Dads Outdoors Project

If you go down to the woods today, you’re sure of a big surprise!

A jogger, on his weekly run through the woods at the CS Lewis Nature Reserve, was stopped in his tracks on a mild December morning. Had he stumbled across a Teddy Bear’s Picnic? Spotted the notorious Gruffalo? Or worse still, the Big Bad Mouse? In actual fact, the jogger had come across a band of little explorers and their fathers from the Roundabout Children’s Centre, Headington. 13 fathers and 23 children had ventured down to the CS Lewis Nature Reserve in Risinghurst to take part in the Centre’s first Dads Outdoors session.

Dads Outdoors is a project involving 9 Children’s Centre’s across Oxfordshire. The project aims to enable fathers and their children to make better use of their local environment on a regular basis and to build local networks of support and collaboration. The Roundabout Centre’s first Dads Outdoors event made the usually tranquil forest come alive with activity as the children and fathers explored their surroundings, looking for creatures, and made Christmas decorations. It was a big surprise to the jogger who runs that route every weekend and rarely encounters another person.  

Despite living within minutes of the Nature Reserve, many of the group had never been their before. However, after spending the morning in the woods, all the dads vowed to come back again with the whole family. One father commented ‘I experienced a different aspect of play with my child…the forest side. The centre had planned to use the pond at the Nature Reserve to go pond dipping, but had to make some last minute rearrangements after discovering that pond dipping in winter can damage the pond life’s habitat. Instead, with a little bit of wire, the dads got creative and made Christmas stars, wreaths and even a forest crown in the woodland next to the pond. The children used magnifying glasses and small pots to search and collect minibeasts that ranged from earthworms to millipedes.

Over the coming months, the Roundabout centre will be organising monthly outdoor events. They will be coming back to the CS Lewis in the warmer months to carry out their pond dipping event as well as exploring other local locations with a different focus for each event. Oxfordshire has some fantastic outdoor spaces and through the Dads Outdoors project, local families will be finding out about places to go and things to do in their area.  To find out more, please contact the Roundabout Centre (01865 764952).

                             

 

Some comments from the dads:-

·        I will take my children (to the CS Lewis Nature Reserve) more regularly

·        We enjoyed collecting worms and making a star out of twigs

·        I shall visit the pond with my wife and family

·        We loved the fresh air and adventure: feeding ducks, finding bugs and playing in an adventurous environment

·        I shall go out next weekend with the children, just like today

·        Fresh air, good mix of dads, friendly, fun in the woods…it was great!

The other centres involved in the Dads Outdoors project are The East Street Centre and Britannia Road Children’s Centre (Banbury), Witney Children’s Centre, Elms Road Children’s Centre, Marston Northway Children’s Centre (Oxford), North Abingdon Children’s Centre, South Abingdon Children’s Centre and Wantage Children’s Centre. To find out about their programme of activities, please contact the appropriate children’s centre.