We have built a great team here and enjoy learning from one another and together. There is an energy and excitement when we collaborate, and a strong sense of shared passion and intent for what we are doing. We're also lovely people who aim to put you, your learners and the learning at the centre of all that we do.
We hope to meet you in person, but until then, here's a little about us...
Joanna Poole
Joanna is a qualified science teacher, with a background in environmental biology. She has experience in conservation research both nationally and internationally. She is based in Dorset and works as a manager at Springhead all year round, with a focus on the education programme there.
Working at Springhead enables her to combine her passions for conservation, renewable energy technology and environmental education. Fundamental to this is enabling the community, of all ages, to have the opportunity to be involved at Springhead and benefit from spending time there.
What Joanna says about Learn with Springhead: I am extremely excited about what the collaboration with Lifeworlds will do to enhance the learning offer at Springhead. I really enjoy working as part of such an inspiring team of people. Their diverse experiences and interests combine to provide enormous potential to help young people learn and develop.
Jonathan Pinder
Jonathan is a designer and maker with experience in performance, education, landscape, architecture, horticulture, retail, dramaturgy and ecology. Past projects have ranged from production design for theatre, film and television to historic house and garden restoration.
He is passionate about the preservation and understanding of the natural environment, rural history, craft and sustainability. His research in performance history has given him a deeper insight into the tensions between preservation and sustainable development and he enjoys this challenge.
As a manager at Springhead, Jonathan immerses himself in the unique and beautiful topography, social history and natural resources specific to this part of Dorset to bring meaningful contributions to all that Springhead has to offer.
What Jonathan says about Learn with Springhead: Having grown up and lived in this community for most of my life I hope that Learn with Springhead will enable us to share, preserve, and enhance all that is special about our natural environment and to make this accessible for all. There has never been a more urgent need to encourage conversations about and connections with nature and the environment and I feel privileged to be involved.
Rob Bowden
Rob is co-director and lead practitioner for Lifeworlds. He is an educator, author, photographer, researcher, and learning activist.
Rob is known for his systems thinking and for helping organisations to discover their strategy and direction. He enjoys creating participatory learning experiences to learn alongside pupils and adults alike. Rob is experienced in values and motivation, sustainability and environmental education, geography, global perspectives, controversial issues, meta-cognition and pupil-voice.
As well as working directly with schools, Rob has worked with UN agencies, universities, think-tanks, NGOs, national campaigns, local authorities, publishers, and community groups. He is also an established author of children's non-fiction and educational resources.
What Rob says about Learn with Springhead: This project creates an almost unique opportunity to bring together the latest thinking in pedagogy with hands-on experiential encounters. This brings out the best in learners and educators alike - the potential is almost limitless...
Rosie Wilson
Rosie is co-director and a practitioner at Lifeworlds. She supports learning communities including educators, children and young people to learn through values about issues that affect us all, with the aim of equipping those learning communities to thrive in our world.
Rosie is also a practising teacher and brings her understanding of schools and the current concerns and challenges facing them. She is known for creative approaches to learning and the imaginative use of the outdoors, picture books, fiction, media, images and other stimuli to engage learners and educators. Rosie has authored numerous resources and books for children and educators and has shared her experience and practice nationally and internationally.
What Rosie says about Learn with Springhead: This project grows my thinking and learning. It is joy and an honour to work collaboratively within our team, and with every learner who encounters what Learn with Springhead offers.
Jan Hedge
Jan is an Associate Practitioner with Lifeworlds. She is an educator, facilitator, trainer and listener, and was previously a primary teacher.
Jan is passionate about empowering teachers to empower their learners, through creative and reflective practice, especially in maths. She facilitates dialogue and enquiry and delights in finding new ways to explore the world and engage learners.
What Jan says about Learn with Springhead: This project encapsulates so many of my passions. It is a privilege to be part of the team supporting and challenging the educational impact of the place and its people.
Jackie Zammit
Jackie is a Lifeworlds Associate Practitioner. She brings her background in Peace Education, Global Learning, geography and science to the team.
Jackie loves bringing her experiences of teaching and learning with children, to her training and facilitation with adults. She believes passionately that learners young and old, benefit from opportunities that gives them time to reflect, build relationships and develop emotional literacy, so they are able to engage with and enjoy learning throughout their lives. Live Well, Learn Well is her strapline! To this end, her facilitation approach is interactive, participatory, inclusive and reflective.
What Jackie says about Learn with Springhead: This project is a fantastic opportunity to teach and learn alongside a great team in a very special place. The vision of Springhead as a place that stimulates learning, develops a passion for nature and nurtures the spirit, is a vision I am excited to be a part of.