School building with a mural on the wall, a small garden with plants and flowers, a grassy pathway, and a tall green metal fence surrounding the area.
Group of people standing in a garden with tilled soil, plants, trees, and gardening tools visible, under bright sunlight.

Nature in Education

I work with primary and secondary schools, youth groups and colleges in a variety of ways to empowers children and young people to make a positive difference to both their own and nature's future in wildlife and horticulture.

The work I do aims to build connections to nature through discovery and learning, Improve physical and mental wellbeing through spending time outdoors growing fruit and vegetables and learning and being in nature.

Group of diverse people standing in a garden with soil and plants, smiling at the camera.
A garden with flowering plants and a wooden post that reads 'BEE HAPPY' in front of a brick school building with a mural and yellow railing.
A backyard garden with a small pond, stepping stones, a colorful bench, and surrounded by trees and bushes.
People planting small trees in a park with a modern white building in the background. Some individuals are kneeling and working with tools, wearing masks, gloves, and safety vests.
A garden bed with young plants and shrubs, bordered by old tires, along a paved pathway beside a chain-link fence on a sunny day.
A butterfly with brown and orange wings sitting on a piece of wood in a garden with soil and green plants.
Group of people planting a small shrub in a garden bed surrounded by wire cages.
A school garden with newly planted flowers and plants, a brick school building with a door, colorful mosaic artwork on the wall, a yellow handrail leading up to the door, and a fence dividing the garden from a parking lot with trees and cars in the b
School playground with raised garden beds, a slide, and a building with blue and white windows.
Group of four people outdoors at a gardening workshop, planting flowers in a large container with gardening tools and soil on paper mats on the ground.
A garden with various flowers including orange poppies, white Queen Anne's lace, pink geraniums, and purple yarrow in front of a cityscape with modern multi-story buildings and a bright blue sky with clouds.
A landscaped outdoor area with a large stone with a red and white sign attached, surrounded by small plants and wooden posts, with a modern building in the background and a parking lot.
Group of people planting flowers and greenery in a garden bed, some kneeling, some standing, with gardening tools and supplies nearby, in a park setting.
A collection of gardening tools and supplies on the ground, including a high-visibility vest, gloves, a hard hat, seed packets, informational plant guides, a plant with yellow flowers, bulbs, and gardening articles.
People planting and tending to a garden area near a wooden fence and large trees, with gardening tools and water bottles on a nearby bench.
Wooden planter boxes with climbing ivy and flowering plants against a white wall with wooden trellises.

Nottingham College garden creation, gabion workshops and planting

As part of a GrowNotts project with students from the college designed and ran a series of workshops creating a new natural outdoor space for students at the EMTEC site, Ruddington. Students inputted to the design and planting ideas and we built and planted up the space creating an inviting outdoor space for nature, staff and pupils.

I have been involved in the transformation of the college's City Hub main planting beds at the front and side of the college. I created gabion habitats, wildflower planting and open compost heaps and habitats.

A garden with tall green grasses, dry plants, and a clay pipe protruding from the ground. There are three cylindrical wire cages filled with rocks and dried plants, accompanied by various green plants, in front of a building with large windows.
People planting trees outdoors on a sunny day, with some working on the trees and others posing or observing.
A variety of wildflowers growing along a city sidewalk, with buildings and a cloudy sky in the background.

Sensory walkways and growing areas at Southwold Primary School Radford

Working with students we restored an overgrown allotment, ran growing sessions for staff, parents and planted fruit and perennial vegetables.

With another group of pupils, we created a sensory wildlife path of different up-cycled materials, bee posts, hedgehog habitats and planted up with wildflowers and sensory friendly flowers to touch, small and taste.

A newly planted flower bed along a sidewalk, with a row of old tires used as borders and safety barriers. A fence runs parallel to the flower bed, with some plants and trees beyond it. The scene is sunny and quiet.
A school outdoor garden with planted flowers and plants along a dirt pathway, fenced on the right side, with a brick school building on the left and a colorful mural on the wall. There are trees and cars visible in the background.
A diverse group of people standing in a garden with planted beds, trees, and gardening tools on a sunny day.

I designed and created an assessable safe space for SEND students to grow and enjoy a greener, more natural space in a previously unloved, hard landscaped area of the playground. I then ran a growing session for students and a teaching session for staff to ensure the space is well maintained

I created wildflower meadows,  wildflower banks and a native hedge on the playing field to create privacy and a new space for OPAL (Outdoor Play and Learning) for pupils. 

Creating growing areas and wildflower meadows and planting for nature at Djanogly Northgate school

School playground with raised garden beds, wooden planters, and a slide, surrounded by a black metal fence, with a school building in the background.
A long wooden planter box against a white wall, containing climbing plants with green leaves and white flowers, supported by a wooden trellis. Additional small potted plants are in the soil.
A small tree planted in a colorful container with a yellow, blue, black, and white speckled pattern, situated in a backyard or outdoor play area. Behind it is a wooden fence decorated with painted panels featuring frogs, ladybugs, and flowers, and some red fabric or clothing hanging on the fence. There is a small covered shelter and a building with large windows in the background.