As a child, I grew up with a Dad and Step Mum who worked in the environmental sector 🌿, and as a result, this gave me countless opportunities to explore the outdoors (not that I appreciated it at the time 😅). Some of my favourite memories include springtime bluebell walks 🌸, crabbing trips in the summer 🦀, and fungi hunts in the autumn 🍄. Those simple, magical experiences helped build the deep love for wildlife and nature that I still carry today 🐾.
At the same time, I spent much of my childhood in hospital 🏥. During those long stays, nature shows like ROAR 🦁 and Deadly 60 🐍 became my escape. They sparked my curiosity 🔍, gave me courage 💪, and helped me feel connected to the wild world—even when I couldn’t be part of it 🌍. But while they were inspiring, they lacked the hands-on engagement I craved 🎨.
After school secondary school I found myself drawn to education 📚 and discovered how much I loved working with children 👧🧒, as a nursery nurse, Scout leader ⛺ and later as a trainee teacher ✏️. But as I faced ongoing kidney issues 🩺 and began to better understand myself as a late-diagnosed Autistic adult 🧠, I realised that a traditional classroom teaching role wasn’t quite right for me. So I left my training course and embarked on a new pathway or more so returning to one I already loved... wildlife.
Through my degree studies in natural science 🔬, and education 🎓, and my work in conservation 🐞 and public engagement 💬, I began to see just how many families face barriers to accessing and promoting nature and wildlife. Whether it’s lack of time ⏰, access 🚪, confidence 💭, knowledge 📖, resources 🧺, or simply the pull of screens 📱—these hurdles are real.
That’s why I created Wild Wonderers 🌼. It’s my way to combine my love of nature 🍃 with my passion for helping children learn, grow, and care for the world around them 💚.
Through playful, hands-on booklets 📗, I hope to help parents, teachers and community groups bring meaningful, nature-based learning into their children's lives—whether thats at the hospital 🛏️, at home 🏠, in the garden 🌻 or in a hall or classroom.
In the future, I hope to expand Wild Wonderers by introducing an online nature club 💻🌳 and in-person workshops ✨👣.
