As 2019 comes to a close, here at Learning through Landscapes we’ve been reflecting on another year leading the UK and ROI campaign, and our shared contribution to the global movement calling for more and better outdoor learning and play in schools for every child and young person.  It’s a cause close to our hearts, and we know to yours too.

During 2019, global signups topped 3 million and considering those schools which couldn’t easily access the internet to register their pupils, we know the actual participation was far higher. In the UK and ROI more than 700,000 children and young people led by 4500 teachers and schools joined us, adding their voices to the celebration of the benefits of more time outdoor during the school day. In addition, 900+ parents, carers, local businesses and fellow NGOs signed up as ‘supporters’ championing their local schools and nurseries and our three shared campaign goals.

As a global movement, Outdoor Classroom Day is so much bigger than our two annual days of celebration in May and November but let’s not forget the importance of these days as a catalyst for more and better outdoor learning and play in schools every day. 32% of teachers have told us they have increased outdoor play since registering for Outdoor Classroom Day and 44% have increased outdoor learning. We’re so proud of this and everything else achieved by the campaign over the last 12 months.

Here is a selection of our 2019 highlights:

• Almost 700,000 UK and ROI signups!
• Trending on Twitter in both May and November-despite high-profile political activity
• The involvement of Government departments (UK, ROI and in the devolved nations)
• ‘Actions for good’ including beach cleans, litter picking and creating wildlife habitats
• Enthusiasm for outdoor STEM – 70% of the teaching resources downloaded from our website this year were Science, Technology, Engineering or Maths related
• Chris Evans talking about Outdoor Classroom Day on the Virgin Radio Breakfast Show reaching 1.1 million people
• Our short Outdoor Classroom Day film (just released and encouraging signups for 2020) has already reached 21,000 people- can you help share it further?
• 3000m2 of new wildflower meadow around UK and ROI schools next year thanks to our partners, Seedball
• The Wildlife Trusts release their new report ‘Nature Nurtures Children’ on Outdoor Classroom Day in recognition of the importance of the day in the environmental and educational calendars
• The Our Bright Future group of projects launch their new campaign (one part of which mirrors our call for a minimum 1 hour of outdoor learning a day for all children and young people) on Outdoor Classroom Day
• Our senior team championing Outdoor Classroom Day at a series of high-profile events including the Bryanston Educational Summit and the School Farms Network Annual Conference
• The continued generosity and support of our sponsors, Unilever’s Dirt for Good and Persil brands

We’d love to hear your highlights.  Please let us know online using #OutdoorClassroomDay hashtag or by emailing ukandireland@outdoorclassroomday.com

We’d also love to hear your ideas for themes or challenges the campaign should respond to in 2020 and beyond. You can post them online with the campaign hashtag or email us.

Want to get organised for 2020?

Click here to register for the 21 May and 5 November 2020 and add your pupils to the 186,000 already signed up (remember you need to register for each ‘day’ to be counted!). Next year we plan to make things bigger and better than ever before. You won’t want to miss it.

In the meantime, thank you for your continued support and whatever your plans for the holiday period, we hope they are filled with love, laughter and time outdoors!

With Season’s Greetings and best wishes for the New Year,
The Outdoor Classroom Day team at Learning through Landscapes