Training Consultants

Jen Hurst

Woodland management and Forest School training

Jen is a freelance Forest School leader and experienced trainer. Gifted at communication and connecting people with the natural world, her expertise in woodland management is hugely valued by us and the wider Forest School community. She is a founder member of the Oxon, Bucks, Berks Forest Schools Association (OBBFSA) affiliated group and was chair of the Forest Education Network (FEN). She now works internationally providing consultancy to educators as they develop culturally relevant Forest School. She also works with Oxford University developing field work for students.

Read more about Jen

Jen has a varied background in Outdoor Education, first as a secondary geography teacher, then Forest School leader at West Kidlington Primary in Oxfordshire and latterly as education manager at Sylva Foundation. Jen worked in close partnership with Sarah and Forest School trainees at Oxfordshire Forest School Service, developing a version of the Sylva woodland management tool, myForest for Education which sits alongside the specialist woodland management training she provides for Forest School Leaders.

Jen spearheaded the Bringing Children Closer to Nature research as part of the collaborative Forest Schools For All project.

As chair of the Forest Education Network, Jen built communication across sectors before handing over the reins, overseeing its transition to Forest Education Network England (FENE).

Jen has trained trainers at a national level on woodland management, advocating at conferences and forestry events around the country for sustainable forestry to be at the heart of forest education. She wants forests to thrive – for people and for nature.

Mhairi MacGillivray-Edwards

Mhairi runs her own Oak Leaf Forest School on the Berkshire Downs; she has been instrumental in the setting up of the Oxon, Bucks, Berks Forest Schools Association (OBBFSA) affiliated group, of which she is now chair.

One of the most experienced Forest School leaders in the country, Mhairi was the second leader trained in Oxfordshire and a founder member of the Oxfordshire Forest School Project.

She is also a Scout leader, mean whittler and maker!