About Wildkids.

My Story.

An early start living the ‘Good Life’

London in the mid 70’s was “No place to bring up 4 kids,” my Mum and Dad said. They decided to sell up, buy a small farm and live the country life. By the end of the first year we were all experts at collecting eggs, feeding pigs, avoiding geese, growing beans, carrots and whole bunch of other stuff. My favourite job was selling the extras from a veggie barrow outside our front gate.

Looking back It was idyllic and I was so incredibly lucky to have had access to the the fields and meadows that we ran, biked and camped in.

The early days….Wildkids Cornwall

Talking with the tourists who had brought their families on holiday from the big cities, I was shocked by how difficult it was for them to find ways to connect with nature back home. Everybody I spoke with was desperate to teach their kids about what they saw, and to forge that connection with nature, but didn’t know how to show them. That was when I decided to start the first ‘Wildkids’ sessions, from a Farmstay in Cornwall.

Wildkids in Australia

Moving to Australia and to a city with my own young family I soon discovered exactly the same issues here as there was in the UK. Working in childcare the disconnect with nature was being discussed by parents and educators. The development of bushland and the fears regarding the long list of creeping, crawling and slithering things that live here, have long been an off putting reason to go into the bush. This fear is leaving a large hole in children’s development and creates a lack of familiarity with the natural world. As an early years educator I became focused on giving the children in my care a greater understanding of their world. By educating children at an early age to be custodians we are giving our planet a chance. What we learn and understand about the impact we have, and the part that we all play in supporting and sustaining our world, means we can leave it in a better state than what we currently find it.