I am a freelance ecologist and artist in the Highlands of Scotland. Inspired by the work of Professor Greg Smith in Portland, Oregon, my Fellowship researched Place-Based Learning in a range of wonderful schools and academic institutions in California, Idaho and Oregon. Building local caring connections to nurture broader civic and environmental awareness can have amazing results. I have used my experiences in many ways that combine ecology and creative engagement – working with local students to connect with their forest, with coastal communities to connect to their marine heritage, with care-experienced young people to connect with their own histories, and even travelling to Iceland on a collaborative project, as well as making art that connects place and people. My own children were home-educated around place.

The Fellowship opened my eyes to what learning can and should be, and to the power of the creative imagination. It is difficult to quantify what the Fellowship has meant to me – it has shaped the way I think and everything I have done since.