Wilder Life Wellbeing CIC
Our Team
As a result of our passion for forest school (recognising the wellbeing and educational role it can offer) we have set up as a Community Interest Company to access funding. Wilder Life Wellbeing CIC is based between two woodland settings in Herstmonceux. These are Wartling Woods and the grounds of Herstmonceux Castle. As well as offering forest school to local schools, we are keen to broaden access for local people who have additional needs and/or mental or physical health needs. We work with children, young people and adults.
Helen Stringfellow
Helen has 27 years experience working with children aged 7-16yrs, both in and outside the educational setting.
In 2011 she set up a forest school at West Rise Junior School and for the past 13 years she has had the privilege of leading the forest school, enabling child centred learning and exploratory play to become an integrated and essential part of the curriculum.
Since March 2016, Helen has run forest schools for families and young people with additional needs and/or disabilities, as well as with local primary and secondary schools. She currently runs a woodland day service for adults with learning disabilities and/or autism, as well as Wild Vision - a forest school for children and young people with a visual impairment.
In September 2024, Helen set up a woodland based cancer support project for people with cancer. It is a Macmillan funded project and it is called 'Nurture in Nature'.
Helen is passionate about the many benefits that nature has to offer, regardless of age, ability or health condition and she is keen to share the wonder and freedom of the natural world with others.
Mark Lloyd
Mark originally trained as a Bushcraft Instructor 16 years ago and has been a forest school leader for the past 15 years. In this role, he has worked extensively with a wide range of people and abilities from primary school children, children with SEN- including a visual impairment, young people who have struggled within the school setting and with their mental health, adults with learning difficulties and older people with dementia.,
HIs love for nature led him to want to immerse himself in the land more and for the past 13 years he has had the privilege of tending, working, sharing and playing in his own woodland. He produces charcoal for barbeques, firewood and does a lot of green woodworking.
Penny Hotchkin
Penny is a qualified secondary Science teacher and forest school Level 3 Leader and worked for Sussex Wildlife Trust for 10 years. She has extensive experience of leading woodland curriculum days across all key stages, including A level.
Since 2014 Penny has also forest school after school clubs and holiday clubs alongside setting up a weekly forest school within a local secondary school.
Penny is passionate about children re- connecting with the great outdoors and nature, teaching new skills and allowing children the freedom to learn through play.
Sam Finn
Sam has a natural childlike curiosity and playfulness and loves helping children and adults to find their confidence in nature. She likes to meet people where they’re at and find what excites and motivates them. She studied sculpture, then worked in practical countryside management and ecology for the National Trust and Sussex Wildlife Trust. She is a L3 forest school leader and has been working with children in nature since 2012. For the last 9 years Sam has been studying and practicing nature connection with Jon Young and the 8 Shields movement where supportive practices of gratitude, mentoring, storytelling and deep listening, among others, help to build healthy, connective communities.
“Some of my earliest positive memories are around experiences with nature...exploring and taking apart leaves and flowers, watching leaves flicker in the breeze, and these memories remain strong. As I got older I started to notice a feeling of deeper connection on occasions when I allowed myself to slow down and be truly present in nature. This feeling of being held, of community and kinship, of interconnectedness is the feeling that I want to help other people experience.”
Elisa Dalla Vedova
MBACP counsellor
Her passion is to support people in recognizing and expressing their full, magnificent being, whatever their journey in life may be.
In her work as a counsellor, she follows various modalities to meet the unique individual in front of her and their emotions. She acknowledges that sometimes language falls short. In her eco-therapy approach, she helps bridge the gap between words and meaning with the assistance of our natural surroundings. Nature offers a deeper understanding of life; it also provides perspective and encourages the mind to slow down. Elisa guides people toward answers to our existential questions by tapping into the intuitive knowledge of the earth, the sky, and everything in between.
"When I am outdoors, I overcome my sense of isolation, confusion, and frustration... and it doesn’t really matter what I am doing. I particularly love trees. As a child, I felt seen in my curiosity, climbing them, exploring my body's limits, strengths, and sense of freedom. As a teenager, I felt held by the branches during times of despair or exhilaration. As an adult, when I lean my back against a tree trunk, I gain renewed trust, acceptance, and wisdom that settles deep into my bones. I want to support others increase their awareness of how nature intended things to be, as I believe we can find our answers and healing... especially when we are grounded like a tree."
More of her here: elisadallavedova.com
Where we work
In the grounds of Hestmonceux Castle
West Wartling Woods - a private woodland opposite Herstmonceux Castle