Welcome! Moors Wood is a small private woodland owned and managed by Sarah and Ian Blenkinsop as a nature reserve and as a sustainably managed source of various wood products.

Sarah is a freelance Environmental Educator, Lecturer and Forest School Leader. Based at her own site at Moors Wood, Sarah provides fun natural/recycled craft workshops; play or storytelling sessions; eco themed parties; workshops on food preservation, setting up an organic garden, setting up a composting area or keeping chickens; or training courses in various woodcraft and play skills. These services are available for adults and/or children. Sarah is also very happy to come to you and deliver any of the above, or to give talks to groups.

Follow the links to find out more about what is on offer. Please click on the photos if you need to make them larger. Also visit Sarah's other site, The Compost Bin, for more general info and advice on sustainable living.

My CV

B. Eng. (Hons), MICHT,
Enhanced CRB FAW/Paediatric /Outdoor Working/Epi-pen/AED First Aid Certificates

Sarah works as a self employed Environmental Educator and Forest School Practitioner. She has worked as a Play Ranger for her local Wildlife Trust and as an environmental educator on a supply basis at a local Environment Centre. Sarah is a trained RSPB Wildlife Explorers group leader and has lead highly successful after school  eco/gardening clubs with several local schools. In addition Sarah offers workshops in making craft items from natural or recycled materials and provides training for adults in various Forest School type activities. Sarah is also a Level 1 Archery Coach.

Sarah has extensive woodcraft skills and experience gained from owning and managing a small private woodland, which contains a Forest School site and is a source of sustainable wood products. She has a long-standing love of the natural world and possesses an excellent working knowledge of native flora and fauna. Sarah is a First Aider with extra outdoor working, epi-pen and paediatric first aid qualifications. She also has Food Hygiene, Health and Safety, Risk Assessment and Fire Marshal training.

Sarah has spent over a decade as a Master Composter, Master Gardener and LFHW Food Champion and cookery demonstrator, a volunteer community advisor working on behalf of Herefordshire and Worcestershire County Councils and Garden Organic to promote organic gardening, home composting and food waste reduction to the general public. She  has experience of managing a flock of free range, organically cared for chickens including Seramas ( a rare miniature chicken breed) ; is knowledgeable in various other smallholding skills and is a skilled jam, chutney, wine and cider maker. Sarah offers training in gardening, composting, preserving and chicken keeping skills. The whole site at The Moors and Moors Wood is run Organically and to Permaculture principles

Before taking a career break to have a child, Sarah worked as a self employed holistic therapist and organic produce grower but has also in the past run her own business as an environmental advisor, researcher and advocate. She had a previous lengthy career as a research scientist and project manager in a Government establishment and is a highly qualified, experienced and articulate graduate engineer.

Sarah was a finalist in the 2007 and 2009 CIWM Annual Awards in the “Individual Recycling Champion” category as well as a finalist in the Garden Organic “Master Composter of the Year” 2008 and 2009 awards. She also won the Garden Organic Master Composter "Social Media Innovation award" in 2012.

Education/Training Qualifications:

Education: (date/qualification)

June 2010  CTLLS Certificate. Uni of Warwick
April 2010 PTLLS Certificate. Uni of Warwick
April 2009 Forest School Practitioner OCN Level 3.
July 2000  IIHHT Diplomas, Aromatherapy, Indian Head Massage and Body Massage.

July 1989  B.Eng. (Hons) Materials Science and Technology, Birmingham
July 1986  HNC Electronic Engineering, Worcester Technical College.
July 1984  ONC Electronic Engineering, Worcester Technical College.
July 1978  GCE “O” levels, Worcester Girls Grammar School.

Training: (date/qualification)

June 2017 Permaculture Design Certificate, Applewood Permaculture Centre
June 2017 First aid for Forest Schools (inc Paediatric.) (Renewal) Anubis Training.
May 2017 FAW course/Epi pen use/AED use (Renewal) Anubis Training.
Jan   2017 L1 Archery Coaching Certificate, Archery GB
Nov 2016 Fundamentals of Food Hygiene (outdoors) Level 2 Certificate, CIEH, Anubis Training.
Mar 2015 Safeguarding training,  Sports Coach UK.
May 2014 FAW course/Epi pen use/AED use (Renewal) Anubis Training.
May 2014 First aid for Forest Schools/Paediatric. (Renewal) Anubis Training.
Nov 2013 Fundamentals of Food Hygiene (outdoors) Level 2 Certificate, CIEH, Anubis Training.
June 2011  FAW course (Renewal) Anubis Training.
June 2011  First aid in the Outdoors/Paediatric/Epi pen use. (Renewal)
Mar 2011  Master Gardener. Garden Organic accredited course.
Nov 2010  LGBT training, HCC course
Oct 2010   Diversity training, HCC course.
June 2010  Paediatric First Aid Certificate/Epi pen use (Renewal)
May 2010  Health and Safety Level 2 Certificate, CIEH, Anubis Training.
April 2010 Safeguarding training, HCC course.
Feb 2010   Risk Assessment, Anubis Training
Feb 2010   Fire Marshall, Anubis Training
Oct 2009   Disability Equality training, HCC course.
Sept 2009  "Playing on the Range" Playworker Level 2 Certificate, Uni of Gloucs.
Oct 2009   Fundamentals of Food Hygiene Level 2 Certificate, RSPH  PCT Training, Rotherwas.
June 2009  Food Champion training with WRAP.
April 2009 Food For Life Partnership training with Garden Organic.
Sept 2008  FAW course/Epi pen use, Anubis Training.
July 2008   First aid in the Outdoors/Epi pen use. Anubis Training
Nov 2007  Introduction to Forest School OCN Level 1 Certificate, Cambium Training. 
April 2007 Paediatric First Aid/Epi pen use. Anubis Training.
April 2007 RSPB Wildlife Explorers Club Leader, RSPB HQ.
Jan - June 2007 Playwork NVQ Level 3 training Herefordshire PCT.
April 2006 Master Composter. Garden Organic/CIWM accredited course/cert.

Key Skills:

Sarah demonstrates excellent academic, practical, communication, presentation and negotiating skills gained from the wide variety of work she has undertaken. She is

 Highly skilled in providing both practical and theoretical environmental/sustainability/gardening/smallholding information tailored to the age range of the target audience/workshop/class/group, in an engaging, amusing, playful and informative way.

 Demonstrates very high practical, academic and professional abilities and knowledge in a very wide range of fields.

 Is a  good communicator with very effective presentation and report writing abilities. Has had much one-to-one contact with the general public in a variety of environments.

 Is an experienced speaker, well used to organising and chairing large and small public meetings, holding workshops and training courses, presenting evidence at Public Inquiries, dealing with the media, giving live and recorded TV and Radio interviews and writing press releases.

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