Our school, the Royal Blind school, Sight Scotland, is across the road from the Astley Ainslie hospital. The hospital gardens are open to the public and have over 2,000 trees, and sometimes we go to there for outdoor learning lessons with Margon, who helps us learn about the outdoors.

Recently we went to a wooded area to make a den for shelter. We could see lots of green everywhere. It had been raining but we could feel the warm sun and smell the wet ground, which was spongy and soft under our feet. It had been windy and there were twigs and leaves on the ground. We found a tree with textured bark that felt like veins. Margon told us that the bits we could feel were old ivy vines. We could hear lots of birds and feel the breeze and hear it rustling the leaves.

We had to find two sturdy trees to support the rope for our den. There were so many, and it was difficult to find two that were sturdy enough and that had space between them. Eventually, we found two and used a rope to support a tarpaulin to make our den. When it was finished, we sat inside and it was peaceful and quiet, and we concentrated on the sounds and smells of the woods. Before we went back to school, we made a den for our toy animals with materials that real animals might use.

On our way back, we found twigs and leaves and took them to our school sensory garden to use for an art project. We love our outdoor learning sessions and feel lucky to have somewhere near our school where we can experience nature.
Kearyn, 13, and Adrianna, 13