The Parks and Countryside Service provides education in ‘the outdoor classroom’ for thousands of school children every year.
Interactive guided tours
Parks and Countryside staff provide sessions for school groups themed around all aspects of the local environment, focussing mainly on nature, wildlife and history.
Outdoor education sessions popular with schools include learning about the Tudors at Temple Newsam farm, Pond dipping at Middleton Park and Bug hunting at Otley Chevin and they are all linked to various aspects of the primary school curriculum!
Education sessions are available in Parks, woodlands and nature reserves across the city.
Visiting our animal collections
Guided tours and interactive activities themed around our animal collections are available at:
Temple Newsam, Home Farm
Lotherton Hall bird garden
Pudsey Park Visitor Centre
Tropical World
To book a self-guided class visit to Tropical World, download the booking form attached below and return to the email address at the bottom of the form.
Tudors at Temple Newsam
One of our most popular education sessions is Tudor re-enactment at Temple Newsam, Home Farm. Dress up and find out what it was like to live in Tudor times for a day.
Field trips
Find out more about the history and wildlife of a park, nature reserve or woodland near you by booking a visit for your class with one of the Countryside Rangers. The Rangers run a variety of half day sessions for school classes including pond dipping, wildlife watching, bug hunting, seed gathering, guided walks and tree trails.
Education sessions are available on any suitable green space within walking distance of your school but groups often go the extra mile to visit some of the following popular sites:
Chevin Forest Park
Middleton park and woods
Golden Acre park
Billy Woods in Kippax
The Meanwood Valley
Roundhay Park
Redhall Plant Nursery
Staff from our plant nursery are available to lead tours around the nursery in the main growing season, April – May and with over 3 million plants being grown there every year, it’s definitely worth a look! School visits to the Nursery can also include planting seeds for your class to take away and grow on.
Young plants (including food plants) are available to buy from our plant nursery at Redhall at competitive prices.
Nursery staff are also available to visit your school and give advice on your school grounds.
Self-guided visits and teacher’s packs
Teachers who are interested in self-guided visits can access free education packs for Lotherton Hall, Temple Newsam and Tropical World. These can be found as attachments at the bottom of this page. Teacher’s packs for Middleton park and Pudsey park visitor centre are coming soon – watch this space!.
To book a visit or for more information, contact our Education Officer at parks@leeds.gov.uk or 0113 3367559.
Parkswatch
The Parkswatch team that patrol green spaces on motorcycles, dealing with any issues that arise, are available to visit school fairs with their bikes and other equipment to chat about what they do. The visits are very popular as children get to sit on the motorbikes and have their photographs taken! This service is free.
