Outdoor & Woodland Learning Scotland is dedicated to increasing the use of Scotland’s outdoor environments for learning.

Our aims are:

  • Increasing first hand learning experiences.
  • Supporting Learning for Sustainability
  • Improving health and well being through outdoor learning
  • Increasing skills, knowledge and understanding of outdoor environments

Learning outdoors, be in in playgrounds, towns, cities, parks or our stunning natural environments, actively engages young people and connects their broader learning with the world around them.

OWL Scotland is supported by Scottish Forestry and evolved out of the Forest Education Initiative (FEI) which has run successfully for over 20 years.

Nationally OWL Scotland supports outdoor and woodland learning for local OWL groups through provision of:

• Grants
• Resources
• Advice
• Training
• Networking Opportunities

Learning outdoors, be in in playgrounds, towns, cities, parks or our stunning natural environments, actively engages young people and connects their broader learning with the world around them.

OWL Scotland is supported by Scottish Forestry and evolved out of the Forest Education Initiative (FEI) which has run successfully for over 20 years.

Nationally OWL Scotland supports outdoor and woodland learning for local OWL groups through provision of:

Grants
Resources
Advice
Training
Networking Opportunities

FAQs

What is OWL Scotland?

Outdoor & Woodland Learning Scotland is a membership organisation supported nationally by Scottish Forestry. OWL Scotland comprises many local groups around Scotland who work in partnership to meet the aims of OWL Scotland.

OWL Scotland encourages outdoor and woodland learning by providing support both nationally and to the network of local OWL groups around Scotland. This support includes national provision of advice, resources, grants, training and national networking events which bring together practitioners from around the network. Locally groups are supported to offer support for outdoor and woodland learning through training, skills share and networking opportunities for members.

Join Your Local OWL Group

To find your local OWL group visit the Group webpage. Use the map to locate your closest group. The individual link should take you to the groups webpage where contact details for the group can be located.

Subscribe to the OWL Scotland Bulletin

Become a member of OWL Scotland by signing up and receive our bulletin for information on events, resources and training around Scotland. Sign up here.

Come to an Event

The Event tab is a great way to quickly check dates to see what is being delivered and where.

The OWL Scotland website hosts a great range of information on outdoor learning. From educational resources for all ages and stages with links to the Curriculum for Excellence through to other resources such as guidance notes, research and project reports. The learning section of the site contains information on Forest Kindergarten, Forest Schools and Rural Skills. The local group section provides a map so you can locate groups. The local group pages provides more information on each group and how to contact them. Events for both OWL Scotland and local OWL groups are shown on the events page.

OWL Scotland runs a national networking weekend on an annual basis. This event is advertised through the OWL Scotland bulletin and through local OWL groups.

Local OWL groups run frequent events including skills share sessions and smaller networking events around Scotland. More information on these can be found through the group webpages and the event calendar on this website.

OWL Scotland runs an annual series of training events nationally. These are often specialist courses and available to members of OWL Scotland. These can be found on the Events page.

Local OWL groups run courses on a variety of topics and are well spread geographically around Scotland. Please visit the individual groups pages for more information on training/ CPD or check the Events page here.