About

Wem Southerden & Lewis Ames have run Forest School and training centre Children of the Forest since 2017. The Forest School Podcast was born when they wondered if their daily wafflechats and reflections about pedagogy, play and nature connection might be of interest to others.

The podcast aims to inform and support educators, parents, outdoor and play practitioners and anyone interested in nature and the outdoors.

Through book reviews – interviews with experts, practitioners and authors – sharing our experience as educators and business owners – deep dives on fascinating topics – the podcast addresses deep issues with a lighthearted, friendly tone, frequently going off piste with comedy songs, quizzes and anecdotes.

Wem Southerden

Wem worked in museum and arts education for several years, where she became fascinated by observing children play. She subsequently trained as an actor, and then teacher of English and Drama. She completed her Masters of Teaching, focusing on the role of imagination in the classroom and how it can support both academic and social and emotional learning. After 9 years of classroom teaching, Wem retrained as a Forest School Leader and began working with Lewis to grow their Forest School, Children of the Forest, running sessions for children, families and adults and training Forest School Leaders. Wem remains obsessed with play and is currently writing a book for parents, practitioners and educators about the benefits and theories of play.

Lewis Ames

Lewis spent most of his secondary education and beyond focused on Music. Completing a music degree and then a PGCE, Lewis moved into a Primary School Teacher position as a Head of Music. After a few short years, Lewis decided that perscriptive state education wasn’t where his passion lay and left to begin working with Wem at Children of the Forest.

Lewis’ approach to education and relationship build is deeply rooted in unconditional approaches, declarative language and sociocratic decision making.

Lewis was elected to the board of directors for the Forest School Association in 2020 and has written seveal books on his work including ‘the Myths of Outdoor Play and Learning’ and ‘Forest School Cooking’.