School Excursions in Nature | Outdoor Education Illawarra NSW
Outdoor Education Excursions at Mt Keira, Wollongong
Nature-based School Excursions For children in Wollongong, Illawarra NSW
Outdoor Education in Wollongong
Supporting Educators: Curriculum-Aligned Outdoor Learning through Nature Play (K–6)
Step beyond the classroom into a world where learning comes alive through hands-on discovery. FOLK Play’s School Excursions offer primary and pres-school students the chance to explore, create, and learn in the forests of the beautiful Illawarra region.
Our professional outdoor educators facilitate immersive experiences that complement classroom learning and foster independence and environmental awareness.
But most importantly, we nurture the pure JOY of outdoor play!
Our programs run in all weather conditions, so your planned excursion goes ahead, regardless of what the Illawarra skies might bring!
Key Learning Benefits For School Excursions
- Linked to NSW Education Curriculum
- Social-emotional learning
- Connection to country and sustainability
- Builds resilience, teamwork and confidence in natural settings
Step outside of the classroom and join us to PLAY in nature!
Sick of the Usual Programs?
Have a Different Experience With Our Fun Outdoor Ed. School Excursions!
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Nature-based School Excursion Activities
NSW Curriculum-Aligned Outdoor Learning Experiences (K–6)
We know teachers need excursions that do more than just get kids out of the classroom—you need experiences that genuinely support learning outcomes—and justify the time away from school.
That’s why every FOLK Play excursion connects directly to NSW syllabus outcomes across Science and Technology, Geography, PDHPE, Creative Arts, and English. We aim to create outdoor learning experiences that foster meaningful content to build on back in the classroom—and support your teaching programs across multiple Key Learning Areas.
Early Stage 1
Focus Areas:
- Curiosity
- Sensory exploration
- Connection to nature
Activities include:
- Sensory walk > sight, sound, smell and touch
- Storytelling and movement games
- Nature play with mud kitchens, stick building, imaginative play, nature craft
- Gentle bushwalk and supervised creek exploration
View Syllabus Outcomes Matrix
Early Stage 1:
- STe—3LW—ST
- STe—1WS—S
- STe—2DP—T
- GE1—1
- GEe—2
- PDe—5
- PDe—1
- VAEe—2
- ENe—1A
Stage 1
Focus Areas:
- Living things
- Story telling
- Connection to place
Activities include:
- Mini-beast and plant hunts
- Dreaming stories and role plays
- Nature art using clay, sticks and leaves
- Creek exploration and bush games
- Optional > Rock and crystal mining (earn a hammer licence)
View Syllabus Outcomes Matrix
Stage 1:
- ST1—4LW—S
- ST1—1WS—S
- ST1—2DP—T
- GE1—1
- GE1—2
- GE1—3
- PD1—6
- VAS1.3
- VAS1.4
- EN1—10C
Stage 2
Focus Areas:
- Ecosystems
- Team work
- Creative bushcraft
Activities include:
- Shelter building challenge
- Nature journaling > sketch flora and fauna
- Fire-starting and camp cooking
- Crystal mining with tool safety instruction
- Team-based nature games and bushwalks
View Syllabus Outcomes Matrix
Stage 2:
- ST2—4LW—S
- ST2—1WS—S
- ST2—2DP—T
- GE2—2
- GE2—1
- GE2—3
- PD2—5
- PD2—7
- VAS2.2
- EN2—11D
Stage 3
Focus Areas:
- Ecology
- Leadership
- Sustainability
- Bushcraft
Activities include:
- Mapping natural features and classifying local species
- Fire safety and cooking
- Introduction to hunting and trapping concepts
- Tool use and bushcraft skills > eg. knot tying, archery
View Syllabus Outcomes Matrix
Stage 3:
- ST3—4LW—S
- ST3—5WT
- ST3—1WS—S
- GE3—2
- GE3—3
- GE3—1
- PD3—4
- PD3—8
- VAS3.4
- EN3—2A
FOLK Play Outdoor Education Illawarra
Why Teachers Choose FOLK Play For Memorable School Excursions
At FOLK Play, our days flow with inquiry-based learning to encourage social interaction, exploration and creative nature-based thinking to solve problems.
We love watching children pick up real tools and explore with loose parts—leaves, sticks, seed pods, all the treasures nature provides—to tackle challenges that don’t have one right answer. There’s something magical about seeing a child’s face light up when they realize they can do hard things.
Whether it’s sawing through a thick branch, or figuring out how to keep their shelter from falling down–every triumphant “I did it!” builds the kind of confidence that goes way beyond our forest excursion.
Outdoor Adventure School Excursion Day Camps Illawarra
Our Primary and Pre-School Excursion Program Details
Who
- For schools with children aged 5–12 years old
Where
- Mt Keira Girl Guides’ Campsite (See map below…)
Time
- 9:30 am – 2:00 pm Monday to Friday during school terms
Cost
- $35 per student (minimum 25 students)
BYO School lunch, food and water
What To Expect on The Day:
- Arrival, safety briefing and an introduction to the day.
- Students then dive into a full day of nature play, bushcraft and child-led exploration.
- Got Questions? Check out our FAQs below...
Nature Play Primary School Excursions For Kids
Who Runs Your School Excursions?
FOLK Play employs experienced Teachers and Outdoor Educators who support a focus on explorative, child-led play in nature.
Every staff member of FOLK Play is screened for WWCC and has a current first aid certificate. Some have degrees–and some Masters’ qualifications–in relevant areas.
FOLK Play’s staff are trained and supervised by our Senior team in Forest Schooling Pedagogy and outdoor education before working with your children.
We are fully insured and have an excellent safety record. FOLK Play runs all year round, operating primarily as a Forest School for 0—13 years of age.
We are excellent at holding space for children to explore, and BE KIDS!
Nature Play School Excursions Near the Sutherland Shire
Outdoor Education School Excursions Near Sydney
Less than an hour from the Sutherland Shire and South West Sydney, FOLK Play offers something you simply can’t find in the city—genuine connection to country—where kids can get their hands dirty, light real fires, splash in creeks, and build the kind of memories that stick. We know how tricky it can be to find truly special excursion experiences for your students—that’s why teachers from across Sydney’s south, from Cronulla to Campbelltown, are discovering our wild spaces in the Illawarra.
While other venues pack students into small spaces, we invite your class into the living, breathing bush where every visit is different and every child finds their own way to shine. Schools from Miranda, Engadine, Camden, and Liverpool will find their students are still talking about their FOLK Play adventure months later–and honestly, that’s exactly what we love to hear.
FAQs for School Excursions
Frequently Asked Questions
FOLK Play Outdoor Education run “all weather” school excursions. We will not cancel the program if it is raining. In fact, in the rain is where the magic happens! Pack a rain jacket and spare everything.
Please note > there is an undercover area where we can have fires and keep warm and gather together in heavy rain or storms.
Our ratio of children to educators is 8:1 in our maximum programs. Sometimes we have smaller groups of children.
If our Outdoor Ed. School Excursion is cancelled due to a severe weather event–such as bush fires–we will credit your school with the opportunity to attend another FOLK Play Program valued at the same price.
If a session is cancelled after it has already begun due to weather or safety concerns, we are unable to give a refund or credit the session fees.
If you are absent from a program due to illness, holiday or any other reason, NO refund will be offered.
If we need to cancel the school excursion due to an extreme weather event warning (eg bush fires), a credit will be offered to your school.
It’s best to wear:
Long pants
Good walking shoes
Woollen socks (if possible – better for breathing, blisters and leeches)
Breathable long sleeve shirt
A hat
Bring a change of clothes if you want to travel home dry.
Please note > you don’t have to get wet and muddy, but depending on the age group, it may happen.
Please bring your own:
Lunch, morning and afternoon tea
Minimum 2 litres of drinking water
We often make vegetable stew on the camp fire – we will provide this.
We also make and cook damper on the fire
Please bring in your own bag:
Lunch, morning and afternoon tea
Minimum 2 litres of drinking water
Bring a rain jacket
Spare pair of closed shoes
Spare full set of clothes
Spare socks and underwear
Towel
Plastic bag (to put wet or muddy gear in)
A hat! Or wear it on your head!
Still have questions?
Please get in touch if you have more questions about our school excursions and outdoor education programs.