Forest School Singapore is the first Forest School in Singapore. It has been in Singapore, Southeast Asia and Earth for 7 years. Since its realisation, we have stood firmly on its value. FSS has never given discounts so as to get more “Sales”. Neither have we spent a single dollar on social media advertising, or advertising of any sort. FSS’s belief in our value and work is so strongly deep rooted, that it has never given in to the whims and whines of the usual way of businesses, organisations and corporations. We are proud of how far we have come, sticking so stubbornly to our cause and value.
After so many years of standing for the work behind the scenes, it is high time that we put out publicly the rhymes, reasons and stories behind this seemingly ‘arrogant’ and uncompromising aspect of Forest School Singapore.
We have 3 fronts to this strong stand. They back up our position, and allow us to keep faith in our work, and never compromise to the modern world of exploitation and undermining of others.
Firstly, when we started Forest School in 2016, we were the highest priced Nature-centric outdoor experience education enrichment. At the time, we were priced at $35-$45 per child for a 3-hour session. Many people questioned our pricing, saying that Nature guided education walks were usually free or priced at a maximum of $10, and we were charging too much for ours. We stood firmly on our ground, and asked them to go to the others who they valued more. At Forest School we know that self-respect is more important than chasing market ‘value’. We also know that charging a rate that is so low that it is not possible to make a living from, can only be done by (1) those who take funds/grants from organisations, or (2) those who have the luxury to run their programme as a fly by night thing, with no commitment to the journey or work.
Our experience and study of others who run Forest Schools around the world showed us that those who are able to pay for their full-time teachers/coaches a living income will continue to do the Forest School work, to a point that they can truly impact their communities’ journeys, beyond just some one-offs.
A Malaysian conservationist from the Malaysian Nature Society that we met at a Raptor Watch event at Port Dickson once said, “Why are we paying people so much for those who exploit, and then taking their dirty money to run this meaningful programmes, but we are not willing to pay proper value to those who are doing good work”. We absolutely concur with his thoughts. We should value deep meaningful work, and that is why we stand firmly on ours.
To top it off for the first front, we did a research study in 2016 to find out what value society saw in our work. It works based on the intriguing Theory Of Average. The results blew us away, because of how accurate they actually were.
Secondly, with our seemingly “arrogant” stand, you would think that our Forest School is catered for those who are rich and capable of affording our rates on a consistent basis. On the contrary, we actually started Forest School in 2016, already looking out for those who wanted to join Forest School but could not afford it. We have Social Pricing. which is meant as a channel to allow those who are willing to commit to the journey, but unable to afford, to join Forest School. Whether it be individuals, families or non-profit organisations, we are able to give them concessions. This initiative allows us to support those in need, while still respecting our value (hence not needing to give a discount of any sort). Since 2016, we have supported families, children of Tak Takut Kids Club, children of Good Shepherd Children’s Home/Shelter, St Andrew’s Children’s Home/Shelter and more. The total amount of social pricing that we have given in the past 6 years amounts to over $5,000. Almost all the money comes from ourselves, with the folks from Amrop Singapore providing part of the support over the past 3 years. They voluntarily offered their support without us asking, because they believe in our work.
Sometimes we get requests from non-profit organisations who work with the less advantage of the society, to do Forest School sessions with them. Some of them request that we lower the fees. Our stand is that as long as they have full time paid staff and directors, we will not budge on our standard fees. This is because we know how charity statuses and IPC works in Singapore. We know how the funds and grants work for non-profits. Sometimes we will even offer to help them fundraise if really necessary because we have a strong network of trustworthy and respectful communities. But shouldn’t fundraising be a work item for their Board of Director and Team, instead of their vendors? Well that is a topic on Charity for another article.
Lastly, we trust the work, time and relationships and value that we create and realise in this world. From our children, who show how much they grow in resilience, confidence and connection in Forest School, to our parents who show how much they believe in the work by both criticising us constructively in our face and supporting fiercely against external controlling forces, thereby contributing immensely to our evolution.
We believe in our work, because we dig deep to reflect, adjust and explore. All to allow us to grow in rhythm with our children, our community and Nature.
As a Team of coaches and managers leading Forest School Singapore, we respect our work at Forest School because of the thousands of hours that goes on behind the scene in ensuring we are in healthy harmony, with space for improvement, clarity and exploration. Here is a list of the work you don’t usually see (and we believe most Forest School Leaders also go through in order to be able to prepare the Freedom, Wilderness and Connection in their sessions):
• Safety of Everyone: Risk Assessments / Risk Taking Assessments
• Care for Environment: Eco Assessments / Environment Management
• Coaches Competency: Field Trainings
• Area Familiarity: Recces
• Coordination Backbone: Admin Plans
• Better Understanding: Coverages / Nuggets of Knowledge / Library
• Building Community: Awareness & Support
• Growth: Reflections
• Challenges: Fighting the Control-Freak resistance and Madness of those in Powers
It is sometimes absolutely frustrating to be in a space where we have to face the individuals or organisations that try to undermine us by pressing down on our value. Is health, safety and the wellness of our families not the number one priority for most of us? Then why is it that the deep and meaningful work to enhance the lives of children, families and people in the community is not given the due respect and value, as compared to the superficial materials that people dive themselves willingly into. Is society so disconnected and blinded by the advertisements that the corporates show us that we will never understand the value of the pre-emptive, educational and deep work of Forest School, until catastrophe hits us? We choose to believe that most of us on earth will realise once they are in touch with our two main teachers — Nature & Children.
Two quotes really sum up the above conversation.
1. “Are you willing to accept the under-value that the client proposes to you? It’s really up to you. The acceptance/rejection of the value is HOW YOU RESPECT YOURSELF”, said Darren’s dad. (Darren is the Principal of Forest School Singapore)
2. “We don’t go to Ferrari, asking for Toyota price”, said Vusi Thembekwayo.
We respect and believe in our value at Forest School Singapore. If anyone wants to undervalue it, they are welcome to head elsewhere to look for something “cheaper”. We will continue to respect the work of our managers, coaches, parents, children and community elders.
So for all those who want to engage us for any projects outside of our own programmes, ask yourself this before you approach us.
One… Why do you want to come to us?
Two… What do you need as an individual?
Three… What do you need as an organisation?
Created by:
Managers & Coaches of Forest School Singapore
Library 