About
The project has been set up by Maria Ribback and Rachel Parsons, home school mums based in the New Forest. They could not find what they wanted for their children and started Amberwood in 2018. ​
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Our new offer 2022/23-2025
For Sept 22 onwards we are offering a more academic day with focus on pre-GCSE learning with the aim of delivering against the Natural History GSCE. This is evolving, as is our approach as that becomes clearer
Our past projects - from 2018-July 22
From 2018 - July 2022 we provided a full day of bushcraft activities to home-educated children. Usually 10-15 children would attend on Weds in term time. The days followed a primarily child-led approach with lots of wild play and socialising. This included bushcraft, including; handicrafts, den making, foraging, cooking, circus skills days and a huge amount of wild and creative play.
Amberwood is a recognised provider of the John Muir Award.
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Maria Ribback
Project lead, day-to-day and accounting.
Maria is a busy mum of four, currently home educating her teenage twins. She is a qualified riding instructor and craft teacher. For 20 years she bred Spanish horses and was also involved in running a National Equestrian Organisation, which involved running international shows. She has a gorgeous bay Spanish horse at the farm and is full of commitment for the project. She has taught adult education for 25 years. Maria leads the project with accounting, safeguarding and day to day activities.
Maria has two City and Guilds qualifications in creative design.
Rachel Parsons
Project lead, fund-raising
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Rachel part-owns, and works for New Forest Escapes, a local holiday cottage agency. She specialises in sustainability has achieved BCorp certification for them. In past lives, she has been a sheep and cattle farmer in the Australian bush, stunt rider in films, travel writer, youth worker, natural horsemanship coach teacher, long distance cyclist, and is a 'wannabe artist/singer'.
Rachel has a daughter, aged 11, lives locally and helps lead the project, with its broader direction. She loves supporting communities to be more sustainable and is also involved in New Forest Transition Towns.
Camille Pressland
Curriculum lead, yearly planning
Camille was a qualified teacher of 16 years before she started to home educate her 3 boys, aged 7, 9 and 12 in 2018. She has broad experience working with SEN children, and says, "it helps her parent her challenging autistic eldest son. My boys all attend Amberwood and it has been the best thing for my eldest son who has grown in confidence over the last three years".
Camille has a BSC Geology, PCGE Geography and Environmental Sciences, BSC Psychology and MSC Developmental Psych.
Heather Bray
Heather has a BComm Marketing and Management. PGCE Foundation and is a Forest School Level3 facilitator.
She was a primary teacher for over 10 years and decided to pursue a more flexible lifestyle and home educate her 2 children. She longed to swap the classroom for an earthier setting and completed a Level 3 Forest school qualification. She now spends many happy hours in the forest and tending to and growing no-dig community gardens.
Heather is passionate about sustainable living and strives to grow abundant food herbs and flowers in harmony with nature.