Toileting And Forest School

Today, I’m going to be talking about something that is quite under spoken about perhaps because of its nature and that is toileting and Forest School.

We All Use The Toilet…But How Is It Different At Forest School?

We all need to use the bathroom when in the woods, its human nature after all. Ideally it should be made as easy and as effective as possible to suit a Forest Schools situation. Now as a parent the thought of your child needing the toilet when at a Forest School can make you ponder ‘ Well? What actually does happen?’ To which I shall answer now.

The Toileting Conundrum

Straight out there are quite a number of approaches taken to toileting outdoors. This is because different situations require different ways of thinking. There is no one-size-fits-all approach unfortunately. However each method will focus on the privacy and dignity of your child with toilet tents and pre built cabins being installed to conform quite rightly with child protection protocol.

The Main Toileting Options

So what are the potential toileting options?

Now there are potentially 4 main methods that are used, in some capacity, in the Forest school world which I shall discuss now.

#1 The use of public convenience.
Some Forest Schools take place in public park with access to flushing toilets. Particularly during parent and toddler session or other shorter term, adult attended sessions these can be well used. This is quite clearly the easiest toileting option for a lot of Forest Schools for a grandeos number of reasons.

#2 Wild Toileting
When a site does not have toilet facilities or if you are too far away from public conveniences one Forest School option is wild toileting.

Here a hole is dug in the ground away from main camp and play areas and children can use this at their convenience. The waste is then buried over and left to recycle.

There are a number of factors that need to be taken into account here not least its location to an open water source and away from potential disturbances.

This is not the favoured option for a variety of reasons, but an option non the less.

#3 A Portaloo.
This is the most popular option of many Forest School’s particularly those who follow a leave no trace ethos. It has become popular due to it’s simplicity, effectiveness and appropriateness for Forest School.

Here toileting equipment, such as that found in the camping world, including toilet bags are brought to site, are used by the children and then is removed, waste an all from the site and disposed of correctly, hygienically and sustainability.

#4 Composting Toilets
An option increasing in popularity especially those who manage permanent sites are compost toilets! How cool right? Ultimately this can be a super sustainable solution and fits perfectly the ethos of Forest School.

When working well, they can be a brilliant solution to managing waste onsite and the smell is minimal, if the compost toilet system is functioning properly. After use small amounts of material such as sawdust are sprinkled on to increase the composting process.

The Use Of Common Sense

As usual throughout all this, common sense prevails along with available guidelines when it comes to toileting outdoors:
• If you can use a public convenience then do so.
• Put in place an environmentally sustainable and Leave No Trace approach.
• Be mindful of the need to respect children’s privacy and dignity.
• Ensure procedures follow best hygiene and infection control practice as much as possible.
• Wash your hands, following good hand hygiene practices.

So there you have it toileting and Forest School. Which would you prefer?

You’re Just One Session Away!