Set in 38 acres of green space in Chapelthorpe, Camphill Wakefield is a specialist college supporting 65 young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND).
Education at Camphill is structured around three pathways – communication, independence, and employability – and environmental care is increasingly central to all of them.
“A few years ago, we aligned all our curriculum to the priority labour markets in the area – one of which is conservation and environmental,” explained James Heaton-Jennings, CEO of Camphill Wakefield.
“We had five acres of land that we weren’t using as effectively as we wanted to, and so it was an enormous opportunity to work with the White Rose Forest to be able to turn a vision that we had into reality.”
That vision is now becoming a vibrant new woodland, thanks to funding awarded by the White Rose Forest from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs’ (DEFRA) Nature for Climate Fund and Northern Gas Networks. It’s part of the White Rose Forest’s Green Streets initiative, which promotes urban tree planting and environmental regeneration.
“We want to create a new woodland environment at Camphill to give opportunities for their students to further their educational and employment opportunities,” said Ricky Nos, Green Streets Project Officer for White Rose Forest.
“We’ve got a range of species – from larger woodland species such as oak and birch to pioneers like silver birch and alders, and more staple trees like hawthorn and holly.
“This project, like all our Green Streets work, is all about connecting communities with trees and bringing the benefits that trees give us – they clean our air, they cool our cities, cut down noise pollution, and are massively influential towards our mental and physical well-being.”
The new outdoor learning space will be used by students to practice real-life employability skills in conservation and land-based industries – sectors that are expanding regionally and nationally. But the benefits go far beyond job-readiness.
“Our students can engage with nature, be in an environment that is incredibly calming, and undertake activity that is really important to the local labour market,” said Heaton-Jennings.
“Our facilities include small animal care, riding stables, kitchens, and spaces where the community can engage with our young people. There’s a lot of resources available here, and this new space adds another layer of opportunity.”
The project is a timely example of the values at the heart of Great Big Green Week, the UK’s biggest celebration of community action to tackle climate change and protect nature, which runs 7–15 June.
Across the UK, communities will be coming together to explore how they can "swap together" – trading ideas, resources, habits, and skills to tackle the climate crisis.
In Wakefield, Camphill’s woodland shows how land use, education, and community wellbeing can be swapped into harmony. As Nos says: “This is about bringing nature back into our urban environments, creating nature corridors, and giving people the chance to work together for something lasting.”
With students already helping to plant trees and shape the space, the woodland promises to be a living legacy of what happens when vision, community and nature meet. For Heaton-Jennings, the goal is clear: “It’s about supporting young people to be as independent as possible in their future lives – whatever that might be.”