About Us

We are led by level 3 qualified Forest School Leaders and Educational professionals. All of our staff work in schools during term time and so understand the needs and desires of children very well. This is perhaps the reason why children who take part in our activities genuinely feel trusted and respected to lead their own play and learning.

– Established in 2012
– Ofsted registered childcare provider
– A member of the Forest School Association
– Staff have all undergone enhanced DBS checks
– All staff are first aid trained, including outdoor specialised first aid training

Richard Dean

Richard has been enjoying working with children as a qualified Forest School Leader and facilitator for 12 years. He is also a qualified Early Years Educator. It was time for a change of career having been in the army and a chance conversation provided the opportunity to work with children in a local nursery and independent school. There began Richard’s love of enabling children to be in nature and experience all it has to offer. Greensand Forest Adventures is Richard’s ‘baby’ which he has developed steadily over the last 12 years, from an idea to the busy organisation you see today.

Richard works at our Adventure Clubs from Tuesday to Friday, runs our Forest parties and also our Foresters – you can find out more about Foresters here. Richard is also a member of the Forest Camp team

Lara Butler

Lara is a qualified Forest School Leader and has been working with Greensands since 2015. Lara loves being outdoors and spent her younger years working on safari in Zimbabwe. Not so many large creepy crawlies in the UK, so Lara brings them with her from her company, The Backyard Bug Experience.

Lara will often be found in our junior whittling area supporting our younger Adventurers as they begin to learn to craft from wood.

Lara works at Adventure Clubs on Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays and is a member of the Forest Camp team.

Julie Triska

Julie is a qualified Forest School Assistant working at our Forest Camps and Adventure Clubs. She is also a qualified Early Years Practitioner in a local independent School. You’ll find Julie near the fire at our camps helping create delicious snacks for the children to enjoy.

Julie works at Adventure Clubs on Wednesdays and Fridays and is a member of the Forest Camp team

Kate Dean

Kate has been working for Greensands since its early days. She is often found at the fireside cooking up some yummy treats: flatbreads and courgette chips as well as keeping the hot chocolate ready on colder days. Kate is often working at the less glamorous aspects of running our events – making sure the toilets are working and there’s plenty of hand washing water!

Kate works at our Adventures Clubs throughout the week and our Forest Camps

Tamsin Madone

Tamsin often helps at our Forest Camps and particularly enjoys creating new ideas for fireside cooking. There is always a tasty treat available when Tamsin is in the woods!

Sophie Hounsome

Sophie works at our Monday Adventure Club and at some of our Forest Camps. Sophie loves being creative in the natural environment and will often be found supporting the children in their imaginative play and nature art.

Jessica Hounslow

Jess is our amazing administrator who helps keep everything running smoothly behind the scenes. You can contact Jess on admin@greensandforestadventures.org if you would like to be added to our waiting list for Adventure Clubs or to our mailing list for Forest Camps.

Natasha Hayes

Natasha is a highly experienced Special Educational Needs co-ordinator, Designated Safeguarding Lead and Early Years Educator in a local nursery. Natasha if available to help us and works closely with all the members of the team behind the scenes.

We encourage children of a wide age range to work and play together and we are happy to take any children who are safely and securely out of nappies. Younger children are of course led by our adult staff. Our older children and young adults will most often be given a section of our woodland in which to build dens and manage their own activities and camp fire, and are vigorously expected to follow strict safety guidelines.

Some of these older children go on to become trusted and highly responsible staff members at our Forest Camps. We are a fully inclusive organisation with staff highly experienced in providing support for additional needs. If your child has any special medical or educational requirements or considerations please talk to us about this before booking so that we all start with a clear understanding.