Milly, a level 3 qualified forest school practitioner, is often in the woods leading many of the Kingfishers sessions as well as managing the running of the business behind the scenes.

When she’s not busy with Kingfishers, she works in local primary schools providing forest school sessions for children with additional needs.

Her passion is to get more people, adults & children, outside and connecting with the natural world. She educates others online about the joys of connecting with nature as well as running local foraging walks for families over the holidays.

 She loves being outdoors as much as possible hiking, foraging, cycling and wild swimming.

Lucy started her career as a Primary School Teacher where she taught for six years and worked as the Forest School Coordinator after gaining her Level 3 qualification in 2014.
Her passion for Forest School, outdoor learning and working with children in the Early Years in particular has lead her to her current roles as an Outdoor Early Years Educator at an outdoor childcare setting in Bristol as well as working as a Forest School Leader across two sites, one of which being Kingfishers’. You will often find Lucy accompanied by her daughter at Forest School, which has further strengthened her belief that forging a strong connection with nature from an early age is so vitally important, not just for benefitting children’s development, confidence and wellbeing, but for laying the foundations for a lifelong respect for the planet we inhabit.

Lucy is responsible for planning and leading sessions for Woodland Explorers at Kingfishers’ Forest School as well as running the Instagram page which can be found here: https://www.instagram.com/kingfishersforestschool/

Matt has been assisting at forest school sessions for several years now in both volunteer and assistant capacities. He has worked at two forest school sites with his partner Lucy and their daughter, assisting with the running of forest school events as well as the weekly Woodland Explorers group. Matt has found that the experience in the forest alongside his daughter has created fantastic family memories, as well as providing a clear demonstration of the positive impact forest school can have on children’s development, connection with nature, confidence and well-being.

Matt has always had an interest in the outdoors from a childhood spent camping, hiking and cooking on fires. Having spent most of his career as a chef, spending time in the forest assisting at Kingfishers’ has provided an invigorating break from the kitchen and a joy to be a part of providing such fun sessions in a beautiful area of nature

Kate is a level three qualified Forest School Leader and has been working in outdoor education for six years. She is a creative art maker, songstress and story- teller and always aims to bring a lot of fun to the Forest. As well as leading and assisting with our regular pre-school sessions, Kate also has experience of working with other age groups and regularly conducts courses and workshops. She loves to spend time observing wildlife, photographing and sketching what she discovers and contributing towards local wildlife projects.

Rahima is a qualified and experienced level three Forest School Practitioner. She has built a career integrating Forest School pedagogies into state primary education systems to support children’s emotional development alongside their learning. She is also a Primary Teaching Assistant who regularly covers classroom teaching. She launched Woodland Adventure holiday club in 2015 and has directed it through its many successes. She recently launched Heartwood Projects in order to focus her practice on ensuring Forest School and nature connection opportunities are available to families who may not normally access such provision. When she’s not in the woods, Rahima can be found digging in the vegetable garden, volunteering at her local urban farm and going on long walks with her dog.