What is it?
Interactions with animals can vary immensely; they can range from big establishments with no animal contact such as zoos, small animals at a farm park.
What does it involve?
The basis of all encounters with animals is to interact with them! Sometimes it may be from a distance to ensure safety on both sides, but you can often get up close; you can train and even ride some animals.
Why do it and what are the benefits?
Spending time with animals has been proven to be beneficial in many aspects of life and development - it can teach things such as compassion, responsibility, and discipline for both yourself and others.
What equipment do we need?
Depending on what sort of animal encounter it is, the equipment involved will vary. For example, riding a horse requires a lot more specialist equipment than stroking a cat! Make sure to check with your destination to see if you need to bring anything.
Who is it suitable for?
Animal encounters are suitable for pretty much anyone - always be careful with smaller children though, as they may not understand how to handle them properly.
Costs?
Can vary from free to reasonably expensive. Grounds that are open to the public and free to enter can often have wildlife roaming around to admire, but more extravagant establishments such as zoos with many more animals will undoubtedly cost more!
Issues/Things to think about? (unsuitable for age groups, medical conditions etc)
Be aware of allergies when it comes to animal encounters; although mild allergies are much more common, the risk of a student having a severe reaction means you should exercise caution if there is going to be physical contact with an animal.
How do we include?
It will depend entirely on the type of animal encounter, but in general these kinds of activities will be great to include all students in, as everyone can interact with an animal in some manner.
Doing it abroad?
The variety of animals abroad will often vary greatly from our own, and encountering them can be a once in a lifetime opportunity! Foreign nature and safari parks can be great places to visit, so make sure to check out your destination thoroughly to see if there's one you can take a trip to.
Main website:
Check out individual websites for specific information on what's available for you to do!
All creatures great and small waiting to meet you and be picked up and cuddled! Large play areas, bouncy castle, ride on toys and tractors, plus pond walks and ice cream!
Ponies and piglets, slides and bouncy castle, Hawks, and owls, goats and guinea pigs, ducks and bunnies, ride on toys and tractors, ice creams, tea gardens, flower gardens and pond walks.
Sywell Country Park offers meadowland and lakeside walks, with a small arboretum of exotic trees and Edwardian buildings still surviving from its past role as a water supply reservoir with a water works heritage trail to guide you round.
Recreation
Extending along a beautiful stretch of Dorset's Jurassic Coast, with splendid views from grassy cliff tops and underwater nature trails for divers & snorkellers, this nationally important reserve is best accessed from Kimmeridge Bay.
For a fun-filled day out for all the family, or simply to enjoy the peace and quiet of acres of natural surroundings, take a fascinating journey of discovery through the living world of Plantasia & Mazeworld.
Adventure playground, nature trails, accessible paths, sculpture trail and nature viewing platform. Plus excellent Discovery Packs for hire from the friendly visitor centre including a pond dipping kit and binoculars!
Welcome to The Nature Discovery centre, a visitor centre with beautiful lakes that adjoins Thatcham Reedbeds SSSI nature reserve. Children can explore Cold Ash stream, follow a lakeside walk and enjoy close up experiences with many species of resident and migrating birds.
Paddle a canoe gently along a meandering river; explore underground caverns; climb crags and cliffs; abseil down a waterfall; shoot the rapids in a kayak; watch wildlife or study Wales' rich heritage on foot, by bike, kayak or canoe.
Considered by many to be the most beautiful lake in Wales, Lake Vyrnwy is tucked away in a landscape of rolling meadows, towering crags, rushing waterfalls, mysterious forest and moorland.
Set in over 500 acres of historic deer park, Wollaton Hall is a spectacular Tudor building home to the city's Natural History Museum.
Also see the Industrial Museum, Steam Engine House, Wollaton Visitor Centre and the Yard Gallery, plus exhibitions exploring art and the environment.
This ruin of a 12th century castle in the grounds of a mansion, was built as a fortified palace and was in the ownership of the Church until the 16th century. Now a romantic ruin, in the grounds of the New Sherborne Castle, it is a great day out for all ages.
Fairytale Georgian castle in magical surroundings, with Deer Park, Lake and Arboretum, Children's Adventure Playground and Assault Course, Knight's Maze and Burma Bridge Tree Top Walkway.
Inside this family home you'll find richly decorated Gothic interiors, Fine Art, Armour and much more.
Visit a thriving colony of grey seals that have been breeding on the Lincolnshire coast since the 1970s. A number of different habitats to explore and plenty of wildlife to discover.
Lodmoor Country Park is just a 15 minute stroll from Weymouth Esplanade and through Greenhill Gardens.
You'll discover a host of independent attractions providing something of interest to entertain everyone. Access to most of the park is free and you can enjoy the numerous sport and recreation areas, wander around the footpaths and nature reserve or enjoy a picnic or barbecue.
Escape city life and step into tropical paradise of an aquarium in the heart of the buzzing city of Birmingham. At the National SEA LIFE centre you can take an amazing marine voyage beneath the waves and experience so much more!
Devon's Crealy Great Adventure Theme Park is an award winning family attraction located just minutes from junction 30 of the M5 near Exeter. The Park has over 60 rides and attractions set in over 100 acres of glorious Devon countryside. We are proud to be a theme park that caters for the whole family, from the smallest children to parents and grandparents alike.
Cornwall's Crealy Great Adventure Theme Park is a vibrant and welcoming visitor destination year-round, uniquely interpreting the legends of the area and famous for delivering great adventures and days out for the whole family. The Park opens in February up to early November, with annual activities reflecting the seasons.
Set in the heart of rural Northamptonshire, Lyveden is a remarkable survivor of the Elizabethan age.
Begun by Sir Thomas Tresham to symbolise his Catholic faith, Lyveden remains incomplete and virtually unaltered since work stopped on his death in 1605.
Discover the mysterious garden lodge and explore the Elizabethan garden with its spiral mounts, terracing and canals.
Bognor Regis is a traditional West Sussex seaside town. We’ve got three contemporary resort hotels, a funky spa, a restaurant by celebrity chef Brian Turner, a 2012 Quality Coast Award beach and the South Downs National Park on our doorstep.
Penn Woods are achingly explorable, ideal for minibeast hunting, leaf collecting, pond dipping, ladybird spotting, snail racing, picnicking and almost anything else you like to do outdoors with the kids!
In an area renowned for its rich stock of ancient woodland, Penn Wood, at its very heart, stands out as one of the largest.
Take a walk around Rodbaston Visitor Centre Animal Zone and say hello to over 750 animals, from meerkats to monkeys, rabbits to alpacas.
Red squirrels, natterjacks, prehistoric footprints and miles of coastal walks are just waiting to be discovered - part of Formby's amazing and ever changing landscape.
Enjoy breathtaking sea views or a picnic; head out on a bracing coastal walk or find out about Formby's fascinating coastal history with links to asparagus growing and the early days of aviation.
Nature reserve with bird hides, a visitor centre with wildlife explorer backpacks and picnic area. Free to visit.
These packs include trail notes, games and spotter sheets with different wildlife to look out for. Kids can follow the trail through the grassy glades, woods and pond at their own pace.
Majestic views across mid Wales, and a 72m high dam holding back 50,000 megalitres of water, makes this one of Severn Trent Water's most spectacular visitor sites.
Surrounded by 3,000 acres of rolling parkland, Holkham Hall is one the finest examples of Palladian architecture in England.
Hall Place Outdoor Education Centre is part of the BCA (formally Berkshire College of Agriculture) in Burchetts Green, Berkshire. The centre utilises the 400 acre estate nestling in the Thames Valley offering a variety of opportunities from curriculum learning in an out of classroom setting to holiday day camps and birthday parties, skills courses and qualifications.
The Bushcraft Company offer residential school trips with a difference, taking students into the wild and giving them real back-to-nature experiences they will never forget.
A 15-year-old boy fell 60ft over the edge of a cliff whilst on a geography school trip, miraculously only suffering minor injuries.