Who Are We?

Dr Sara Collins

Co-Founder and Lead

Nature Premium Campaign Co-Founder and Lead

I’m a self-employed biologist, Accredited Practitioner of the Institute for Outdoor Learning and Forest School Practitioner.  While working in schools I have realised that children today do not explore the natural world as I did when I was their age.  They don’t have simple experiences that would open up a world of beauty and awe or would inspire green career choices.  During Lockdown 1 it became apparent that there is an inequity of access to nature for some children in addition to the lack of experiences that the majority of children miss out on.  The Nature Premium is a simple idea that could transform a generation and help children grow up greener.

Sarah Lawfull

Co-Founder

Co-Chair of Steering Group / Co-Founder of the Nature Premium Campaign / Chair of Forest School Association

Through teaching, parenting, voluntary youth work and Forest School training I have come to understand that children need nature and nature needs children. For young people to grow up happy, healthy and hopeful requires regular opportunities to play and learn in, through, from, about, and as, nature. Education is the best route to change outcomes for an individual, a community, a nation and the global population, both human and non-human. I believe the Nature Premium will ensure that younger generations learn to live in harmony with the natural world, in line with the UNSDGs, and bring their green skills to solve the problems previous generations have created.

Jo Barnett

CEO – Institute for Outdoor Learning

CEO – Institute for Outdoor Learning

Abigail Hopper

Headteacher - Nightingale Primary School, Hackney

As a Headteacher of an Urban Primary school, I have seen first-hand the impact that being out in nature has on my pupils.  They find peace and joy in the outdoors and it allows them to build their social skills and learn to solve problems for themselves.  Crucially, they also build an affinity with the natural world and through this a much deeper commitment to protecting the environment as they move through their lives.  The impact of making this available to every child cannot be underestimated. 

Amy Arnold

Working in education for over 25 years I have seen the enormous benefits that being immersed in nature brings to children, of all ages.
Nature instantly ignites children's sense of wonder and joy, and brings about a sense of calm and stillness that is often impossible to find in a fast paced every increasing digital environment. Each child has their own unique journey and path of discovery inspired by nature, with differing thoughts, hypotheses and questions linked to what the natural world is showing at that moment.
Spending time in and with nature clearly boosts children's physical, mental, social, emotional and spiritual health and in turn this permeates through other areas of their lives.
Each and every child deserves access to nature, instilling a love and appreciation to protect and cherish our planet for generations to come.

Anthony Mcgeeney

Headteacher - Galley Hill Primary School

The Nature Premium promotes regular nature experiences for students, enhancing both learning and well-being. For headteachers, it offers a flexible framework to integrate outdoor activities, from gardening to Forest School, tailored to each school's unique setting and needs. Beyond academic enrichment, nature exposure boosts mental and physical health. The Department for Education's emphasis on school autonomy aligns seamlessly with this initiative, allowing schools to innovate while achieving key outcomes. By adopting the Nature Premium, headteachers can ensure a holistic education, fostering environmentally-aware, healthy students, and enriching their school's curriculum. 

Beatrice Merrick

Chief Executive of Early Education

The importance of access to nature for young children has been recognised from the very earliest days of early childhood education – the word “kindergarten” means “children’s garden.”

Becky Wilkinson

Learning and Outreach Manager - Royal Forestry Society

We have never needed the Nature Premium more. Our world is facing a climate crisis and our children and young people are facing a crisis in their mental health. Equipping schools to connect with the opportunities that nature presents to us helps to address both of these crises.

Connor Sulivan

Youth Ambassador - Nature Premium

I come from the London borough of Hackney. A very socially active and diverse borough with great green and blue spaces with ecologies which have captivated me from a young age. But I was one of the lucky ones who evaded many of the barriers that exist for city dwellers - especially marginalised groups - when it comes to connecting with nature. The Nature Premium has a massive potential to shatter existing barriers to connecting with nature, providing benefits to those directly engaging, to their families, wider society, and generations to come! 

Hannah Jones McVey

'Too many children do not have a connected, curious, and confident relationship with nature, to the detriment of their health, happiness and ability to become the future generation that our planet needs. Through my career with the Wildlife Trust, National Trust, Teach First and now The Country Trust I have witnessed these transformational moments and their subsequent benefits again and again. Parity of support to be, learn and explore in nature should be a foundation stone in our society, but isn’t. Nature Premium would be a huge step in making this happen. But to ensure these are within reach of all children we need action to ensure access to nature becomes a cornerstone of every child’s school experience. '

Jo Phillips

Impact Communications – Core Nature Premium Team

Karen Letten

Schools and Communities Engagement Manager - The Woodland Trust

Karen Letten is Schools Engagement Manager at the Woodland Trust and leads the Trust’s UK programme for schools, inspiring schools about woods and trees. Responsible for creating the Trust’s Green Tree Schools Award that now has over 14K UK schools registered. This follows a career spanning over 20 years working in engagement, environmental & sustainable development education and outdoor learning largely in the charity sector but also in local government. She believes passionately that children and young people, whatever their background should learn firsthand about the amazing benefits of woods and trees and nature. This is why the Woodland Trust are supporting the Nature Premium campaign.

Mary Jackson

Head of Education and Communities - Learning through Landscapes

Mary Jackson is Head of Education and Communities at Learning through Landscapes (LtL). LtL is the national school grounds charity dedicated to enhancing outdoor learning and play for all children and young people, through well-designed, nature-rich school grounds and the outdoor spaces of early years settings. 

 Our aims therefore strongly align with those of the Nature Premium initiative - that all children should have regular time in nature, with particular support for those who need it most, and believe that by working in partnership we can help to ensure that this becomes a reality for children and young people throughout the UK.

Matt Larsen Daw

CEO - The Mammal Society

Schools and colleges can act as ‘levellers’ to enable all young people to have a minimum level of nature experience, when the opportunities and encouragement they get at home may differ enormously. The Nature Premium campaign is a vital piece of the jigsaw puzzle to realise this potential, recognising that schools and colleges will have different barriers to overcome in order to bring nature into school life for students. A premium applied per pupil would allow schools to come up with a bespoke plan of action to ensure that each student has opportunities for positive first-hand nature experiences in a safe, supported and social environment.

Richard Dunne

CEO - The Harmony Project