Shona Perrett. Marston Vale Forest School

Nomination highlights

"She inspires and instills a love of nature and the outdoors on all the children and adults who attend her sessions.'

'Shona never fails to bring enthusiasm to all of her sessions and encourages lots of mud play. There’s always a mud kitchen. Often mud painting , mud slides and sometimes mud throwing!! At her Saturday club they even have a ‘muddy marathon’!!'

Tell us a bit about what you do at your project / your role

We are an independent forest school and run sessions for all ages from toddlers to adults. We especially love our Treelings Toddler sessions where we get to bake the best mud cakes and pies

What do you love about your work?

I love being in the woods everyday whatever the weather and seeing how much all our children grow during the time they spend with us.

What are the benefits – why is muddy, outdoor, nature play so important?

Participants (whatever age) come alive when they are allowed to just play and do what comes naturally to them. There is no right or wrong at forest school, anything goes as long as they stay safe.

Top tip for muddy/messy/nature play

just go with the flow, clothing helps but muddy bare feet are better

Resource recommendation

Natural resources - pine cones and needles, acorns, conkers, leaves etc and containers and utensils to mix and create with.

How will you spend your Muddy Faces voucher?

I'd like a dutch oven so we can provide more hot snacks to warm everyone up, we all love comfort food after a session in the woods.

See also