Yuuki is originally from Japan and has long been curious about how people can live in harmony with nature. She first came to Ireland to study Natural Science and Geography at Trinity College Dublin, and later completed a Master’s degree in Landscape Ecology at Kyoto University, where she explored how people in Japan traditionally lived with and cared for the natural world. She also holds a Master’s degree in Forestry from University College Dublin, where her research focused on the psychological benefits of forests for people experiencing mental ill-health.

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Yuuki previously worked as an environmental consultant in Tokyo and taught at the Dublin School for Japanese children. In 2015, she qualified as a Level 3 Forest School Leader, and since then has been passionate about welcoming children into nature and supporting them to form deep, meaningful connections with the land. She believes that time spent outdoors nurtures confidence, wellbeing, and a joyful, healthy mind and body.

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Her love of nature began in childhood, playing in rivers and parks in the suburb in Nagoya, where she grew up, and later deepened through sharing outdoor play with her own children in a toddler nature group in West Tokyo. After returning to Ireland, Yuuki began her Forest School journey as a volunteer with Dalkey School Project Forest School, and in the summer of 2022 co-founded Sense of Wonder Forest School with Rebecca Norton.

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Alongside rich outdoor experiences, Yuuki enjoys sharing Japanese arts and crafts, stories and cultural traditions. She is also learning the guitar and writing her own songs, and loves bringing music and creativity into children’s time in nature.

Sarah absolutely loves being out in nature and is passionate about sharing the beauty and wonder of the forest with the children who attend Forest School. As a child she spent many hours building dens in the woods and that child is very much still alive!

Mum of two boys, ages 5 and 8, Sarah’s interest in Forest School began in 2022 when her son attended Forest School for the first time. The experience was life-changing for him, as at the time he had been struggling in a conventional classroom environment. Through Forest School, he grew in confidence, developed his love of the outdoors, learned new skills and made friends. All of which made him a happier and more settled child in his day to day school routine.

Sarah’s previous background had been as a video producer and Head of Digital and member of the Board of Directors in a TV & Video agency for over a decade. She decided to take a career break in 2020 and following a lifelong interest in food, nutrition and sustainability, completed a degree in Botanical Cuisine in TU Dublin in 2023.

As part of this degree, Sarah developed her interest in wild and foraged foods as well as growing fruit and vegetables. Forest School leadership was a natural progression, enabling Sarah to share her love of all things wild with the children! During the training she also rediscovered many passions including storytelling and drama, folklore, natural crafts and mindful reflection in nature.

Sarah has worked with Sense of Wonder Forest School and Dalkey School Project as a Forest School leader, leading groups of different ages and experience levels. In addition to Forest School, Sarah is currently Chairperson of the PTA in Dalkey School Project, a member of the Board of Directors in indiepics and involved in a number of rewilding and vegetable growing projects.

In her spare time she loves cooking food from her garden, swimming and hiking with her family and walking golden retriever Gus.

Forest School is the highlight of Sarah’s week and she can’t wait to have fun in the forest with all the kids this year!

Sinéad grew up in the Dublin mountains, climbing trees, going on adventures and generally getting muddy! She started working with children from the age of 16, babysitting and teaching science on summer camps. In 2018, she graduated from UCD with a degree in Neuroscience.

Following some lab work, she took off backpacking to Latin America, volunteering on permaculture projects and ranches, doing bio-construction, teaching English, childminding and hiking every mountain she could.

She returned to Ireland in May 2023 and began working in forest schools. Sinéad plans to start her Forest School Leadership Certificate in October. She’s passionate about growing her own food, planting trees and spending time outdoors.

With a passion for fostering inclusive and creative environments, Bríana has been actively involved in Forest School since 2021. Having led various groups, facilitated sessions in a creche setting and grown confidently in the supporting role, Bríana combines a solid background in community development with a current course in Special Needs Assisting. This blend of experience and education highlights a deep commitment to supporting individuals who need extra care.

A dedicated advocate for inclusive spaces, Bríana also hosts nature craft workshops at festivals and child-focused events, bringing the magic of the outdoors to diverse audiences. Foraging and learning about plants is a cherished aspect of Bríana's approach, enriching the educational experience for children and inspiring a lifelong love for nature.

Cara Coyle is from Co. Donegal and currently lives in Dublin. She sometimes works as a musician in nursing homes and sometimes on the river Liffey! She composes her own music and plays at events and festivals. She studied fine art painting and paints or draws when she can. She completed a level 6 qualification in childcare in 2019 which included a module in Forest School Studies. She did so in order to to use her experience to work with children through nature and art.

Cara loves to see children engaging with the outdoor environment and learning through play. Growing up in Donegal she spent her childhood on the beaches there and was always encouraged to spend time outdoors with her siblings and neighbours. She feels it's important to connect with nature and is delighted to be a part of the Forest School experience where children can explore the early stages of their relationship with nature.
Having grown up overlooking the sea Cara feels she has a strong connection to it. She loves being on boats and hopes to learn to sail this summer so she can be on a boat more often!

In the past she has worked with children through art and music and likes to encourage creativity in young people where she can. She facilitates singing workshops for adults and has recently starting giving guitar lessons. Cara loves teaching and feels she really resonates with the values of Forest School. Cara enjoys observing the children as they use their imagination to create worlds that connect them with their environment and with each other.

Rosie studied Fine Art Sculpture in NCAD and received an honours BA in 2023. She is an artist and a creative who loves working with children and is happy to provide a space for them to delve into the forest with a creative touch. 

She feels forest school is about expressing and enhancing that connection children have with Mother Earth which comes so deeply and instinctively to them. Working as a substitute teacher in mainstream primary schools she sees a huge absence in children’s exposure to green spaces and the environment, which is vital for their own personal growth and our collective connection to our planet and ourselves.

When it comes to arts and crafts this take place in various forms depending on the day, from painting and drawing, to the making of magic wands or lovely clay creations. The forest provides the perfect place for creativity, and nature is at the heart of all of our crafts at forest school, from gathering pine cones and leaves as materials and inspiration, to building nests and dens, telling stories about our favourite forest creatures and much more! She really enjoys going foraging with the children too.

She is an empath, am deeply passionate about learning about new cultures as well the Irish language and the expressive beauty of art and music. She believes that art, creativity, nature and healing are all intrinsically interlinked and are core essentials to our well being as souls.

While she is a guide to the children, their innate curiosity and explorative selves out in the forest teach me just how important integration in the environment is for the children and the planet for a collectively conscious and harmonious future.

Max has been working in the outdoor industry for a number of years and has helped train/teach children and adults of all ages how to kayak, sail, drive boats, understand the weather, tides, a variety of knots & how to make each challenge fun and memorable.

He is also a very passionate photographer, you can see his work on instagram by searching @maxcodyphotography. He is looking forward to teaching his knowledge & skills to the children!

Being a kid in Dublin, nature gave Philip the longing to get out and move his body and enjoy and explore his environment. Philip is currently working as a sea kayak instructor/tour guide showing the beautiful east coastline of Dublin Bay to people from all over the world. He is also trained in rock climbing and other outdoor sports such as windsurfing and is a trained mountaineer with in-depth knowledge of local flora and fauna and folklore.

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Philip is a firm believer in kinaesthetic form of learning by encouraging people to go beyond your comfort zone to grow. Transferring his love of nature, he feels everybody benefits from being outdoors. He is looking forward to sharing his experience with children in forest school.