Forest school vandalism 'heartbreaking' - owner

The owner of an outdoor nature school specialising in early years and SEND schooling has said it was "heartbreaking" the site had been damaged by vandals.

Little Puddle People, an independent forest school, has operated from a nature reserve in Fulwood for the past two years, giving children experiences in nature-based crafts, yoga and identifying plants and insects.

Helen Wilson, 35, who runs the school, said she only learned about the damage when a resident posted on social media detailing broken canopy fixtures, glass and smashed wooden pallets leaving exposed nails.

South Yorkshire Police said the force had not received any reports of vandalism.

Wilson said the damage was not about "financial cost", but more the "stress and upset" it had caused.

Toolboxes had been ripped open and yoga mats and fabrics left scattered across the woodlands during the incident, Wilson said.

She said she was particularly upset that hammocks which members of her SEND groups often used to "snuggle with their parents" had been "torn to bits".

Wilson, a mum-of-two, said she and her own children had spent the day cleaning up the site, but was hoping to continue with sessions on Thursday.

She said she had worked in nursery settings for 15 years, but had originally started her own forest school in Unstone, Derbyshire, eight years ago.

The current site, known as Nature's Nest, was owned by Sheffield Hospitals Charity, with a percentage of her income donated to the organisation for use of the land, she explained.

Wilson said this was not the first instance of vandalism at the site in Sheffield.

"Last winter, between December and February, I had a spate of trespassers on the land causing damage," she said.

As a result, she said had already been forced to make changes regarding what items were kept on site.

"We previously kept books in the outdoor area but stopped when they were constantly set fire to or thrown out and left in the rain," Wilson said.

Meanwhile, a set of rainbow-coloured scarves that children would play with and use to build tents had also previously been destroyed, she added.

"I try and do things in an environmentally friendly way, so I find things second-hand on local selling sites, so it takes me years to build up these resources and even then, it still costs me," she said.

Wilson said she has experienced "a real outpouring of lovely messages through Instagram and Facebook that have really lifted my spirits and shown that there is a community behind what I'm doing".

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