IFSA Annual Gathering 2025
Location: Common Knowledge Centre, Co Clare https://www.ourcommonknowledge.org/
Dear members and friends,
We are delighted to welcome you to our seventh Annual Gathering and AGM at the Common Knowledge Centre, Co Clare. We hope to use this opportunity to Celebrate Forest School: trees, songs, games and birds, together in community with each other. We extend a special welcome to new members, trainees and to those of you joining us for the first time.
We also extend our thanks to the conference ACORN committee, The Common Knowledge Centre team and to nature for her abundant beauty and constant inspiration to us all.
It would be great to see as many people as possible from 6pm on Friday for dinner and an informal welcome circle. A way for us to fully embrace the land and our time together.
At this year’s gathering:
- Keynote speaker is Anna Richardson presenting through two workshops.
- 2 additional CPD workshops which will run twice concurrently alongside Anna Richardson’s
- Attendees choose one of Anna Richardson’s workshop and one other workshop – all details below…
- Walk of the land at the Centre with Daithi from Common Knowledge.
- Regional Gatherings
- Saturday Evening programme includes Home tree talk, film screening – Scaip Project, interactive story telling with Carol Barrett and community fire. (Bog Sauna available to book and pay through The Common Knowledge Centre)
- Tree songs: Walk the land & share songs to celebrate and connect with trees with Anna Richardson and get team. (description below, no booking required)
- IFSA AGM (details to follow in separate email)
- Open Space
Early Bird closes: 12th May
Bookings close: 2nd June
Conference fee: No refunds after 31st May
Cost: (includes conference, vegetarian lunch on Saturday and Sunday, vegetarian dinner on Saturday evening, tea and coffee throughout, evening activity, storytelling and campfire, and IFSA membership until May 2026)
Members (including current trainee members) €180 – Early bird €155
Non-member €210 – Early bird €180
Accommodation: There is accommodation on site, which is limited and is offered on a first come basis and must be booked and paid for at the same time. Please note that camping space is limited so cannot accommodate large tents. Accommodation is offered for Friday and/or Saturday nights. Prices do not include breakfast which is available for an additional €10.
Lodge Accommodation
– 2-3 bed shared, ensuite room €45 per person per night
– 5-8 bed shared dorm room, shared bathroom €35 per person per night
Note: Please indicate the names of others you wish to share with in your booking form and we will try to accommodate you.
Courtyard Rooms
– single, shared bathroom €75 per person per night
– twin, ensuite €65 per person per night (single occupancy €95 per night)
Camping:
– Camping, Hot showers, access to camping kitchen €20 per two person tent per night
– Campervan, Hot showers, access to camping kitchen €20 per night
Friday Night Dinner: 7.30pm, Vegetarian two course meal, €35 per person
Continental Breakfast: Yoghurt/porridge, fruit, granola, coffee/tea €10 per person also available to non resident attendees
Raffle for Palestine: Following last year’s wonderful spirit of generosity we ask that attendees again bring along donations for a raffle with all proceeds going to Palestine.
IFSA Hoodies: Will be available to purchase over the weekend. Email info@irishforestschoolassociation.ie if you would like to add your own crafts to a small market place.
Note: If booking for more than one attendee please email info@irishforestschoolassociation.ie with the details of and workshop choices for additional attendees.
Morning Workshops
Workshop 1: Children’s Forest Workshop by Anna Richardson, Jen Beaufoy & Jack Durtnall
Children’s Forest works with forest school practice to help restore nature connected culture and restore our land through the planting of trees for the children now and yet to come. Experience the Children’s Forest four step approach, a connective and creative journey:
● EXPERIENCE CONNECTION: giving children a sense of belonging to nature through Forest School and Ancestral skills.
● IMAGINING: cultivating the imagination, supporting children to dream into a healthy natural world for the future generations. Positive envisioning through the creative arts of story and song, art and poetry.
● PLANTING: taking positive, purposeful and practical action towards a bright future, the children plant the trees with their wishes and love for the earth and the children yet to come.
● TENDING: tending the forest over the years to come, children develop a long term relationship to the land and experience what it is to be a beneficial species, a steward of the natural world.
This workshop will be an introduction to each of the elements that are woven into the delivery of Children’s Forest projects. There will be games, ancestral skills, creative crafts, song and story, practical tree planting advice and discussion about how to bring ecology into the woodland tending practice to enhance biodiversity.
To learn more, visit the https://childrensforest.earth/ website
Bio Anna Richardson, Founder & Director. Anna founded the Children’s Forest from her deep passion to connect children to nature through creativity and reverence for life. She has 20 years experience as a nature mentor and forest school leader, working with children of all ages and mentoring adults in plant lore, foraging, nature connection and bushcraft. She works as a Forest School trainer for Circle of Life Rediscovery, and has co-authored two books: Learning with Nature and The Children’s Forest.
Workshop 2: An exploration of games and play by Arran Towers
The intention in this workshop is to share an array of games and playful activities that break the ice, give focus, encourage voice, let loose the imagination and cause laughter. We might squeeze a story in too.
Bio Hi, I’m Arran; Forest School practitioner, educator, performer and storyteller. I have co-run Mucky Boots Forest Fun in West Cork since 2017. The strong focus given to: story, play and imagination were what first drew me to forest school way back when.
Workshop 3: Bird-watching 101 by Jamie Durrant
Birding 101 – Why birds are brilliant, and how to watch ‘em!
What I will cover: What equipment you need, how to go about identifying birds, birdsong, how to show birds to kids and how to introduce kids to birds (hint: just tell them that they’re dinosaurs!)
Bio Jamie has been a National Parks and Wildlife Service Conservation Ranger for 4 years. Previous to that he worked for BirdWatch Ireland for over 10 years, firstly as a fieldworker then as Development Officer, delivering walks, talks and workshops to a wide variety of audiences. He has a lifelong passion for birds and he loves to share his enthusiasm for them
Afternoon Workshops
Workshop 4: Forest From Seed by Anna Richardson Jen Beaufoy & Jack Durtnall
The Children’s Forest from Seed is a nature connected approach to gathering and growing trees from seed with children, aiming to restore our environment as well as a healthy nature connected culture. Forest from Seed is an autumn term programme working with children to gather seeds from local trees, learning about tree lore through song & story, games & crafts, wild food and medicine making. Receiving the gifts of the trees and giving back in return by planting their seeds, children experience the ancient relationship of reciprocity, which supports life. Growing trees from seed with children is truly rewarding and joyful.
In this workshop we will walk the land and visit some of the trees, discuss and share tree lore as a group, sing, forage and share tree stories and songs. As it is not the season for gathering and planting seeds, we will spend time at the end of the session discussing the autumn term seed planting program and how to set up a tree nursery, with time for questions.
To learn more, view our Forest from Seed film
Workshop 5: An exploration of games and play by Arran Towers
Repeated workshop
Workshop 6: Bird-watching 101 by Jamie Durrant
Repeated workshop
Tree songs: Walk the land & share songs to celebrate and connect with trees
Singing together is an ancient language which opens our hearts, connects us with each other and the land. On this walk we will visit the trees and sing songs with and for them, celebrating their precious gifts and sharing knowledge as a group of the crafting, food and medicine these trees offer. These songs have sprung from forest school settings to be sung with children. There are now also adult Tree Choirs sharing fireside time singing these songs with harmony parts.
The vision of the Song Forest is to plant songs back into our culture, as we plant trees in the ground. We would love to sow the seeds of inspiration for children and people of all ages to write and share songs for the land and see this Song Forest grow over the years to come, bringing joy and connection to many. You can listen to this collection of tree songs, called the Song Forest.
Programme Outline (DRAFT )
Friday
From 6pm Arrival and registration
19:30 Dinner
20:30 Welcome circle led by IFSA ACORN
Saturday
9:00am Welcome and registration
9.45am Opening circle
10:30 Orientation to the land, Led by Daithi from Common Knowledge
11:30 Tea/ Coffee break
11:45 Concurrent Workshops (90 mins)
13:15 Lunch
14:15 Regional gatherings
15:15 Comfort break
15:30 Workshops (90 mins)
17:00 Free time
18:00 Hometree mini- talk
18:30 Dinner
19:45 Mini Film screening – Scaip Project – Jenny
8.30 til late Evening stories and songs around the fire
Sunday
9:30 Opening circle
9:45 Tree song walk Led by The Children’s Forest
11:00 Coffee. tea
11:15 AGM of The Irish Forest School Association
12:15 Open space
1:45 Closing circle
2pm Lunch and end of conference