Children from challenging backgrounds were brought to a woodland for a programme that sought to promote resilience at Camphill School. This qualitative study of one programme uses an ethnographic approach to research the effectiveness of this type of intervention. Case studies of three of the children are used to illustrate the ways in which resilience has been stimulated using the PERIK observation scale. The nurturing and outdoor dimensions of the project are considered instrumental in promoting resilience in early years children from a challenging background.