At Roots and Shoots we believe in environmental education for all, and so alongside our vocational training we run a range of programmes and events for learning about wildlife, plants, ecosystems and sustainably looking after our environment.
Connecting our Community with Nature
Everyone can interact with nature at Roots and Shoots during our biannual Community Open Days, which take place in May and October each year. Our open days are focused on engaging Londoners with flora, fauna and creativity, so everyone can meet creatures (both native and exotic) and learn about how they live, help us create new habitats for wildlife, do sustainable gardening workshops, and simply enjoy the relaxing ambiance of our oasis in the heart of London.
With the additions of delicious food, joyful music, wild art and collaborations with charities like Butterfly Conservation and Earthed, a day out at Roots and Shoots is not to be missed!
Find out about our next Community Open DayPrimary School and Nursery Nature Sessions
Roots and Shoots delivers environmental education sessions to local primary school and nursery groups, providing inner-city children with the opportunity to experience nature up-close. Although the regular funding for these sessions was cut in 2020, we have begun to develop a new programme and fundraise to expand our offering, including building a new area in our Wild Garden for learning.
In 2025, we aim to deliver sessions in the summer term on Fridays. Sessions are delivered outside in our beautiful Wild Garden, and are focused on engaging directly with nature, with activities such as pond dipping and a wildlife hunt across the garden.
If you are a teacher at a local primary school or nursery, get in touch to arrange a session.
Family Environmental Education
We work with the Family Volunteering Club to engage local under-5s and their families with fun nature activities in the Wild Garden, helping families to learn about their environment and support it at the same time.
Activities are seasonal, and may include planting bulbs, sowing seeds, making bird feeders and bug hotels, recording wildlife in our pond and across the gardens, as well as a story and a song at the end of each session.
Book sessions via the Family Volunteering Club websiteSEN and Secondary Nature Activities
Groups from local Special Educational Needs and mainstream secondary schools visit Roots and Shoots for weekly sessions in which they get the opportunity to experience the wonder of nature in a familiar urban environment via the School Links Programme.
As part of the programme, learners practise the basics of horticulture with seed sowing, learning about soil and what a plant needs to grow and harvesting their produce.
Activities often takes place in the Wild Garden, where learners observe wildlife, identify plants, and discover how flora, fauna and fungi all work together in an ecosystem, alongside practical and fun forest school activities.
Find out more about the School Links Programme
Volunteering to Engage with Nature
While much of our activities focus on environmental education for children and young people, people of all ages need more access to nature learning. Our corporate volunteering programme is for working adults, who help our charity by doing practical outdoor activities to maintain and improve our green spaces.
Volunteer groups visiting Roots and Shoots swap a day in front of the computer with a day amongst the foliage, getting their hands dirty and meeting our many newts. While for many a volunteering day is simply a fun active day out, it is also a chance to be reminded of how restorative connecting with nature is, and to rethink how we can all make a positive impact for nature at home, learning skills for transforming any outdoor space into a vital green oasis.
Find out more about Corporate Volunteering