https://danceahead.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/Woodland-Wonders-HERO-IMAGE.png

WOODLAND WONDERS

Current, Future

/Comments 2

Welcome to Woodland Wonders

Woodland Wonders is a new community project from Dance Ahead CIC, inviting children and families to explore creativity, storytelling and environmental responsibility through imaginative, accessible experiences.

Rooted in the belief that caring for nature can begin with curiosity, play and shared action, the project creates welcoming opportunities for people to connect with one another and with the places they call home.

Through Woodland Wonders, children and their grown-ups are invited to become Woodland Wonderers: curious, caring members of the community who notice the world around them and discover how small actions can make a positive difference.

Where Woodland Wonders Began

Woodland Wonders began with a community litter pick and FairyNuff Story Trail at Kingmoor North Nature Reserve, delivered as part of Give a Day Carlisle.

The pilot brought children, families and local residents together through environmental action, storytelling, movement and shared care for a local green space.

Rather than treating litter picking as a task in isolation, the event placed it within an imaginative story. Sherbatella invited the little humans and their grown-ups to help the fairy world keep the woodland tidy as preparations began for the annual Fairysnuff Festival.

Where the story began: Sherbatella accompanies the first Woodland Wonderers into Kingmoor North Nature Reserve as part of Give a Day Carlisle.

The First Woodland Wonderers

The first event demonstrated how storytelling and character-led engagement could offer children a playful and memorable route into conversations about environmental responsibility.

Families worked together, explored the nature reserve and helped care for a place shared by both the human and fairy worlds. The experience connected practical community action with creativity, curiosity and a sense of collective purpose.

The Story Behind the Story

The roots of Woodland Wonders stretch back more than twenty years.

In 2005, during Zoë Leigh Gadd’s graduate year, a collective of ten Performing Arts undergraduates came together to create Fairysnuff—an original outdoor, site-adaptive play combining theatre, music and dance.

Created for natural and non-traditional settings, Fairysnuff invited audiences into a playful world in which fairy characters, woodland creatures and little humans came together through movement, storytelling and shared adventure.

Twenty-one years later, Zoë has reconnected with several of the original creators and is beginning to revive and reimagine the work under its new name: FairyNuff.

This new chapter honours the spirit and collaborative foundations of the original production while opening the story world to new communities, formats and possibilities.

Woodland Wonders is one of the first public steps in this renewed journey.

Meet Sherbatella

Sherbatella is the Birthday Cake Fairy and one of the characters at the heart of the growing FairyNuff world.

Within Woodland Wonders, Sherbatella encourages little humans and their grown-ups to become Woodland Wonderers, helping the fairy world care for nature and keep shared spaces tidy ahead of its annual festival.

Her character provides an imaginative doorway into environmental responsibility. Rather than simply telling children what they should do, Woodland Wonders invites them into a story in which their actions have meaning.

By noticing nature, collecting litter, creating artwork and making promises to care for their community, children become part of a shared adventure that connects the human and fairy worlds.

A new chapter begins: Sherbatella brings the FairyNuff story world into public spaces through character, movement and community participation.

Part of a Wider Movement

Woodland Wonders shares the values of the wider Keep Britain Tidy movement, which encourages people and communities to take pride in the places where they live.

The project offers a distinctive creative route into these ideas. Through storytelling, imagination and shared activity, children can begin to understand that caring for their surroundings is not only a responsibility, but also a meaningful way to contribute to community life.

Woodland Wonders is independently developed by Dance Ahead CIC and is not currently an official Keep Britain Tidy programme or partnership.

Keep Britain Tidy

Woodland Wonders Is Growing

Following the Give a Day Carlisle pilot, Woodland Wonders is growing into a wider community-focused programme.

This summer, Dance Ahead CIC is beginning with a six-week pilot at Carlisle Markets, inviting children and families to discover the imaginative world of Sherbatella through creativity, storytelling and community action.

The market activity will help us test ideas, listen to families and shape future developments. These may include creative resources, a Woodland Wonderers activity book, further community events, environmental activities and opportunities to work with schools.

This is just the beginning…

The first Woodland Wonderers: Children, families, community volunteers and creative partners came together to care for Kingmoor North Nature Reserve.

Bring Woodland Wonders to Your Community

Woodland Wonders is designed to grow through partnerships with schools, community organisations, libraries, festivals, parks and public spaces.

We are developing flexible experiences that bring together imagination, environmental responsibility and creative wellbeing. These could include community activities, character-led encounters, workshops, story trails and place-responsive projects.

If you are interested in hosting a Woodland Wonders activity, exploring a partnership, pledging support or finding out more, we would love to hear from you.

Start a Conversation

Direct Email: info@danceahead.co.uk

Supported in kind by:

.    .