Ep 51 - Nature Connection with Lily Horseman

In this lively, laugh-filled episode of The Forest School Podcast, Lewis and Gemma welcome long-time online linchpin Lily Horseman (Chair of the Forest School Association and founder of Kindling) for a free-ranging chat that moves from stationery obsessions to slime-mould revelations. Together they explore:the comfort—and peril—of social-media echo chambers for practitionersLily’s journey from feral childhood through playwork to Forest School trainingwhy Forest School has flourished while playwork funding has witheredbalancing practical skills with deep ethos on leader coursesusing doodles, matchboxes and wallpaper rolls to make theory stickcreating a sense of wilderness in a bus-stop-sized urban copsehow nature connection reframes risky play (and teaches respect for bark and worms)weather, wind speeds and the art of saying “it depends” with confidencethe magic of authentic presence, permission and collective silliness around the fire⏱ Chapter Timings00 : 00 – Banter, missing video & the lure of fresh notebooks02 : 43 – Meet Lily: FSA chair, Kindling founder & Facebook hive-minder06 : 44 – From tree-climbing teen to playworker to Forest School trainer09 : 43 – Forest School vs playwork: politics, funding and public appetite14 : 31 – Training leaders: ethos first, skills second—and why “it depends”32 : 14 – Wind-risk doodles, social-media pile-ons and holding boundaries online42 : 35 – Tiny urban woodlands that feel vast after four immersive days56 : 10 – Hide-and-seek as a gateway to hard-wired nature connection1 : 08 : 33 – Tree-bashing, worm care & repairing relationships with the more-than-human world1 : 16 : 44 – Grumpy Badger cream fights, year-end rituals and joyful nonsense🌲 Keywords: Forest School training, playwork decline, online community, risk & wind, reflective practice, doodle pedagogy, tiny woodlands, nature connection, authenticity, child-led play🔖 Hashtags:#ForestSchool #Playwork #NatureConnection #OutdoorLearning #ReflectivePractice #ForestSchoolTraining #ChildLedPlay #CommunityOfPractice #SlimeMouldLove #Kindling🌐 More Episodes & Support:Listen to more and access resources at www.theforestschoolpodcast.comSupport the show at www.patreon.com/theforestschoolpodcastTraining & face-to-face courses: www.childrenoftheforest.comQuestions or collaboration: [email protected]