In the grounds
The forest educational department organises various day or half-day workshops for pupils to explore a specific theme under the supervision of a guide. Beginning with a time of group discovery and learning, the workshop then involves exercises or scenarios tailored to different age groups, from infant through to secondary school.
In addition to the usual programme, the teaching team, assisted by an Earth Sciences and Life teacher, can put together suitable sessions in advance with teachers who have a specific class project in mind.
In addition to the usual programme, the teaching team, assisted by an Earth Sciences and Life teacher, can put together suitable sessions in advance with teachers who have a specific class project in mind.
- Predators and silken thread
Full-day workshop
Level: Ages 8 to 15
Times: 9.30am/12pm and 1.30pm/4pm
Price: €200 - Mushrooms
Half-day workshop (in the autumn)
Level: Ages 7-15
Times: 9.30am/12pm or 1.30pm/4pm
Prices: €110 - Shapes and Colours
Full-day workshop
Level: Ages 7-15
Times: 9.30am to 12pm and 1.30pm to 4pm
Price: €200
Each season brings in its own cortege of shapes and colours. After having a look at how artists make use of nature as a medium for their works, the children are taken into the forest to interact with the natural features they come across, letting their inspiration and imagination be their guides. - Gathering signs of life
Half-day or full-day workshop
Level: Ages 7-15
Times and prices:
9.30am to 12pm or 1.30pm to 4pm – €110
or 9.30am to 12pm and 1.30pm to 4pm – €200
The children look for signs of the presence of animals and, if possible, follow their tracks. They then make casts of different types of prints. - Hydrobiology
Full-day workshop
Level: Ages 11-15
Times: 9.30am/12pm and 1.30pm/4pm
Price: €200
Water carries with it the very quality of our environment. By counting and qualifying the little animals that live on a river’s bed, we can assess the quality of its waters. With the help of the workshop leaders, pupils carry out a survey of the River Cosson in search of its biotic index. - The secret life of ponds
Full-day workshop
Level: Ages 7-15
Times: 9.30am/12pm and 1.30pm/4pm
Price: €200
Pupils acquaint themselves with the pond’s origins, formation and functions. They collect as many of its aquatic plants and invertebrates as they can, and then name them with the help of determination keys. - The life of the soil
Full-day workshop
Level: Ages 7-15
Times: 9.30am/12pm and 1.30pm/4pm
Price: €200
Pupils compare soil and subsoil, and analyse the organic matter. They capture the main species of invertebrates and examine them under binocular magnifiers, classifying them with the help of determination keys. - Living trees
Half-day or full-day workshop
Level: Ages 7-15
Times and prices:
9.30am/12pm or 1.30pm/4pm; – €110
or 9.30am/12pm and 1.30pm/4pm; – €200 - The insect people
Full-day workshop
Level: Ages 7-15
Times: 9.30am/12pm and 1.30pm/4pm
Price: €200
After collecting insects from various environments, pupils classify them with the help of a simplified table. Practical exercises are organised to give a clearer insight into the biology of insects. - Imps on the look-out for little kids
Half-day workshop
Level: Infant school (ages 4-6)
Times: 9.30am/12pm or 1.30pm/4pm
Price: €110
In the secrecy of their hideout in the depths of the forest, the imps prepare meals, medicines and refuges for the woodland animals. They could do with a helping hand, as long as no mistakes are made in mixing recipes and carrying out instructions! - Flower market
Half-day or day-long workshop
Level: Ages 7-15
Times and prices:
9.30am/12pm or 1.30pm/4pm - €110
or 9.30am/12pm and 1.30pm/4pm - €200
Following a trail through the forest, pupils are encouraged to identify moss, lichen, grass and fern. In groups, and with the help of a little guide, they set off in search of hundreds of wood plants that they can pinpoint by their shape and colour. - Budding ornithologists
Half-day workshop
Level: Primary school
Times: 9.30am/12pm or 1.30pm/4pm
Price: €110
In springtime the birds get busy marking territory, building or repairing nests, courting and mating, laying eggs and raising chicks – all activities to be viewed and considered during this observation workshop. - Landscape workshop
Day-long workshop
Level: Ages 7-15
Times: 9.30am/12pm and 1.30pm/4pm
Prices: €200
Pupils analyse how the landscape has changed over the centuries by comparing different maps of the Estate. Making their way through the forest, they decipher various landscapes by looking to see how man has shaped it. - Preparing for winter
- Memories of yesterday, images of today
Half-day workshop
Level: Ages 7-15
Times: 9.30am/12pm or 1.30pm/4pm
Price: €110
There have been many pictures made over the course of the centuries with the château’s surroundings, the village and the neighbouring countryside as their subjects, and bearing witness to the ways the area has developed. Armed with a bunch of old postcards and a map, pupils mark out such changes, basing their conclusions on period clothing and landscape features. - Unaccompanied tour
Level: Ages 5-8 or 8-15
Price: €70
1,000 hectares of the forest are open to the public, and pupils can explore it at their own pace, following a waymarked footpath with a guide book in hand. Teachers are given a handbook with the answers to the guide book and educational ideas.
