Meet the staff - Jonny Owen

Meet Wilder Learning Manager, Jonny Owen

Tell us a bit about yourself

Football was never my thing growing up – I was the kid who wanted to rootle around in the undergrowth looking for caterpillars or under rocks for woodlice. My biggest disappointment growing up was receiving a World Wrestling Federation sticker album for my eighth birthday - I didn’t have the heart to tell my nan it was the World Wildlife Fund album I really wanted. I was lucky enough to go to a school on a working farm in beautiful Purbeck. The attitude of many teachers seemed to be ‘why teach inside if you can do it outside?’ and I have happy memories of geography on the beach – less happy memories of physics in a hailstorm, though this probably demonstrated forces rather well.

I wanted to be a vet, but like a lot of kids, got distracted and ended up at art college instead. A wiggly route via adult learning and support, youthwork, community-based harm minimisation and HIV prevention, ultimately led to a new career about 10 years ago in conservation. I retrained with Open University, enjoyed lots of volunteering and a wonderful traineeship with Dorset Wildlife Trust. Conservation felt like I’d found long lost comfy slippers - home at last!

And your role with us...

I'm just four weeks in (!), but both people and nature are at the heart of my role. The major priority is enabling and empowering our wonderful Wilder Learning Officers (WLOs), who support our pilot Wilder Schools Programme, ie direct delivery to children, plus our Forest School Teacher Training, and our Wild Beach Teacher Training. I've been lucky enough to join our WLOs on both Wild Beach and Forest School delivery – to say I was impressed is an understatement. The transformative impact on teachers, both in terms of their practice, but also on a deeply personal level, was extremely heartening to see. There is hope, people!

Tell us about your work at Brownsea Island

There was a lot of practical conservation work (slopping about in muddy lagoons or scrub-bashing etc), biological surveys, as well as leading on schools and youthwork. There was never a dull moment – I remember the lagoon’s tidal flap breaking and spending all day down an outfall shaft trying to fix it, before the tide came in and washed out all the tern nests. Never been so pruny! Living on the island, being immersed in nature 24/7 was incredibly special. I had mice welcome in my flat, who I recognised by face, and a friendly Sika deer who just thought she was human. Of course, the Red Squirrels were adorable and the moths were incredible… then there were the slime moulds!

What did you have for breakfast?

Same I have every day – fruit and seeds with homemade kefir (don’t get me started – I am a real gut health bore. Anyone struggling, drop me a message - kefir could change your life!).

Tell us something about you most people won't know

I love music. I recently discovered Rave Therapy (yes, it’s a thing) at one end of the spectrum but love prog, acoustic, classic, indie rock. Will even admit to being a sucker for a bit of a hairbrush ballad.