The Garden is a Community Interest Company, which for us means we’re driven by social and environmental justice, rather than financial reward and profit we make goes back into the project. We’re registered as childcare with OFSTED, so we can be more financially accessible to families. We’re an Agile Learning Centre and a member of the Freedom to Learn network. We also position ourselves within the boundaries of the Bristol Commons.
In order to protect the project from founder syndrome, as well as to be more in line with our values, we’re currently in a period of transition from a private company to a cooperative governance structure.
Adele Jarrett-Kerr - Director
Adele is a Trinidadian mother, writer, home educator, podcaster and self directed education facilitator and activist. A long time friend and supporter of The Garden, she founded Soulcraft, a self-directed, consent-based learning community for home educated young people in Cornwall in 2021.
Artemis D. Bear - Founder & Director
Artemis is a home educator, registered childminder, Forest School Leader and qualified teacher. An engineer by training, with a background in environmental policy, the role of education in culture and system change has become a focus. Artemis founded The Garden in 2016, works for Human Scale Education and is a co-creator in the Freedom to Learn network and Bristol Commons.
Bess Spencer-Vellacott - Director & Mentor
Bess is a facilitator, educator, forest school practitioner, co-counsellor, maker, musician, gardener and forager. They’re interested in exploring intersections between these strands and with social justice and transformation.
Bethany Wood - Parent Director
Bethany is a parent of four, home educator, specialist teacher and Autism advocate. She is passionate about education and how outdoor environments can provide opportunities for young people to thrive and discover their passions.
Kirsty Green - Mentor
Kirsty qualified as a primary school teacher almost a decade ago and since then have been exploring alternative forms of education, working on a city farm, at forest schools and spending time in Sweden studying for a masters in outdoor environmental education and outdoor life. They’re passionate about using education to empower young people and their families. Kirsty enjoys cooking, baking, reading, making maps, learning about learning and spending time among trees.
Ollie Tarbuck - Director
Ollie has a degree in animation and has been working in the video games industry for over a decade. As well as running their own video game company, they’re a step-parent to two home educated young people and have an interest in community dynamics. They’re one of the stewards of the site and support art and game development projects at The Garden. Ollie is also a performer and show producer.
Sylvie Whitfield - Mentor
Sylvie is a visual artist, illustrator and punk musician with a degree in Fine Art and Visual Culture. They are interested in nature, psychology and the value of creative wellbeing. Sylvie also loves cooking, mudlarking, play, yoga, reading and wild swimming. They have the future goal to study an MA in Art Therapy.
Advisors
We are fortunate to have benefited from the wisdom of many experienced educators, including those who have set up similar projects and other relevant experts, such as play therapists, teachers, psychologists, academics, artists and generally wonderful people who have taken an interest in our project. We'd like to thank them all for their input, especially those fellow home educators who have been involved to various degrees in the development of The Garden over the years.
