Love the ‘back to basics’ break from hectic life for [my son]. Outdoor, no screen, lovely team around him. And for him to reconnect with friends he met previously.
Kim you are a legend!! [My daughter] absolutely loved today, she is soooo enjoying your class. It sounds amazing, we heard all about Liam!
I just wanted to thank you, [my son] absolutely loved the camp today and is begging me to book him in for a summer camp if you are having one!
I was so happy they were immersed in nature and came back with so much to say about their day. Knowing they were with such knowledgeable people was a real plus and it’s clear from the photos this is an authentic camp, like no other.
I really enjoyed how the staff interacted and taught us different things. They were really approachable and enjoyed being asked questions. I particularly liked the camp cooking! My sister Lucy enjoyed the bug hunt, and bug bingo. We both loved Tinker (Kim’s dog).

It was lovely to welcome back so many of our summer Wild Camp crew to Wytham Woods, and to meet our new recruits, this time amongst daffodils and primroses of early spring.

The weather was extraordinarily kind to us, given how cold and wet it had been right up to the day before. We had lovely sunshine for our first two days, and enough action to keep us warm on day 3.

MONDAY was led by Manse Ahmed from Wilderness Pioneers. Manse is an amazing survivalist, in high demand for his skills. He runs some fantastic courses. Check out his website. Here he is showing the group edible plants, and pointing out badger tracks, as we rambled around the Woods on Monday morning.

Nettles, primroses and dog violets - yum!

Back at base camp the kids made themselves at home in and under trees, putting up their own tarpaulin shelters, clearly remembering Manse’s lessons from last summer.

While various battles ensued between encampments, they dipped in and out of the food prep activity, chopping and grating a mountain for veg to make our signature veg stew for afternoon tea. It was a great opportunity to learn how to safely use a knife, and the best techniques for peeling and chopping onions, garlic, carrots, sweet potato, mushrooms. The stew simmered away over the fire in Manse’s huge pot for a couple of hours and ended up deliciously soft and tasty. It was devoured by kids and staff alike!

The afternoon was wiled away in the sunshine, amongst the spring flowers. The games ebbed and flowed; we intervened with helpful ideas when tensions rose, or stepped in to divert them from danger, but mostly they managed themselves with us keeping a close eye on them, and Manse helping with den building. 5pm crept up on us without anyone noticing.

TUESDAY was bug day! It was led by Katie who works on education outreach for the Darwin Tree of Life Project (DToL) in the Department of Biology at Oxford University. Katie works with Dr Liam Crowley, an amazing entomologist who is the invertebrate expert on the Wytham DToL project, and a brilliant educator himself. Liam spent the day with us, sharing his enthusiasm and expertise.

Katie had set up three moth traps the evening before - seeing and holding moths is a fantastic way to introduce people (of any age) to wildlife. The kids loved them, wearing them on their arms and faces!

The other fabulous activities that Katie organised were looking at invertebrates under the microscopes up in the lab which everyone enjoyed, bug bingo with Liam’s gory and fascinating factoids about all the insects featured, and a long ramble through the Woods with bug nets, which this time featured a mud slide!

Playing bug bingo while wearing some moths.

Playing in the straw under the parachute

WEDNESDAY was led by school teacher and bushcraft expert Charlie Montier who runs Oxford Adventure School - check out his lovely paddle boarding adventures. We started the day with a walk up the hill to warm up, and a fantastic shelter building lesson, complete with Charlie’s jungle stories about swarming ants and jaguars!

Back at base, Charlie taught the group how to light a fire using a steel and cotton wool, and keep it going until it is established. This was a fantastic life lesson in tenacity, team work, learning from failure, and the joy of success. Success meant the chance to cook some bread on a stick, and warm a frankfurter and cheese over your fire, as well as the glow of achievement after a long struggle!

After a late lunch and expeditions to the loo and for more water, Charlie taught the group to whittle safely, and to use tools safely. This was clearly so empowering. The whittling circle also got involved in some deep political discussions - I was impressed!

They loved it all - it was hard to drag them away at 4.45! But team work prevailed and we were packed up and back in the car park with happy parents at 5pm.

Many thanks to our amazing team, Katie, Manse, Zoe, Liam and Charlie, for all their amazing work and inspiration.

We are now planning another camp for Spring Half Term and for the summer holidays. Email me on kim.polgreen@admin.ox.ac.uk if you’d like to get on the mailing list for those.