Jane has run regular holiday events for families at the Forest Centre and Millennium Country Park, a mixture of outdoor adventures and indoor crafts. For over a decade Jane’s events have been varied, educational and entertaining ranging from pond dipping and dragonfly safaris to making “badgers in a box” and storytelling in “the secret snow cabin”.  She has led families on guided walks around the country park on “Wellies in the wetlands” and has helped children imagine “Mole’s secret underground world” in creative craft sessions at the Forest Centre. Through these events Jane has shared her enthusiasm for and knowledge of the natural world with hundreds of families.

“As a Forest Centre Volunteer, I have helped with many of the kid’s events. They have all, without exception, been tremendous fun – and the kids have enjoyed them too! We’ve made kites, badger masks, owl biscuits and hedgehog houses to name a few. Pond dipping was another great favourite and the children were thrilled with what they found. Jane always comes up with an imaginative, fun activity which includes an element of education, hopefully sparking an interest in wildlife which will live long in the children’s minds.”

Jane worked with the Colour in the Margins Outreach Officer to develop stories with an arable theme, reworking traditional tales and creating some new ones to raise the profile of arable weed species and awareness of the arable habitat as an important part of our cultural heritage. Inconspicuous and little-known species such as interrupted brome and broad-leaved cudweed took centre stage in the stories.

The stories had their first telling at Plantlife’s Ranscombe Farm Reserve Open Day where families could enjoy wildflower and farm walks, craft activities and a visit to the storytelling tent. In the stories children and their parents discovered Venus’s looking glass and the blue pimpernel with Lazy Jack; The Small Grey Partridge had to contend with corncockle in her crop of wheat in an alternative version of The Little Red Hen; the whisper of a grass was heard; and a rainbow of weeds appeared. Plantlife: The Wild Plant Conservation Charity

Thank you SO MUCH for all your hard work and beautiful storytelling. We all feel that the event went really well, and we got some incredibly good feedback from everyone that came along, I feel there was a lot of positivity generated and interests sparked for the project going forward which is a really lovely feeling! I had an email from one family to say thank you for such a lovely day and that they very much enjoyed the storytelling. 

Colour in the Margins Outreach Officer.

During lockdown in early 2021, Jane made audio recordings of two of her favourite tales, for The Greensand Trust, retold to highlight the heathland restoration work at Rushmere Country Park, near Leighton Buzzard, and the nocturnal wildlife of Maulden Woods. Both recordings are available on the Greensand Trust’s website.

Other recent projects include:

• Storytelling in the Woods – The Chiltern Society
• The Storyteller’s Garden – Central Bedfordshire Council
• Wonders of Winter Woodland – Stevenage Borough Council
• Pumpkin Prowl – Jordans Mill
• Lantern Storytelling Walk – The Greensand Trust

Jane has also told tales for numerous local community groups