A forest kindergarten in Zhongshan millennial parents are so crazy about they are reserving places a year in advance

Rockies Forest Kindergarten, in southern China’s Zhongshan city, is one of a few schools in the country that offer a nature-based curriculum. Children spend a significant amount of their day playing and learning outdoors in a woodland, farm and green yard that spans more than 20 acres (13,333 square metres) at the kindergarten.

The concept originated in Denmark in the 1950s, and over the past few decades forest schools have come up in countries including the UK, Germany, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. Advocates believe being in a natural environment enhances children’s confidence, learning capacity and communication. This form of education remains little-known in China.

“Children at our kindergarten can ‘go wild’ even in a big city,” said Tan Xuexia, principal of the school. “The experience-based learning has fostered strong teamwork spirit and creative skills among them, and they are truly happy and energetic.”

The kindergarteners are led by teachers to enjoy a variety of activities outdoors, such as learning to make a fire to cook and growing vegetables. In place of typical art classes, the children make paintings in the wild with leaves, flowers and tree branches.

The school now hosts 625 children, up from less than 300 when it opened in 2016. Most the families live in upmarket residential blocks nearby, while a dozen moved to the city in Guangdong province from Hong Kong, Macau or overseas because of work. The interest in the school has grown so much that parents were applying for a spot a year in advance, according to Tan.