Our Team
Jane MacRae
Jane held a number of senior roles in secondary school. Jane has an MSc in the history and philosophy of science and a PhD in cellular biology. When Jane left teaching she decided to start Bloom to bring nature and all it has to teach us into the curriculum. The awe and wonder of nature had always been close to Jane’s heart and she wanted every student to have the chance to connect with and experience that same joy and wonder. She believes that understanding nature, asking big questions about how it works, and connecting with it, brings a relevance to education that is intellectually and emotionally satisfying. Read Jane's blog The Bloom Journey.
Jane is Bloom’s CEO and course designer.
Annabel Lubikowski
Annabel has held various pastoral and safeguarding roles and was also Head of PSHE for a number of years during which time she gained considerable experience in addressing the well-being of young people. She has a BA in Social Science and produced an MPhil on a study of the housing market. Annabel believes that humanity is at a pivotal stage in its development and that we need to discover new ways of caring for ourselves, each other and the planet; we therefore need to understand how the natural world operates and discover the lessons that nature can teach us. She is a fan of circular economics which advocates that we work with and within the cycles of the living world which ties in closely with the Bloom approach.
Annabel manages logistics and communications for Bloom.
Amy Druce
Amy is a practising English teacher with 15 years’ classroom experience. She has held various departmental and whole school roles, and is currently Head of Professional Learning at School 21 in Stratford. Amy is passionate about teaching and learning and has a wide repertoire of classroom approaches that she brings to Bloom course design. She believes that the natural world has much to teach us, academically, socially and emotionally, and wants all young people to be given the chance to create a personal connection with the world around them.
Julia Sands
Julia is a wilderness therapy facilitator and English teacher of 20 years’ experience in designing creative schemes of work for the secondary curriculum. Julia is a true Romantic, blending her love of English with her respect for nature and a passion for holistic wellbeing, with qualifications in expedition leading, mental health, counselling and Outdoor and Adventure Therapeutic Practice. She seeks to make nature truly relevant to everyday life, so that young people can see themselves reflected in the world around them. Julia loves nothing more than taking learning outside and unpacking nature’s lessons to inspire meaningful self-development.
Julia advises Bloom on course development and evaluation strategy.
Max Martin
Max taught secondary geography for three years before becoming an Education and Nature and Wellbeing lead working for local councils in London. He has since started his own organisation bringing forest school and nature education to the public through programmes aimed at all ages, from 4 year olds to the elderly. Max believes in the importance of developing genuine relationships with nature on the health of our minds, communities and environment. This means less time in the classroom and more time experiencing the natural world through creative and engaging activities.
Max works on product development and marketing for Bloom.
Lydia Stoddart
Lydia is a practicing English Teacher with 5 years experience who piloted our first Bloom course during her training year. She is currently a Head of Department at a South London Academy, and has brought Bloom projects into her previous three schools. Lydia helped launch our PSHCE program in our first 'Bloom' School. She is passionate about embedding the Bloom Principles into mainstream education, and strongly believes that through reconnecting with the natural world and their place within it, young people can become more fully enfranchised citizens with a more holistic sense of wellbeing.