A story of Fire & Ferns
Fire changes a landscape, but it does not mark the end of its story. Ferns can be among the first signs of green to return, representing repair, regeneration and the possibility of beginning again.
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Fire & Ferns offers a different kind of outdoor education modelled on this regrowth. We focus not only on what people can do outside, but on how they can grow through their relationship with a place. Through supported risk, practical skills and shared responsibility, people develop confidence, judgement, belonging and a deeper care for the living world.
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We want people to leave with the confidence to lead, the courage to try and the judgement to make thoughtful decisions. To feel more at home outside, more connected to the places around them and more ready to care for the natural world they
are part of.
Team Members
DouglasÂ
Douglas Ponsonby is an outdoor educator with close to a decade of international experience helping young people build confidence, judgement and connection to nature through hands-on learning.
Sasha
Sasha is a trained teacher and nature educator who combines ecological literacy, permaculture and wellbeing practices to create calm, student-led experiences that strengthen young people’s confidence and relationship with the natural world.
Jack
Jack is an early childhood and Forest School educator who helps young children build confidence, curiosity and a lasting connection to nature through hands-on outdoor learning.
Our Philosophy
There is a particular satisfaction in learning to make, build and solve problems with your own hands, especially when those skills bring you closer to the natural world. We learn by taking part: using real skills, making decisions and caring for the places where we spend time. Confidence grows through doing, care through familiarity, and connection through time spent together in a place.
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Rooted in Forest School principles and informed by Montessori and Steiner approaches, our programs give people an active role in their own learning. Participants work with real materials, useful skills and tasks with a clear purpose. Facilitators offer guidance and structure while leaving room for challenge, creativity, experimentation and discovery. Our aim is not simply to get people outside for an afternoon, but to help build a lasting relationship with the places and living systems we are part of.
