FSA Suffolk aims to provide support, friendship and
inspiration for all Forest School practitioners in Suffolk.

Our Committee

Chairperson - Charlotte

Charlotte Atkinson is an experienced Forest School Leader and an FSA endorsed trainer. She lives and works at ‘Charlotte’s Wood’ in Wilby where she runs weekly parent and toddler Forest School sessions, holiday clubs, woodland experience days and training.

Charlotte’s Wood is a 2.5 acre mixed woodland with a log cabin that is used for training and overnight accommodation. Charlotte also manages two holiday lodges that are situated on the edge of the woodland. She moved to Suffolk in 2016 from Liverpool where she worked for 6 years as a headteacher following a long career in primary education.

​Charlotte is passionate about the positive impact on health and well-being of spending time in nature, loves the practical nature of her job and working with children. Charlotte also works as a primary school consultant and in her spare time she teaches people how to Nordic Walk! ​

Treasurer - Jo

Jo Ling is an experienced forest school practitioner and past trainer for Green Light Trust. She is an Early Years educator of many years.  Her favourite tree is the Hornbeam, favourite bird the Cormorant (with Jackdaw a close second) and favourite flower the Wild red Poppy. 
She currently runs ‘Time To Play’ family forest schools which meet at a number of locations in Suffolk and Essex. Along with her husband she also manages PerfectRucksack – a resource website for parents and carers looking for ideas for raising nature connected children. She is currently treasurer for the Suffolk FSA. ​

Vice-Chair - Mell

Membership & Communications Officer - Elizabeth

​Elizabeth Swift grew up on the beaches and mud flats of Suffolk – with broad open skies and grey seas.  She is a Forest School leader and trainer, a lecturer and an early years consultant.  She divides her working time between training Forest School leaders, lecturing on early years degree courses and singing with people outdoors.    In 2011, she set up huathe with Carol Middleton to help reconnect adults and children to nature, to each other and to themselves. 
 
Huathe draws on first hand international teaching in nature connection combined with a deep understanding of child development and group dynamics.  Elizabeth enjoys the local (working outdoors children under 5 and their carers); the national (delivering training and CPD across East Anglia and the South East); and the international (speaking at conferences and training Forest School leaders across in Ireland, China and the US.
 
She is inspired equally by a love of the outdoors, the child led parenting ethos of land connected, indigenous cultures, the teaching of Jon Young, and the writing of Jay Griffiths.  Her main interests are in children’s holistic development through play and the positive effects of nature connection.  Her outdoor singing groups, FireChoir, are about people connecting to nature, to each other and to themselves.  

Secretary - Events & Social Media - Steph 

Steph Holland completed her Forest School Practitioner training with Huathe in 2018 and is the founder and director of West Suffolk Hive CIC. She lives in Bury St Edmunds with her husband, Neil and daughter, Amelia, who they are home-educating. They spend most of their time together outdoors, and much of Amelia's education takes place in forests. They offer an incredible environment for holistic learning, muscle development, teamwork and a deeper understanding of the natural world around us.

As well as spending time in nature and with Amelia, Steph is also a music teacher. She has led baby and toddler music classes and teaches piano, violin and singing at home and in a local school. Her love of music and her 
teaching experience compliments her forest school practice. She has recently completed training with The Human Toolbox, and runs wellbeing sessions outdoors for adults in partnership with Centred in Nature. 

Minutes Secretary - Gill

Gill Chapman is currently the minutes secretary of Suffolk FSA.
After over 20 years in the teaching profession she retired about 6 years ago, escaped the system and moved to Suffolk.
She had previously trained as a FS leader and has set up FS in 4 schools.  Since retiring she worked for a while for the Green Light Trust, supporting the tutors with FS training and undertaking L3 assessment visits. She has been actively involved with Essex FSA and is now delivering FS sessions at a school in Colchester and at her own village school in Occold.
She has been a lifelong birder and has also developed a keen interest in butterflies. She enjoy photography and gardening, and grows her own vegetables on her allotment. She has recently purchased a worm farm and is looking forward to producing her own organic worm fertiliser.