trainee story ~ toni
i’m hoping that this training with help me rebuild the confidence in my skillset and to develop other skills that i can then share with members of our community to help them to engage with the natural world with joy and respect.
toni lötter is a trainee on our ‘level 3 forest school leader’ 2022-23 cohort. in toni’s own words, this is how they ended up on the ‘forest school’ path…
alongside working as an organic grower for the last decade, i have a deep interest in ecology, in particular urban ecology and queer ecology. i do not drive and so walk everywhere or use public transport and so have the opportunity to notice the small things around me, like scarlet pimpernel growing in pavements cracks, and teaching my children that if the petals close then that’s a sign it will rain. i cannot help but collect natural materials to study, to display at home, to show my children, or to make dyes and ink, such as with oak galls or hardened cherry tree gummosis.
i am deeply committed to living in a way that supports, celebrates, and regenerates life. i very much respect the teachings of rowen white and robin wall kimmerer which i try to apply daily in my thoughts and choices.
i also hugely admire farmer, ecologist and film-maker, rebecca hosking, whose words and work around land use and challenging and changing the language we use to describe ‘nature’ and our relationship to it has really altered how i engage with myself and our more-than-human kin. my personal circumstances have been very challenging and now that there is some positive change, i am looking to follow my passions again and rebuild much lost confidence. at 40, after decades of trying, i have finally concluded that i cannot work in an office (very much due to my neuro-diverse mind) and want to be a part of a work community that is creative, fun and respects the natural world. i need to work outside and as much as i love growing, that work is not reliably available. i’m hoping that this training with help me rebuild the confidence in my skillset and to develop other skills that i can then share with members of our community to help them to engage with the natural world with joy and respect. to become a qualified fs practitioner is part of my longer-term plan to regularly do the work i love while raising my children in a peaceful and joyful way.
one of the challenges as a single parent is accessing affordable, safe childcare, particularly when also trying to earn a living whilst home educating young children. i’m planning to run regular fs sessions for home educated kids, particularly those from low-income backgrounds.
