Birdwings Forest School

Birdwings Forest School Award-winning therapeutic nature play programs and nature connection training on Kombumerri Country, Gold Coast.

Beginning term with a beautiful gathering of families after a gorgeous spring downpour! WildPlay has some room for more...
06/10/2026

Beginning term with a beautiful gathering of families after a gorgeous spring downpour! WildPlay has some room for more families and there is still time to book to start this week.
A few places are still available.
https://www.trybooking.com/DILBG

Playgroup starts tomorrow!! But we still have room for more. If yoy've been meaning to book, nows the time!A few places ...
05/10/2026

Playgroup starts tomorrow!! But we still have room for more. If yoy've been meaning to book, nows the time!
A few places are still available.
https://www.trybooking.com/DILBG

We know nature playgroups are good for children, but have the benefits for PARENTS been forgotten about?We know from the...
03/10/2026

We know nature playgroups are good for children, but have the benefits for PARENTS been forgotten about?

We know from the families who come to WildPlay Adventurers Parent-Child Group that something happens when parents get involved in the adventure too.

This research has given us some lovely language for that experience, validating the benefit of nature play for parents.

It also makes us curious about what other families notice when they spend regular time outdoors together.

What has your experience of nature playgroups been? We'd love to hear.

WildPlay Adventurers is running again in Term 4. 🌿 Come and explore with us. Playgroup link in bio.

Read the research: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10643-026-02363-w

02/10/2026

We loved seeing this new research about nature playgroups published this week.

We met Chris Speldewinde at the Waves of Wisdom conference at Southern Cross University earlier this year, so it was lovely to see this work with Suzanne Infantino published.

The research explores what nature playgroups offer parents and families, as well as children, and so much of it reflects what we see at WildPlay.

The friendships, shared adventures, confidence and connection that grow when we get outdoors together.

And that is what we are looking forward to continuing with WildPlay Adventurers in Term 4. 🌿

A few places are still available.
https://www.trybooking.com/DILBG

Read the research here: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10643-026-02363-w

02/10/2026

All children, of all ages, deserve respectful conversation.

I felt so sad that this child was surprised by the way I was talking with the younger children. It shouldn't be the case that children accept a power imbalance between adultsand children, even in conversations.

It reminded me that respectful, empowering communication can sometimes be quite different from what children are used to experiencing.

Empowering communication, including declarative language and sociocratic discussion, is important to us at Birdwings, no matter how old the person is that we are talking to.

We talk more about our approach to communication in our webinars, which you can find on our website.

A year after Jane Goodall's passing, we reflect on the profound influence she continues to have on our work at Birdwings...
30/09/2026

A year after Jane Goodall's passing, we reflect on the profound influence she continues to have on our work at Birdwings.

When we think of Jane, we think of compassion, quiet determination and an unwavering commitment to doing what is right. She showed us that gentleness and strength are powerful companions, and that meaningful change takes patience, courage and persistence.

These are the qualities that underpin our work at Birdwings. Our environmental mission began nine years ago, inspired by children's passion to help the local Richmond Birdwing Butterfly, a project we continue today.

Jane will forever be one of our mentors, reminding us that we can nurture compassion, walk alongside children and quietly, persistently make a difference.

Photo by Todd Burrows

Children who come to our school holiday programs tell us that they don’t often get to play outside during their weeks at...
29/09/2026

Children who come to our school holiday programs tell us that they don’t often get to play outside during their weeks at school. Their play is scheduled for breaks, and while they do some great adventures at school through excursions and incursions, their playtime together is limited.

They ask us what we will be doing next, and how long it’s going to be until the next thing happens. We always reply that we’ve got all day. If we can get back in time to make sure we eat, the rest of the day is just going to be more playing.

Some children can’t believe their luck. Others feel quite unsettled by what to do with all that time and space.

The more often they come, the more they settle into their own confidence and creativity.

Time with friends outside doesn’t need to be managed. It needs to be protected, so that children can live their vibrant childhoods.

During our adventure today, we came across something unexpected: a bat that had become tangled in the barbed wire fence....
29/09/2026

During our adventure today, we came across something unexpected: a bat that had become tangled in the barbed wire fence. We contacted Wildcare for help, and after quite some time, Susan and Anya were able to come out to rescue the bat.

We watched quietly as Susan and Anya carefully worked to free the bat from the fence. Sadly, the bat did not survive and passed away before it could be fully released.

Susan spent some time talking with the children and sharing lots of interesting facts about bats. We learnt about what bats eat and how, after flying out of a tree following a feed on nectar, they need to drop down before they can gain enough height to fly upwards again. Susan explained that this may have been how the bat became caught on the fence.

We talked about ways we could help make the fence safer for bats and other wildlife. Susan suggested tying ribbons along the top wire so that the fence is easier for bats to see as they fly through the area. The children were very interested and asked questions about the bat. Susan mentioned that the bats are mammals and they hold their babies under their wings. The bats have bones in their wings almost like the bones in our fingers.

As we watched and talked together, the children decided that our little bat friend needed a name and after much discussion, we decided to call him Optimus Prime.

Although it was sad to see the bat not make it, the experience gave us an important opportunity to slow down, observe, ask questions and learn how we can care for the wildlife we share our Country with.

This afternoon some of the children cut some material strips and we all went back down the road to tie the material around the fence to give the bats a visual of the fence in the dark.

Some of the children shared their thoughts about the experience

"Only Jesus or God can help it now"
"It’s gone to heaven now"
"Lady grabbed the bat and it had blood on its mouth."
"It had a hole in its wing"
"The mum holds the baby in its wing and it drinks the milk"
"Its wings were really stretchy"
"We can put some tape or string around the fence"
"There was a hole in its wings".

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Gold Coast, QLD

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