The direct translation of Tír na nÓg is “land of eternal youth”. It refers to a mystical land in Gaelic mythology where the trees are always in bloom, and there is always a bard (professional poet) to sing for you, where the food is always bountiful and water is always flowing, and, most of all, a place where you’ll never grow a day older. You may live for blissful eternity in this enchanted land!
The Legend of Tír na nÓg
We strive to provide and engage children with a healthy, natural environment where their learning and development is supported by freedom of time, space, materials, and nurturing to reach their fullest potential and be stewards of our natural world.
Tír na nÓg Forest School encourages a love of the outdoors and develops a sense of belonging within it. We adhere to the principles of regular and repeated access to a natural space, and child-directed, emergent, and inquiry-based learning.
Forest School is a place where children develop empathy, self-regulation, critical thinking, the ability to take and manage risks. Children develop confidence and self-esteem through experiential learning, becoming independent, balanced, resilient, and happy individuals.
Our children engage in self-directed learning, take part in prepared lessons, go on wonderful adventures, play, discover, and cultivate a love for their local woodland environment.
Days are filled with inquiry, experimentation, adventure, design, creativity, technology, arts, physical activity, and social interaction – all in a natural environment!
How We Inspire
EVERY CHILD HAS THE RIGHT TO LEARN OUTSIDE
Every child should have mud pies, grasshoppers, water bugs, tadpoles, frogs, mud turtles, elderberries, wild strawberries, acorns, chestnuts, trees to climb. Brooks to wade, water lilies, woodchucks, bats, bees, butterflies, various animals to pet, hayfields, pine-cones, rocks to roll, sand, snakes, huckleberries and hornets. And any child who has been deprived of these has been deprived of the best part of education. (Luther Burbank, American horticulturist and botanist, 1849-1929).
At Tír na nÓg Forest School, we are proud to offer children a magical childhood experience in our Forest!