity explains how to measure how much carbon is stored in trees, how to age and identify different types of trees and describe how trees combat climate change by storing carbon.

Carbon equivalents (resource cards)
Carbon storage calculator (worksheet)

Treemendously thirsty!

Lots of opportunities for numeracy; this activity plan allows learners to calculate the daily water intake of a chosen tree.  It explains how trees both lose and take up water from the environment.

Treemendously thirsty (activity plan)
Treemendously thirsty (worksheet)

Tree planting

Want to plant trees? This activity plan explains everything you need to know -  when and where to plant and how to protect and look after your new trees.

Tree planting (activity plan)

A high risk felling operation - Bont Evans Tree Works and Stabilisation (BETWS)

This presentation gives and overview of the aims and results of a high risk felling operation. It looks at all the factors that have to be considered when delivering the project.

Betws tree felling project

Edible or Deadible?

Foraging for wild food has become very popular but unless you are 100% sure, leave those mushrooms, berries and interesting looking fruits alone! 

This game highlights the importance of knowing what is safe to eat and what should be left alone.

Edible Deadible (Instructions and answers)
Edible Deadible (Picture cards)

Branching out into books! 

Books are a wonderful resource for introducing and deepening learners’ knowledge and understanding about trees, woodlands and the creatures that live within them.

Check out our list of woodland themed books and linked topics. 

Branching out into books! (information note)