Opening Times

10 am to 5 pm - High season (start of April - end of September)
10:30 am to 3:30 pm - Low season (start of October - end of March)

What makes this a great venue for School group Fun or Educational Visits?

We have developed a wide range of National Curriculum linked programmes designed to stimulate young (and not so young!) minds into discovering and understanding the wonders of the natural world and thereby learn essential life skills. We offer a number of self-guided trails, which each last between 1-2 hours, or we can create a tailor-made programme to last for a morning, an afternoon or a full day. As well as our designated education areas, we also have an amphitheatre for games, a picnic area and loads of play opportunities. Our current trails include: Discover Wildflowers, Organic & Wildlife Gardening, Eco-Trail, River Tees Model Trail, Minibeast Safari, Wet and Wild, Habitatl, Numeracy and coming soon Healthy Lifestyle.

Our unique 400m long River Tees Model is a favourite for both schools and regular visitors. It’s a great educational resource for the study of river and watercourses. There are information boards and models to guide you in bringing ‘our’ river to life for your pupils.

We also have a large 'Hydroponicum'. A giant greenhouse where we grow tropical plants using hydroponics. This is a great resource for kids, and a great place to see plants you wouldn't see anywhere else.

What are the Curriculum Topics or Benefit to the students from a visit?

Nature’s World is huge area, filled with different plants and wildlife. We have different areas dedicated to different types or gardens and flowers, and a Hydroponicum full of tropical plants. One of the big aims here at Nature’s World is to teach kids about being ‘Green’. We’re dedicated to recycling and renewable energies, and have a trail specifically tailored to teach kids about this topic.

What is the age range of the activities?

The trails we provide cater from pre-school up to about 13/14 years old. There is nothing to stop older children doing the trails, but some of the questions may need to be altered slightly to accommodate an older audience. We do have a full time Education Officer here who can help with this.

What materials to you provide or suggest groups bring to support the visit?

• A clipboard
• A pencil & sharper
• Photocopied worksheets
• A waterproof jacket (with hood)
• Refreshments (i.e. drinks, snacks, lunch)
• Rubbish bags
• Extra plain paper

What are the minimum and maximum group sizes and the free Teacher Ratio?

There is no minimum. As for maximum, there have school sizes of over 200 here before. Most trips however consist of around 30-80 students. For every 10 students, one staff member gets in for free.

Do you have or how do you arrange risk assessment?

We have our own Risk Assessment which we can e-mail or post to anyone who requests it.

Do you offer Teacher familiarisation days?

Teachers can come to visit, for free, at any time. We welcome all teachers to have a look around the site beforehand.

What facilities are there for school groups for food and drink, shop etc?

We have two rooms school groups can use as 'bases' for the day. Whether it be a meeting point, to fill out worksheets, or just too eat packed lunches. We have a shop which sells small toys and sweets, and a tearooms for teachers.

Is specific clothing required?

Wellies on wet days.

Do you have first aid on site?

Yes, at multiple sites.

Are there any restrictions on photos, copyright etc?

No.

Additional information.

The larger of our dedicated children’s play areas is situated just as you enter the gardens, our adventure playground is a real hit with the children. With a rope slide, swing bridge, monkey bars and a whole lot more, children of all ages can play together in this safe and secure environment.