“I think teachers should be taught to identify plants and trees, so they can pass this knowledge on to children.”

Such an idea may make overworked teachers scoff, but when it’s postulated by Ray Mears, one of the UK’s most recognisable explorers, it carries a good deal of weight.

Best known for TV series such as Tracks and World of Survival, Mears has also run an outdoor wilderness and bushcraft company called Woodlore since 1983 and recently published his 15th book, Out on the Land: Bushcraft Skills from the Northern Forest.

Given his close connection to the outdoors and passion for passing on this knowledge, it is not surprising that Mears is so keen for teachers to be able to do the same. This becomes even more pertinent when you discover that his own love of the wilderness was kindled by a teacher - his judo instructor.

“He was very much a mentor to me. When I was young I said I wanted to try living in the wild, but I didn’t have the right kit. But he said I didn’t need it and could learn how to provide for myself,” he explains.

“It was quite unconventional but his enthusiasm encouraged me to learn for myself; to question what you are being told and where information is coming from and to find out for yourself if it’s right.”

Put all this together and it’s easy to see why Mears thinks that teachers are “the most important people in society” because of the role they play in developing the minds of the next generation.

And he thinks they should do all they can to help get children outdoors and exploring, preferably through excursions and trips into the wilderness for extended periods, seeing it as just as important to their development as classroom lessons and curricula.

You can give them responsibilities

“It’s lovely to work with young people outdoors because you can give them responsibilities and the opportunity to do things that, under other circumstances, they might not have access to,” he says.

This might be anything from teaching the names of plants and trees, the birds or the stars, through to more hands-on activities such as carving with a knife or building a fire.

Mears says that while such tasks could sound daunting to adults who have no skills in such areas and who may, perhaps, fear that their pupils will struggle, he says the reality is that most children will get stuck into such tasks with zeal.

“Children are not usually overawed as long as they have not been preconditioned to feel like that by adults. Usually they just arrive full of enthusiasm and take it all in their stride,” he says, adding that this is something he sees regularly on his own expeditions.

Teach them how to make a fire

Nine times of out 10, if you give a young person a position of trust, they will not let you down, he explains. If you teach them how to make a fire or use a knife to carve something, they are being treated differently, more like an adult, and that gives them a sense of empowerment, says Mears.

“This is a really powerful experience because it is a chance for real personal growth and the freedom to discover more about themselves and the natural world, too,” he adds.

Of course, mention fire or knives and the next phrase that springs to mind is health and safety. Mears, though, says this is too often used as an excuse and should not stop any reasonable outdoor activity from taking place.

“People often say ‘Oh, the risk assessment gets in the way’, but that’s nonsense,” he says.

Instead he wants teachers to turn this on its head and realise that the risk assessment is the thing that enables them to set the parameters for what they want to do with the pupils and what they can learn.

“The most exciting part of planning an activity should be the risk assessment because that helps you think about what is possible to do with the pupils and how it can help engender their growth,” he argues.

Indeed, Mears suggests that, with older groups of pupils, it is worth getting them involved in the planning stage so that they think about the risks the group may face in advance.

“If you’re discussing an abseiling trip, for example, you can get them to consider the dangers, like people not paying attention and chatting too much near the ropes, and they will come to understand themselves that they need to be sensible at the right moments.

“This can help a group to police itself, often without even realising it, and that helps them to learn and grow for themselves,” he explains.

Teachers don’t need to be experts

While, for Mears, activities such as abseiling, lighting fires and carving wood are almost everyday activities, he acknowledges that, for most teachers, this is not the case.

As such, he says teachers should not pretend that they are experts in all things outdoors but instead look to their own interests and enthusiasms to lead the way in how they approach such a trip. “I think it’s really important that a teacher who takes pupils outside should enjoy the experience themselves,” he says.

One way to do this, he explains, is for teachers to attempt to adapt any trip outdoors to fit the subject they teach, noting that “the natural world always offers an opportunity to express your subject”.

“An English teacher may use a piece of prose that’s being studied, concerned with the trees or stars or some other aspect of nature, and use that to enhance the learning experience - that can be a really powerful thing,” he says.

He cites the example of a maths teacher he had as a child who used map reading to teach geometry.

“That was a brilliant grounding and really stayed with me,” he adds.

Of course, you’re not just outdoors to teach a subject, but to learn about the environment, too.

This throws up another potential concern: while some basic questions about the landscape may be easy to answer, others could leave teachers stumped. After all, despite Mears’ advocacy, teachers are not required to know the names of plants and trees just yet.

But Mears says that teachers should not fear this or pretend to know something they don’t. Instead, they should use it as a chance to bring the group together and continue the learning when they return to school.

“It’s OK for a teacher to say ‘I don’t know but let’s find out together’, and that may be something you can do later on during the trip, or even back in the classroom, so that the learning experience in the field continues afterwards,” he explains.

Indeed, Mears adds that, in some ways, this is the ideal outcome as it shows the pupils are so engaged and interested that they are asking questions a teacher may not have considered. It demonstrates that they are really thinking for themselves and taking in the experience.

Meanwhile, on the practical side, Mears says it is important to have a proper debrief after an outdoor activity: “It’s often ignored but you should do this because it’s a good chance to talk not just about what went well but also about any near misses or issues, and it means your risk assessment for the next time will be even better.”

Hugely beneficial

Finally, Mears says that a well-run outdoors experience can be hugely beneficial to pupils and teachers alike, but that it can take time and patience to see the results.

“You can have a student in class who can be a real nuisance yet outdoors they become a different person. But sometimes that change does not happen until they have had a chance to go away and let the experience sink in,” he says.

Above all, he believes teachers need to believe in the trip and, if they do, it will always bear fruit.

“Sometimes it’s just about having faith that the experience will be beneficial and that it can take time for the seeds you plant on an outdoor trip to grow.”

Dan Watson is a freelance journalist. Ray Mears’ new book, Out on the Land: Bushcraft Skills from the Northern Forest is out now (Bloomsbury, £25 hardback/£21.99 eBook)