Nikki Garrod-Bush
Lead Practitioner
Nikki first found Stomping Grounds when she and her daughter started attending Under 5s sessions, and she saw how the woodland enabled the children to play freely, wildly, and confidently without the usual constraints of other toddler groups. The environment was like a natural soft play, full of places to clamber, jump, reach, and run around in, and where imagination could grow large.
She went on to train as a Level 3 Forest School Practitioner with Scotswood Garden, and found the training reinforced her belief in the abilities of children and young people to make their own decisions, to lead their learning, and to develop ways to advocate for themselves and increase their self-esteem through trying out new skills and learning to manage risk.
Nikki works with different groups of young people, both at our main site at Prudhoe and in school settings. She still attends Under 5s sessions as a parent, and can usually be found wandering after her daughter, off on another adventure through the woods.