welcome to
Wild Soul Woods
CIC
Wild Soul Woods combines a Forest School ethos and environmental education with a selection of therapeutically-informed approaches to provide well being-focused sessions in a natural environment.
Our mission is to contribute to improving the mental & physical health of individuals in the local community. We want to combat ‘climate doom’ by creating and nurturing environmental stewards for the future. Both aims are achieved by providing opportunities for meaningful and interactive connection with the natural world.
We have evolved organically in response to community need. Initially a small team delivered ‘Tori’s Woodland Adventures’ to children & families in home education groups and afterschool & holiday clubs. We then discovered a real need for our services within the neurodiverse communities, among children & families unable to attend mainstream schools, as well as those struggling with anxiety, depression & poor mental health. We have connected with parents, carers & families as well as isolated individuals of all ages. As our team and our mission grows, we aim to invite and welcome as many diverse and varied community groups and individuals as possible to benefit from our offering.
By creating a safe and inclusive space to take physical, creative, social and emotional risks, we are supporting individuals to build personal resilience and increase their sense of well-being – whatever their personal challenges may be. This leads to greater confidence in their usual activities and the ability to ‘bounce back’ after disappointments, as well as allowing individuals to nurture & cherish themselves and others. Working with families and established groups enables us to model a way of communicating with others that allows emotional literacy to flourish and positive connection to thrive.
Our sessions are delivered via a multitude of activities, for groups and individuals from all walks of life.
Our unique and powerful combination of nature connection and emotional literacy fosters a deep and authentic sense of belonging to both the natural world and to our human communities.
The environmental education that is woven through all sessions creates a sense of stewardship of our natural spaces, encouraging nurture of our flora & fauna and a sustainable approach to living with less environmental impact on our home world. Using examples from the natural world, including seasonal & life cycles, also demonstrates how all living things ebb, flow, change and are taken care of. We show how in many circumstances a ‘growth’ mindset – rather than external events – can change a negative experience into a positive opportunity.
Our Top Services
Forest School
Sisterwood
STEAM
EOTAS
Therapeutic Forest
“An inclusive Forest School helping alll, including SEN children and individuals”
Key Approaches
We are Forest School trained outdoor educators. We are parents. Our Wild Soul Woods practitioners come from a variety of person-centric and wellbeing focused professional backgrounds. We are NOT therapists. Some of us have undertaken specialist training which you can find out more about in our website Bios.
We have consulted directly with therapists, both as parents and as Wild Soul Woods practitioners. We have invited Speech & Language Therapists and Occupational Therapists into the Woods to advise our team, and have been implementing the following strategies successfully since 2021:
We have consulted directly with therapists, both as parents and as Wild Soul Woods practitioners. We have invited Speech & Language Therapists and Occupational Therapists into the Woods to advise our team, and have been implementing the following strategies successfully since 2021:
PACE
PACE: Playfulness, Acceptance, Curiosity & Empathy
PACE is a therapeutic framework designed to support the development of positive and healthy relationships using a light-hearted and emotionally literate approach.
MATCH
MATCH: Modify the Activity, Adapt Expectations, Teach Strategies, Change the Environment, Help by Understanding
MATCH is an Occupational Therapy Strategy designed to support an individual towards personal success in any given task. It is very similar to the concept of scaffolding used alongside the Zone of Proximal Development strategy to provide a person-centred learning experience.
VERBAL
Comic Strip Conversations & Social Stories (verbal)
Speech & Language strategies designed to help with social communication, particularly with neurodiverse and / anxious children & adults.
Alongside these therapeutic approaches (used to whatever extent is appropriate in different sessions with different participants) two key ethos’ underpin ALL of our sessions.
Emotional Literacy is sometimes called Emotional Intelligence (EI) and has been proven to be a greater indicator of future success than Intelligence Quotient (IQ). Being emotionally literate means you are able to manage both your own emotions and understand the emotions of the people around you. The five key elements of EI are self-awareness, self-regulation, motivation, empathy, and social skills. By naming, validating and supporting the management of all emotions during our sessions we are not only creating a safe & nurturing environment, but improving participants’ ability to connect to other people, crucial for future mental health & well being.
The Honourable Harvest was popularised in recent years by Indigenous biochemist & writer Robin Wall Kimmerer. It gives agency to all living beings along with a set of guidelines (derived from Indigenous culture and the ‘7 generations’ way of thinking of the future) on how to restore our relationship with the land. The Honourable Harvest asks that we view land as KIN – not a RESOURCE – and treat it as such.