Mandalas, the Forest School Association and more one legged reflections..

One of the main disadvantages of being on crutches is that in order to have the energy to attend sessions like the one above where this beautiful mandala was made this week, I do need to rest a lot in between. Whilst resting I have read voraciously, vowed (unsuccessfully) to tackle all my admin and found myself far too caught up in heated debates on facebook.

Like many practitioners, when I discovered forest school  and trained as a leader, I felt that I had found my true purpose in life. There is something about forest school which fills people with passion, joy, fullfillment and drive. I loved the way previous skills and interests all seemed transferable and yet there was so much more to learn. I loved spending my days outside, connected to nature and working with like minded people. As an archaeologist working in exotic countries, I had often felt a similar excitement and vocational drive but because forest school involves sustaining children, there was now a far greater sense of purpose. Children are our future. What could be more important than helping to facilitate dynamic change for the good in their lives?

I became used to other practitioners sharing this viewpoint and meeting them was almost always a delight and a validation.

In 2012 after extensive consultation amongst the forest education sector, the Forest School Association was set up as a professional voice for forest school practitioners. http://www.forestschoolassociation.org/
As a freelance I welcomed everything it could potentially offer- greater credibility and profile for forest schools around the country and also the chance to be actively involved in contributing to the direction the forest school movement was taking. It is a democratic members organization,completely inclusive and unlike existing bodies which maybe geographical or more general, it was the first organization specifically for any forest practioner in the country. It didn't matter where you lived or who had trained you.

I work with colleagues who have been trained by a variety of organizations and prospective practitioners often ask my advice about who to train with. I generally direct them to the Trainers Network and to those I know have a lot of experience. I believed that whilst training did vary, hopefully it took people to a basic level of competence and after that they could build up their experience and improve skills through delivery and further courses. At that point I imagined that the details of where and who had trained them were no longer that significant and practitioners then became absorbed into a wider forest school community.

However sadly it wasn't as simple as this. I guess no field is immune from politics and conflict.


The forest school ethos is very much about caring for each other and our environment and personally, I have always favoured the collaboration rather than competition path forward, wherever possible, though I know Nature might not always follow this model herself.


A mandala is a circle, a symbol of unity. The one above was made by toddlers and their mothers in Hallr Wood. When darkness fell, we lit the candles and sung under the moon, and I stood mesmerized on my crutches. It was one of those unforgetable moments which encapsulate why we are doing what we are doing.

I hearby dedicate that mandala to peace and unity in the world and also to peace and unity under the trees we all love so much..