Jane has horticulture and sustainable land management diplomas, an MSc in Environmental Sustainability and a Doctorate in Organisational Change. Her action research-based doctoral study focused on collaborative leadership of place-based environmental education initiatives.
In the 90s, inspired by the UK charity Learning Through Landscapes, she co-founded the Inner City Forest at Newton Central Primary School, which became an exemplar of good practice for the Auckland College of Education. Now protected by DOC the forest continues to sit at the heart of the school curriculum. In the UK, she co-facilitated an NVQ Horticulture Training Programme for Camden Jobtrain and was General Manager of Rise Phoenix, a community arts organisation. In 2004, bringing together her combined experience in ecology, arts, education and community development, she co-founded the award-winning charity Global Generation. Partnering with UCL Institute of Education, she ran action research-oriented sustainability training for teachers. She also tutored on an MSc in Transdisciplinary Studies at Middlesex University.
Returning to New Zealand in 2022, Jane co-founded Ruamahāhanga Farm Foundation with her husband Rod (a former primary school teacher) and her sisters Liz and Lucy. Based on the family farm, the foundation works with local schools, the wider community, GWRC and local Iwi to restore 12 hectares of wetland and riparian forest beside the Ruamāhanga River, providing a base for education and health activities.
A STEAM opportunity for local schools (co-delivered with Rod Sugden and collaborating scientist and artist facilitators) is Te Reo o te Wai (Voices of the Water), offering:
– planting and tree aftercare, water quality and fish passage monitoring (with Mountains to Sea Wellington)
– related botany, soil science, literacy, arts and communication activities
– nature-oriented mindfulness.
– action research, enabling teachers and their students to tell the story of their experience
