“Nature can talk to us & teach us”
Sarah Lawfull is the founder of Where the Fruit Is, based in Oxfordshire. Sarah is a professional coach, and Chair of the Forest School Association and Co-Chair of the Nature premium campaign as well as an endorsed trainer and education consultant.
Sarah is a passionate advocate of spending time in nature and learning to listen, with clear influences from Nancy Kline’s work.
From a lifetime of engaging children, teenagers and families with nature Sarah has learnt the value of play, and observation, alongside the empowerment of trust and creating space to think.
Through coaching and training, Sarah inspires adults to bring the best of themselves to their work with children; using nature as our guide we discover that healthy people, connected to self, others and the planet, are truly connected and able to grow self and explore.
Forest School is the pedagogical approach, that has clearly captured Sarah’s heart. It is the place where this deep connection happens, where responsibility and risk collide to create a richly challenging, creative learning environment. Out in the woods, real life happens, hurts heal, and great fun is had through playful learning.
“Being out in nature is therapeutic”.
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Our guest
Described by a colleague as having ‘leaves in her hair and wood in her veins’, Sarah is a lifelong lover of learning, of people and the planet. A professional coach, Forest School Association Endorsed trainer and education consultant, Sarah created Where The Fruit Is to provide transformative coaching and training. Now enjoying the delights of grandparenthood she shares her enthusiasm for learning through and caring for nature with people of all ages.
An experienced primary and early years teacher Sarah realised the importance of freedom, play and nature connection very early in her career. Children whose lives were already impacted by Adverse Childhood Experiences, living in small flats without gardens were expected to arrive at school, ready to learn. Getting them outdoors every day became a matter of survival for the staff. The calming effect of nature was evident. The children thrived and had a zest for learning.
Her voluntary work with teenagers in church youth groups over many years, coupled with her experience of leading long term Forest School programmes with young autistic people, convinced her that nature connection, a sense of belonging and agency, was needed more than ever.
Fast forward to life in a global pandemic, as lockdowns stole childhoods, teenage rites of passage and loved ones from families, the Nature Premium campaign was born. Sarah and colleagues are working to raise awareness of the urgent need for all children and young people to have regular access to nature experiences as an integral part of their education.
