Our Story

Wander Wild Forest School offers pre-school children and their parents a chance to enjoy nature, learn new skills and connect with others from many different cultures and backgrounds at the Barking Food Forest; a community garden in the heart of East London’s biggest housing development.

Co-founders Junior and Zainab Omokhe - are local parents with 2 young children. Junior is an early years’ educator and musician, with 10 years’ experience in pre-school settings and Zainab works in community development with expertise in marketing and project management. Both are forest school accredited practitioners and passionate about offering a diverse and inclusive space where everyone feels safe and welcome, and where children discover for themselves how to connect with the natural world - whatever the weather!

They also want to see more black leaders in the outdoor education space and to support all families living in highly built up areas to engage with their local green spaces.

To maximise their impact and sustainability Wander Wild Forest School has worked closely with many partners including Thames Life, Barking Riverside Ltd, the Black Farmers Market, All About Dance UK, Wild Science and more!