We are fortunate to have a fantastic staff team here at Secret Garden which form part of our wider community. A community of friends, families, children, directors, staff and volunteers. Everyone contributes and everyone is valued.
If you would like to read more about being involved with the nursery in some way then please head over to our Get Involved page.
Sarah-Jane Latto – Care Manager
Sarah is a local lass and her family home is in the nursery’s neighbouring village, Collessie. Her earliest childhood memory is of collecting the wiggly worms that she found in the field while tattie picking on her great aunts farm. Sarah believes that it is because of this memory (and many like it) that she has developed a passion for the natural world. Sarah studied Ecology at the University of Edinburgh and afterwards worked as Education Manager at Aigas Field Centre in the Scottish Highlands – enjoying engaging with children of all ages. In 2013 she completed a MSc in Outdoor Environmental and Sustainability Education at the University of Edinburgh and through that course discovered the wonders of the early years! Since then she has worked for Wild Sparks Outdoor Play and now the Secret Garden. In her spare time Sarah enjoys walking along the beach, baking cakes and visiting new places.
Louise Durrant – Senior Practitioner & Trainer
Louise has been inspired by and supportive of the Secret Garden since its beginnings, which coincided with her initiation into motherhood. Louise has two young children, and her eldest daughter has grown through three joyful and play-filled years of Secret Garden. Since becoming a mother Louise has been fascinated by the way we parent and educate our children. She has facilitated a course focusing on mindfulness, creativity and supportive self-reflection for parents (“Adventures in Parenting”) and her children are currently home-educated. Being outdoors in nature is a central daily practice keeping her and her children connected, alive and inspired, and deeply nourished. Louise previously worked as a practitioner of homeopathy with adults and children. She brings her experience of mindfulness into the woods in her aspiration to be an aware and mindful practitioner: looking deeply and listening with attention and compassion.
Naomi Ellis-Morton – Practitioner
Naomi has a background in Design and Art Therapy, she also enjoys being outdoors and the inspiration nature brings. Having been one of the first Secret Garden Directors and seeing her own children thrive at the nursery she finds it very fulfilling to be a permanent member of staff and share in the unique experience the children have.
Anna Kinross – Practitioner
As well as being a Secret Garden woods practitioner Anna is also a Secret Garden parent! She has two beautiful children, one who currently attends the nursery and Anna is home educating her eldest. When not working or playing in the woods Anna is a keen gardner and food grower – she helps organise the nursery garden for us. Anna has an interest in plant medicine and loves to spend time outside (with and without children). She also works as a feltmaker and has made some beautiful pieces including a forest scene wall-hanging which is currently on display in our Cupar office.
Mairi Wallace – Sessional Practitioner
Having spent several years running a cinema, Mairi changed direction and worked for a year, part-time, with the Secret Garden and now enjoys working as supply when needed. She does this along with working as a gardener and a massage therapist. She is Mum to three gorgeous girls, likes to grow very big unusual plants in her back garden in Dundee and can give a really good back and neck massage!
Jane Garven – Sessional Practitioner
Jane has lived in Edinburgh for nearly all her life. She will always be grateful to her parents for sharing their love of the natural world on walks and adventures in East Lothian, Fife and Galloway. After an initial degree in Drama from Exeter University, Jane has worked as a performer, workshop leader and college lecturer, before re-training in Primary Education and discovering the joys of Early Years. As class teacher at Cowgate under 5s Centre in Edinburgh for eight years, she trained as a Forest School leader and started taking her practice outside. Jane is a part-time student on the Masters Programme in Outdoor Environmental and Sustainability Education at the University of Edinburgh. She continues to explore mindfulness in education, particularly valuing children’s unhurried play in nature. Jane enjoys long walks, swimming and sea kayaking and spending lots of time developing her own connection to nature with like-minded folk.
Chloe Wells – Sessional Practitioner
Chloe is a Forest School Leader who loves to see people benefitting from being amongst nature. In the past she led volunteers on conservation projects in Central and South America as well as the sunny UK, and has a Masters degree in Leadership for Sustainable Development. She likes to work with early years to witness the magical way in which children discover and explore the natural world for themselves. Chloe always enjoys spending time at the Secret Garden; she loves their way of doing things, the ethos, the community and the space. When she is not at the Secret Garden, Chloe runs her own Forest Schools’ sessions and is a mother to two young girls.
