Working with Carwarden House Community School

Here at STIHL Great Britain, we are passionate about supporting local causes; sharing our skills and equipment in the local community to have a lasting impact. In 2022 we started working with the Carwarden House School, a learning and additional needs school close to STIHL’s head office.

We originally met with them to discuss the possibility of offering some work experience to their students, but during the visit discovered they had an underused woodland area within the school grounds. So, as well as providing work experience, the initial project became renovating this woodland area to create a forest classroom.

Since 2022 we have been regular visitors to the school to deliver further projects to enhance their woodland space, such as planting, maintenance and building a stage, but more on that below.

Our relationship with the school has evolved beyond the forest classroom and we’ve been hosting Carwarden students at STIHL for more work experience events. In 2025, this has included mock interview sessions where students had the opportunity to gain interview experience and get hands-on with some of our roles. We've also hosted a number of employer experience visits where larger groups of students visited for tours of Contra House and the distribution centre.

We hope to continue working together, to provide a range of valuable work-related experiences to the students and help make a positive impact for these young individuals.

Building an Outdoor Forest Classroom for Carwarden House Community School

When STIHL initially visited Carwarden House School in 2022 there was an existing outdoor forest classroom, but it was clear it needed some work. Surrounded by woodland, the area had a lot of potential, but it was hugely overgrown. A badger hide in the grounds had become unsafe and therefore unusable and there was no storage for coats, bags or equipment either. This video summarises the project to transform the space into a practical and enjoyable educational resource for everyone at the school.

Business Development Manager Chris Holloway worked with Learning and Development Manager Caroline Wallace to manage the project, whilst STIHL colleague Tara Masters took on the task of designing the area, utilising the skills she had gained from a garden design degree she was studying for at the time.

With a design in place, the next step was to round up the team. In total 53 members of the STIHL team took part in the creation of the forest classroom with volunteers coming from all over Great Britain and from all areas of the business.

stihl team clearing overgrown woodland area

The work took place over 7 days with the team first working to clear the area with STIHL chainsaws, brushcutters and hand tools. STIHL contractor Ray from RAS Property Care also dedicated his time to the project, creating benches and a storage unit, as well as securing the badger hide for future use.

The classroom was officially opened on Friday 8 July 2022 by headteacher Tim Stokes and STIHL GB Head of Marketing Simon Hewitt, and many of the school’s students came to see the classroom makeover. They couldn’t wait to use it, particularly the new chill-out area, where students can enjoy some quiet time amongst nature. The classroom also includes a firepit area for toasting marshmallows, a log store and a wildlife camera, to track sightings of the badgers who have a sett within the boundaries of the garden.

firepit with seating and colourful bunting strung between trees surrounding a seated area

Alex Ewen, Deputy Headteacher at Carwarden House Community School, said: “This is more than a forest classroom; it’s a forest school, a social skills space, an outdoor theatre, a science experiment, nature in action, a campfire for marshmallows when camping and so much more.

“This is a school community project for students now and in years to come and holds so many possibilities to enhance the curriculum offer.  This is more than we expected and exceeds what we could have done ourselves, so we are so thankful for the support from STIHL GB to help us achieve this. Thank you from us all.”

Since the opening we have returned to do autumn and spring cleans which involved clearing the paths, cuting back overgrown trees and shrubs and cleaning the seating. In spring 2023 we added a stage in front of the benched seating to allow the students to give performances in the space. And, most recently in spring 2025, after a significant amount of clearing work, we opened an additional area within the Forest School Area, which will now provide even more teaching space for students and staff. This newly accessible section will allow for flexibility in lessons and activities, ultimately enhancing the learning experience for the children.