Our Story

Woodlanders has grown from a dream to bring people and land together in a virtuous relationship, where people and place both benefit, are enriched and create beauty.  These dreams have been grounded in the hard realities of careers in ecology, conservation, therapy, community development and working with all kinds of people.  

​We continue to evolve and grow, just like the woods.  We try things out, make some mistakes, and work on new and different projects.  Through all of that we keep trying to be authentic to ourselves, to listen to the land and to hear the people who come to the woods. 

We love what we do!  And we want to share it with others so that you too can be more connected to this dear, beautiful world and all the lovely beings that live in it. 
We are a social enterprise, which means we run as a business selling our services, but we do not take any private profit from doing so.  Instead we reinvest any surpluses in our social and environmental purposes.  Our aims are charitable so that we are able to apply for grant funding to work with those who can most benefit from what we offer. 

Neroche Woodlanders is a Community Benefit Society, registered with the Financial Conduct Authority and run for the benefit of the community.  We registered in 2012, registration number 31925R.  Our governing document, or Rules, can be seen here.

​We have a Shareholder Membership and our day to day activities are governed by a Board of Directors.  We work with a team of freelance associates and volunteers who help to create, design and run everything we do. ​

Our Team

Hannah Bester 

Director & Chair
Hannah has worked in the charitable sector since 2006, supporting heritage and environmental education, community development, small charity strategic development and volunteer engagement.  She has experience of working with volunteers, with young people and of leading work in the outdoors. 

Hannah joined Woodlanders in 2016, wanting to support work within her local community while having the opportunity to learn new skills, both in the woods and as part of the business development of Neroche Woodlanders.  She helps out with Wild Learning from time to time and is helping to develop new Wellbeing projects for local people.  She works for the National Trust at Stourhead as Volunteering Officer, supporting and developing volunteering.
 

Dr Rosie Viant

Director 
Rosie has worked in education and teaching all her life.  Now retired and resident on the Blackdown Hills  she volunteers as a mentor for young people in Somerset and is Chair of her local Parish Council.  Rosie was part of the Neroche Local Stakeholder Group, which drove the direction of Neroche Landscape Partnership Scheme, and latterly the Blackdown Hills Trust. 

She brings to Woodlanders her expertise in governance, her love of the outdoors and a desire to help young people and families. 

Gavin Saunders 

Director & Conservation Lead
Gavin  is a co-founder, grew up in the Blackdowns and has worked in the nature conservation sector for 35 years, first as a field botanist and then for the Wildlife Trusts.  As a freelance advisor he has influenced some innovative programmes in conservation policy, community engagement and landscape scale habitat conservation.  He came home to the Blackdowns in 2005 to lead the multi-disciplinary Neroche Landscape Partnership Scheme for the Forestry Commission (now Forestry England).  He has a special interest in helping people connect with nature, and in exploring the links between nature, culture and community.  He is a self-taught green woodworker, has an advanced Bushcraft Award from the Woodcraft School, and is Chair of the British Association of Nature Conservationists.  Alongside Woodlanders Gavin also runs the Blackdown Hills Farming & Woodland Group, a environmental training and collaboration group. 

Sarah Holdway

Director & Freelance Associate
​Sarah  is passionate about getting people outdoors.  She is a qualified Forest School Leader, member of the Forest School Association, D of E leader and has a background in teaching and working in equine assisted therapy.  She also holds a Mental Health First Aid qualification 
Sarah also works with falconer Karen-Stead Dexter at Kingfisher Falconry where she says the birds teach her! 
​  She loves any reason to get outdoors, to learn new skills and help people connect with nature. 

Jenny Archard 

Director and Wellbeing Lead
Jenny is a co-founder, and has a background in group facilitation, therapy, Forest School and project development.  She has been working with the Forest School ethos  for the last fifteen years, at Burnworthy Outdoor Learning Centre with Gordon Woodall, then with Otterhead Forest School in the Blackdown Hills.  She is a level 3 Forest School Leader through the Forest School Training Company and with an Advanced Bushcraft Award from the Woodcraft School.  She is an experienced group facilitator, has a counselling skills Award, a background in rural and urban community development, and is a fellow of the Devon School for Social Entrepreneurs programme at Dartington.  She is also a holder of the Medicine Wheel.  In 2017 she trained with the School of Lost Borders in the USA , to lead pan-cultural Vision Fast work and continues to learn the Way of Council. She is an active member of the Forest School Association and the Wilderness Guides Network. 

Alan Bruford 

Freelance Associate
​Alan  brings a huge amount of experience of working with children, families and adults in the woods.  Latterly he was the Ranger at Escot and created the Saxon Village that so many people still love and visit.  A very skilful Forest School Leader and outdoorsman, he has run Forest School Leader training for Bicton College, at Escot and for others over the years.  He helps run Wild Beginnings toddler-parent group at his place, and works with the Exeter Woodcraft Folk. He also organises the woodland craft area at Beautiful Days.

Rowen Wilde
Freelance Associate 
Rowen has a background in community arts and drama, and holds a fine art degree from Sheffield Hallam University.  She has a broad range of experience and really enjoys working with people of all age and abilities - from elders in care homes to children at birthday parties. Locally she worked for Superact in Wellington. In the last few years Rowen has got involved in nature-based projects and loves working with Woodlanders on families events, off-site events, parties and monitoring wildlife. 

Is this you? 
​
we are on the lookout for freelance staff
- forest school leaders, bushcraft types, woodland management people