Family Risks Assessment
Staying Safe while doing the Green Tree Badge
Here are our top tips for keeping safe while completing the Green Tree Badge Activities.
- Children should stay in sight of an adult at all times. If you’re at an age where you go out without an adult, make sure that someone knows where you have gone, who you are going with and what time you plan to come back. If you have a phone, take it with you.
- Go dressed according to the weather. This might mean that you need to take a coat, hat and sunscreen with you in your forester’s bag as the weather can be unpredictable!
- Lots of animals visit woodlands. If an animal such as a horse or dog is with its owner, ask the owner before approaching it.
- Animals that live in the woods usually prefer not to be touched, enjoy them by looking at them without trying to pick them up or stroke them.
- Natural spaces can have uneven ground which can make you more likely to trip. Make sure you look where you’re walking, wear fitted shoes, trainers or boots rather than sandals or flip flops and only run where it is safe to do so.
- Wear clothes that cover your arms and legs, even in warm weather. This will help protect you when you brush against nettles or brambles and reduce the chance of getting bitten by insects.
- Don’t pick anything from trees unless the adult that you are with is certain that it is an edible fruit or nut. Leave leaves and berries attached to the trees for the animals that live in the wood to enjoy.
- Avoid touching your face or your mouth with your hands until you have washed them with soap and water. Hand sanitizer will not remove many of the things that might be on your hands after you have been exploring.
- Don’t go into wooded areas or walk under trees on really windy days or during a thunder storm. There are activities within the book that can be done from home, save the visit to the woods for a calmer day.
- If you find something in the woods and you’re not sure what it is, don’t pick it up. Leave it or tell an adult.
- Millions of people visit woodlands ever year without any problems. If however you develop a rash, blisters or feel unwell after visiting a woodland then you may need to seek medical advice.
- Wear gloves to protect your hands
- Wear closed, substantial footwear that will protect your feet if the spade gets dropped or slipped. No open toes!
- Only use branches that have fallen. Removing branches from trees could hurt you and the tree.
- If you’re collecting fallen branches for your den, carry smaller branches pointing down towards the ground rather than out in front of you like a spear!
- Bigger branches should be dragged behind you with one end on the ground, never carried over your shoulder.
- Only eat things if you are sure what they are and that they are ripe.
- If you pick anything in the woods or your garden, give it a good wash before eating it or using it for cooking.
- Lots of things can be eaten raw but not everything. Make sure you check if it needs cooking before using an ingredient.
- If you aren’t confident in your plant ID skills, research things that grow on trees and then choose a recipe together to buy the ingredients from a local store.
