In this lively, idea packed episode of The Forest School Podcast, Lewis and Wem move from Halloween chatter to a full nature reset. Wales waterfalls, Pen y Fan, Regent’s Park squirrels, and the deer rut at Richmond Park set the scene for a deeper dive. Lewis picks up Ludo Botany again and invites listeners to help build a new series, starting with tree climbing. The pair then unpack a Finnish trial that “rewilded” kindergartens with real forest floor to boost children’s microbiomes, compare new Australian findings, and explore equity, ethics, hygiene practice, and culture change. A new original song appears too. It is written from the viewpoint of an oak tree watching its acorns become craft supplies. 🌳

⏱ Chapter Timings

00:00 – Patreon intro and scene setting

01:12 – Halloween, Wales waterfalls, Pen y Fan, London parks, and the deer rut

07:02 – Ludo Botany returns and a listener call out for tree climbing nominations

09:21 – New song premiere about acorns and seasonal crafting

13:28 – Finland’s “forest floor in preschool” study and children’s microbiomes

20:12 – Australian follow up and wider wellbeing gains beyond health

22:55 – Mud as equity and even an academic intervention for learners

26:30 – Ethics and longevity of transplanted soil and maintenance questions

33:22 – Practicalities in settings: hygiene, thresholds, roles, and risk benefit

35:56 – Alternatives: link settings to real woodlands and use green hedges to cut pollution

🌲 Keywords

Forest School, microbiome play, rewilded kindergartens, Finnish early years, Australian study, loose parts, hygiene thresholds, equity in education, tree climbing, Ludo Botany, Richmond Park deer rut, Welsh waterfalls

🔖 Hashtags

#ForestSchool #OutdoorEducation #NaturePlay #EarlyYears #ChildDevelopment

🎧 Catch the full episode:

Spotify: https://shorturl.at/4WdyI

YouTube: https://shorturl.at/3qOUs

Apple: https://shorturl.at/FxfMF

RSS: https://shorturl.at/A0kx9

📚 Article and studies mentioned

Guardian feature: https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/oct/29/soil-sandpit-children-dirty-biodiversity-finnish-nurseries-research-microbes-bacteria-aoe

Finnish intervention study (Science Advances, 2020): https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.aba2578

Open-access version: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7556828/

Australian childcare soil microbiome study (2024): https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38583619/

Flinders news summary: https://news.flinders.edu.au/blog/2024/06/18/dose-of-dirt-for-healthy-play/

On playground pollution barriers with hedges: https://www.cam.ac.uk/research/news/roadside-hedges-can-reduce-harmful-ultrafine-particle-pollution-around-schools

and https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-022-18509-w

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