Spring Blog 2025
The Woodlands are full of Wild Garlic & Bluebells which can mean only one thing, it must be Spring!
Welcome to this Year's Spring Blog!
To celebrate we would like to share a delicious little twist for making Wild Garlic Pesto:
Rinse the Wild Garlic and then add to a blender
Add; olive oil, walnuts, chives, lemon or lime juice, parmesan, add some salt and pepper to taste
Blend to a consistency you like.
Store in a jar in the fridge
Add to everything and anything you like; pizza, pasta, add to a mayo dip or whatever you prefer!
Online Portfolio
Alongside the qualification review, we have been developing our brand new Online Portfolio platform for all qualifications.
This new system will be rolled out to all new learners from 1st September.
We hope that the new Online Portfolio system will facilitate better communication between trainers and learners, and allow learners to upload a range of evidence types, including audio and video files.
Watch this space for more details!
Updated Qualifications
As a recognised centre for the Awarding Organisation Agored Cymru, and a leading member of the Outdoor Learning Trainers Network Wales, it's Cambium's job to ensure that all of the qualifications we offer are up to date and based on the latest research and theory.
These qualification reviews are carried out every 5 years and take a lot of time and focus!
Thanks to the dedication of a small steering group, we are working hard to complete this review, along with updates of all training materials and resources, before the new units go live on 1st September 2025.
The guiding aims of this review have been:
To maintain the quality and integrity of all units.
To increase accessibility by reducing the academic burden in some areas, and by encouraging more diversity in the way we assess learners' evidence, for example using professional conversations and tutor observations.
To build in more of a focus on personal experiences and examples from the learners own practice.
We have also been liaising with the FSA throughout the process to ensure we retain parity between the qualifications being delivered in Wales and those delivered in England.
Online and Blended Courses
Don't forget that we have a range of short CPD courses, free to access, on the Cambium website.
What is Forest School?
Risk at Forest School
Play at Forest School
Forest School Theory
Nature-Based Practical Activity Leader
Exciting news!
We have just been signed off as a centre to deliver the Level 2 Extended Award in Learning in the Outdoors or, as we are branding it ‘Nature-Based Practical Activity Leader’.
This is a hands-on course, with a focus on giving learners the confidence and skills to deliver a very practical programme of skills-based learning at their setting. We think this will be a great hit with schools as it is a course with lots of practice, and not too much theory, making it more accessible in terms of pricing and time spent out of setting.
We will also be working to ensure that the assessment of this new course is as practical and observation-based as possible.
Watch this space for more details!
High Quality Outdoor Learning 2025 - Published by the Institute of Outdoor Learning
Cambium Sustainable is a proud organisational member of the IOL:
https://www.outdoor-learning.org/organisation-directory/cambium-sustainable.html
This first edition is published on #GlobalOutdoorLearningDay (21st November 2024) to celebrate the powerful impact of the outdoors on education and personal development. Global Outdoor Learning Day is an opportunity to showcase diverse outdoor learning activities, share best practices, and inspire a love for the natural world in learners of all ages.
Outdoor learning is a term that covers various approaches to engaging with the outdoors for learning and developmental purposes. This guide focuses on the delivery of high quality outdoor learning – what it looks like and how to achieve it. It recognises that outdoor learning takes
place, not only in the formal education sector and through outdoor providers, but equally in youth services and voluntary youth organisations, as well as in a wide range of outdoor activity clubs that cater for young people, health settings and in peer and family groups.
To read more go to: https://www.outdoor-learning.org/resource/high-quality-outdoor-learning-2025.html
