Wild Soul Woods CIC
Wild Soul Woods CIC
(incorporating Tori’s Woodland Adventures)
Here in the woods our emphasis is on free play, exploring nature & emotional literacy – all wrapped up in fun and friendship! We have one rule - 'Take Care' - of ourselves, each other, and our natural world.
Underneath all the magic and silliness is a serious and genuine desire to provide our community with a safe space to be themselves. We are passionate about improving mental health by building personal resilience and protecting our world from negative environmental impact by connecting with the ‘nature’ that’s all around us.
That's the basics in a nutshell, so feel free to skip on down the page to the Booking Schedule!
But if you'd like to know more about our long-term aims and underpinning ethos, please do read on below...
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Wild Soul Woods combines a forest school ethos with the therapeutic PACE (Playfulness, Acceptance, Curiosity, Empathy) approach to provide resilience-building and well-being focused sessions in a natural environment.
We have evolved organically in response to community need - initially delivering ‘Tori’s Woodland Adventures’ to children & families in home education groups and afterschool & holiday clubs. We then discovered a real need for our services within the neurodiverse communities, among children & families unable to attend mainstream schools, as well as those struggling with anxiety, depression & poor mental health. We have connected with parents, carers & families as well as isolated individuals of all ages. As we grow, we aim to invite and welcome as many diverse and varied community groups and individuals as possible to benefit from our services.
By creating a safe and inclusive space to take physical, creative, social and emotional risks, we are supporting individuals to build personal resilience and increase their sense of well-being - whatever their personal challenges may be. This leads to greater confidence in their usual activities and the ability to ‘bounce back’ after disappointments, as well as allowing individuals to nurture & cherish themselves and others. Working with families and established groups enables us to model a way of communicating with others that allows emotional literacy to flourish and positive connection to thrive.
Our sessions are delivered via a multitude of activities, for groups and individuals from all walks of life.
Our unique and powerful combination of nature connection and emotional literacy fosters a deep and authentic sense of belonging to both the natural world and to our human communities. The environmental education that is woven through all sessions creates a sense of stewardship of our natural spaces, encouraging nurture of our flora & fauna and a sustainable approach to living with less environmental impact on our home world. Using examples from the natural world, including seasonal & life cycles, also demonstrates how all living things ebb, flow, change and are taken care of. We show how in many circumstances a ‘growth’ mindset - rather than external events - can change a negative experience into a positive opportunity.
Delivery can be as varied as the practitioners we train, because almost any activity can be a vehicle for engaging with the natural environment and communicating in an emotionally literate manner. All activities are person-centred & child-led. This means there is always an invitation to participate - never a demand. Opportunities are available throughout the natural space to simply be still, or to be occupied in a different way.
Successful examples so far include sessions based on
free play,
sensory experience,
natural crafts,
foraging & campfire cooking,
gardening & planting,
themed scavenger hunts,
group games,
organised sports (like golf & ping pong),
survival story play,
tool work,
musical adventure,
focused nature education,
focused curriculum based education,
mindfulness in hammocks,
campfire mindfulness gatherings,
retreats,
campouts,
bushcraft skills,
and many more - targeted at both adults & children with a range of abilities.