{"podcast":{"title":"The Forest School Podcast","slug":"the-forest-school-podcast-1141815","podcast_index_feed_id":1141815,"rss_url":"https://anchor.fm/s/3faf584/podcast/rss","website_url":"https://www.theforestschoolpodcast.com","image_url":"https://d3t3ozftmdmh3i.cloudfront.net/staging/podcast_uploaded_nologo/567785/567785-1759568785576-d60f1cc966b6a.jpg","author":"Lewis Ames and Wem Southerden","episode_count":252,"summary":"Wem Southerden & Lewis Ames have run Forest School and training centre Children of the Forest since 2017. The Forest School Podcast was born when they wondered if their daily wafflechats and reflections about pedagogy, play and nature connection might be of interest to others. The podcast aims to inform and support educators, parents, outdoor and play practitioners and anyone interested in nature and the outdoors. Through book reviews – interviews with experts, practitioners and authors – sharing our experience as educators and business owners – deep dives on fascinating topics –","last_synced_at":"2026-07-25T18:20:39.739581+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-forest-school-podcast-1141815"},"episode":{"title":"Ep 232 - Biodiversity on our Bodies!","slug":"ep-232-biodiversity-on-our-bodies","published_at":"2025-11-03T07:28:29+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-forest-school-podcast-1141815/ep-232-biodiversity-on-our-bodies","show_page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-forest-school-podcast-1141815","url":"https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/theforestschoolpodcast/episodes/Ep-232---Biodiversity-on-our-Bodies-e3actpc","audio_url":"https://anchor.fm/s/3faf584/podcast/play/110572780/https%3A%2F%2Fd3ctxlq1ktw2nl.cloudfront.net%2Fstaging%2F2025-10-3%2F410485416-44100-2-d8e1e32c50aa1.mp3","summary":"In this lively, idea packed episode of The Forest School Podcast, Lewis and Wem move from Halloween chatter to a full nature reset. Wales waterfalls, Pen y Fan, Regent’s Park squirrels, and the deer rut at Richmond Park set the scene for a deeper dive. Lewis picks up Ludo Botany again and invites listeners to help build a new series, starting with tree climbing. The pair then unpack a Finnish trial that “rewilded” kindergartens with real forest floor to boost children’s microbiomes, compare new Australian findings, and explore equity, ethics, hygiene practice, and culture change. A new original song appears too. It is written from the viewpoint of an oak tree watching its acorns become craft supplies. 🌳 ⏱ Chapter Timings 00:00 – Patreon intro and scene setting 01:12 – Halloween, Wales waterfalls, Pen y Fan, London parks, and the deer rut 07:02 – Ludo Botany returns and a listener call out for tree climbing nominations 09:21 – New song premiere about acorns and seasonal crafting 13:28 – Finland’s “forest floor in preschool” study and children’s microbiomes 20:12 – Australian follow up and wider wellbeing gains beyond health 22:55 – Mud as equity and even an academic intervention for learners 26:30 – Ethics and longevity of transplanted soil and maintenance questions 33:22 – Practicalities in settings: hygiene, thresholds, roles, and risk benefit 35:56 – Alternatives: link settings to real woodlands and use green hedges to cut pollution 🌲 Keywords Forest School, microbiome play, rewilded kindergartens, Finnish early years, Australian study, loose parts, hygiene thresholds, equity in education, tree climbing, Ludo Botany, Richmond Park deer rut, Welsh waterfalls 🔖 Hashtags #ForestSchool #OutdoorEducation #NaturePlay #EarlyYears #ChildDevelopment 🎧 Catch the full episode:…","meta_description":"In this lively, idea packed episode of The Forest School Podcast, Lewis and Wem move from Halloween chatter to a full nature reset. Wales waterfalls, Pen…","key_points":[],"chapters":[],"topics":[],"duration_seconds":3057,"processing_state":"not_requested","actions":[{"name":"request_transcript","method":"POST","url":"https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/the-forest-school-podcast-1141815/episodes/ep-232-biodiversity-on-our-bodies/transcription-requests","description":"Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode."},{"name":"read_markdown","method":"GET","url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-forest-school-podcast-1141815/ep-232-biodiversity-on-our-bodies.md","description":"Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource."}]}}