30+ year career leading children into nature to learn
Growing up Joanne Sørensen spent much of her childhood outdoors. This fostered an enduring love of nature that continues to inspire her life, family, and professional career.
Taking children into nature has been a huge teaching focus throughout Joanne’s career. This inspired her idea to create a business to connect children and their families with the outdoors. After several years of planning Bush Knowing Forest School officially started sessions in May 2018
Here’s how her qualifications, experience, and dedication to the importance of child-led play outdoors culminated to become north Brisbane’s first forest school.
Teaching experience
Joanne has been in the early childhood field since 1990 and has worked in a few different positions and age groups in Australia and overseas.
Her qualifications include an Associate Diploma of Education, a Bachelor of Education and Level 3 Forest School Leader.
Joanne has worked supporting Inclusive Playgroups for Education Queensland and for 7 years piloted the program for embedding a Kindergarten Program into Long Day Care services for Education Queensland.
Joanne worked for Queensland University of Technology (QUT) as a Liaison Academic for 10 years.
Joanne trained and mentored Australia’s first Forest School Leaders through FSLI, twice a year for 5 years.
Joanne was a founding member and is the President of the Australian Forest School Association(AFSA) which continues to advocate for nature immersion services throughout Australia.
Joanne has had a long career working for the Creche and Kindergarten Association C&K speaking at Director’s days, conferences and for over 10 years training C&K Educators to take children into nature.
Most recently – from 2008 until 2024 Joanne was the Co-Director and Teacher at a local C&K community kindergarten.
Danish influences and Forest School Learning Institute training
In Denmark there is a deep and long-held cultural understanding, appreciation of, and expectation that children should play in nature regularly. Joanne, whose husband is Danish, has been visiting Denmark’s early childhood centres there since 2003. In 2016, Joanne attended Inside-Out Nature’s residential course in Viborg, Denmark to understand the Danish Forest School curriculum approach.
In 2016, Nature Play QLD offered the first official Forest School Leader Training in Australia with Forest School Learning Institute. Joanne qualified as a Forest School Leader Level 3.
Images captured in Denmark by Joanne Sørensen (2003 – present)
Australian Forest School Association
In 2020, Joanne was part of the committee to form the Australian Forest School Association. This is a not-for-profit group whose aim is to promote, mentor and support nature immersion programs for children of diverse environments (including beach, bush and service-based) and multiple ages across Australia. Joanne is the inaugural and current President.
Bush Knowing was excited to be recognised as an Approved Provider Member by meeting the AFSA guiding principles and practices.
Come play with Bush Knowing Forest School
Bush Knowing Forest School offers nature play experiences for young children in north Brisbane. School Holiday Sessions, Bush Adventurer’s, Bush Kindy or Bush Playgroup are held at our beautiful bush site by the Kedron Brook and at the Albany Creek Scout Hall in the lands of the Turrbal and Yuggera People. Come and learn in and from nature with us!
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