Summer Family Camp

I’ve been working with young people since 2010 when I worked on a residential school program at Embercombe. Since then I’ve worked for a number of forest schools, one to one with young people and on residential programs for different organisations including Embercombe, On The Hill, The Cherry Wood Project, World Challenge, and the Cambrian Wildwood.
For the last 10 years I’ve been living close to nature and the elements and in 2014 I took 6 months out and travelled to America to learn how to live out in the wilderness near the Canadian border. After 4 months together a group of us walked out into that wilderness to live off wild food, wear clothes we’d sewn from animal hides, feel the rain on our skin, feel the cold lake water wash our bodies and feel deeply alive, together.

This experience and experiences since inform my work and a large part of my passion to work with young people in nature.

We live in a time where nature deficit disorder is a very real thing, mental health issues are on the rise and screens are replacing trees for our young people. It never fails to be powerful to watch the changes that a group go through after a week of waking up to birdsong, working in a garden, eating around a fire, and falling asleep to owls, and to watch the therapeutic power of nature.

I am highly committed to bringing forward a message and an experience that nature is in fact our home and a place of fantastic wonder, miraculous beauty and endless fun.

Underpinning my work in education is the deeply held belief that it is the duty of Educators to do everything they can to encourage children to develop a responsible, loving and caring relationship with the natural and gardened world. By doing this, we help them to understand that our well being is inextricably linked to the rest of the life on Earth. 

My lifelong investigation into how children truly learn about the world they inhabit began in my own childhood. Growing up on a traditional farm in Devon offered me a foundation in many practical skills, including animal and plant husbandry. As a young man, I spent 11 years in Andalusia, bringing up my own children, building, farming and performing street theatre. During this time I worked alongside many people of all ages and backgrounds. I became inspired by the diversity of modes of learning that I witnessed, and developed a yearning to explore a new education.

Since then I have worked as an outdoor learning Teacher in Steiner schools for ten years then lead a land-based learning initiative at Embercombe for 10 years, worked as an outdoor learning consultant and now I lead programs and run the farm at Oxen Park.

Tom Lowdays

I am a professional drummer, teacher and workshop facilitator with a growing interest in living simply on the land and sharing my experiences. 

Through my facilitation practice I hope to convey a sense of well-being so that participants can improve their confidence and self-esteem. 

Of all my work at On The Hill I am most passionate about the school residentials, where group activities combined with the need to feed, shelter and support each other creates an intensive community building exercise. This leaves you by day 4 feeling like every staff member and young person is part of your extended family. The glow of mutual support continues on long after the camps, and even now I look back on residentials from years ago where I can remember feeling truly supported by someone who I really hardly knew. In this age where we live such segregated lives, are so independent of each other, this experience of having the real need to give and receive support and to have your efforts valued is incredibly strengthening and nourishing. Both as an adult and as a child. Through this you take home the knowledge that you can rely on other people, but perhaps more importantly, that you can trust yourself. 

When not working at the farm, I also work as a visual artist and graphic designer and you can find some of my creative work on my website: www.aliceduthie.com

I didn't have a good relationship with school, but my childhood was full of adventure, spending whole summers outside in the woods and rivers which was where I felt most at home and where I still feel most at home.

I feel I understand some of the struggles that children and young people experience today and want to honour my own experience by supporting them in the ways that I can.

So, I have put myself into the mix with kindness and openness and play and laughter and feel great pleasure and pride in being part of such a great team.

From studying Human Geography as my degree, I learnt how interdependent as a species we are to our natural world. With this knowledge and the state of the environment, I was compelled to plunge into the world of environmental activism. 

I co-ran Plastic Free Totnes, a community organisation aiming to reduce single use plastic consumption in the local area, and was involved in the local Extinction Rebellion group as the co-Art Coordinator. Both roles made me realise that creativity, education and having fun, are vital if we are to raise awareness of environmental issues, and ignite change in others. I believe working with young people here at On the Hill, is a gentler and more sustainable version of activism, bringing these three elements into play.

On a personal level, exploring and living in tune with nature are aspects of my life that allow me to thrive. It underpins how important protecting this wonderful world is, and all that live on it.

I love the outdoors, I always have. I love being among the trees and grasses and seeing sun sail through the sky. To me this is where we are meant to be as a species, we are meant to walk  this land, to sit back and find our place in it all. This is why I do this work, I want to be part of giving this opportunity to others. To have the space and time to step outside our normal day to day life and marvel in the exquisite simplicity that is around us all the time. 

I have worked with different organisations over the years to bring this passion to young people. I worked at Embercombe as an apprentice Gardiner to learn more about growing food and helping on the education programmes that happen there. More recently I have been working with an organisation called Wildwise taking young people into the wild places here in Devon. Looking at ancient skills of fire craft, camp craft and many other bush craft techniques. This has given me a more in depth understanding of the natural world.

I also have been a part of on the hill helping to create the site that is the beautiful place you can visit today. I work alongside the diversely skilled staff team there to deliver programs.

I have been fortunate enough to have grown up around many of the people that are part of this project, making it a natural transition for me to be of assistance after spending years of youth enjoying the land.

I am currently based up in Scotland finishing my degree in Mechanical Engineering but love being able to offer support (mainly technical) whenever possible. If I can't be there in person at least my presence can be felt remotely.

I've worked alongside Jo and Tina to get this exciting new project up and running from spring 2017, And i'm truly loving it!

I'm usually found up in the garden, in the orchards attending to the new apple trees we have planted. If you don't find me there, i'll be mowing the garden green areas or raising the beds in the circular garden we created back in the spring last year and which already have some amazing produce growing!
I'm very excited to be working with On The Hill to keep growing produce, working with young people out in the elements, and making a difference to the world. It's a pleasure to be working alongside such an amazing team and to be making more and more vibrant plans for this space.

Hannah Brunskill is a workshop and programme facilitator and founder of Taiko Journey.

Hannah has performed and shared taiko drumming since 2009. She explores how relationship with land and place weaves us together, bringing a sense of belonging and authenticity through playing drums as a community.