The People
The wood is owned by Emily Charkin and Dan Morrish. Dan is an architect who loves to build - he designs and builds the amazing timber buildings you see around the wood. Emily is a researcher who loves to make things happen. She looks after the home-team, members, the Hatch and Friday Club for local home educating families. She tries to squeeze in some time for her research on experimental schools and communities. They live with their youngest daughter Xandi, aged 14. Their daughter, Nina, 17 studies in Brighton but still shows her face for parties at the wood! And Frank, their son, aged 19, is currently getting as far away as he can from his family, travelling and volunteering around New Zealand. Building on his popular column in Wild Times, Frank’s Rants and Frank Ranks, you can now read about his travels and insights on New Zealand life Frank’s Rambles.
Jake and Kate Reed are woodland caretakers in residence - looking after everything from the ditches and the kitchen garden to the updating of the website. Kate’s son, Bohdan, attends St Mark’s School in the village and is a keen kindling maker and Reina is the first baby born in the woods. Nick Booth is our carpenter and crafter in residence; Yoni Suissa is potter and chef in residence; Molly Leeves is flower grower, crochet artist and chef in residence; and Anton Forward is gardener in residence.
Andrew Coates has been working at Wilderness Wood for 30 years, coppicing a coop of the wood each winter. He now runs his own enterprise providing woodland products and services for land-based projects all over Sussex.
Mark Rogers is a Landscape Architect, who runs Hortus Collective from the first floor of the Meeting House. He got married to Eva here in 2014, and helped Dan and Emily get the planning permission for the structures you see in the wood.
The wood is also the hub for a community of around 250 member households who help us look after the wood in exchange for using the site for creativity, enterprise and fun.
Photo credit: Beth Mercer