SEAL BROOK WOODLAND SCHOOL
Matt Lloyd
Despite a predominantly urban upbringing Matt has always been a country boy at heart and a student of the great outdoors. From an early age Matt realised that being inside was not for him and spent as much time as he could outside in the garden learning about plants and trees, growing fruit and veg and starting fires at the bottom of the garden, much to the despair of the local fire department!
Having spent time in the Cadets and a very short stint in the Scouts (they only wanted to play football!) Matt found his place on a relatives farm near Wells, Somerset, where he went every summer to help with milking and hay making. This gave Matt a golden opportunity to discover the natural environment, and he spent many happy weeks exploring the woodland, fields and hedgerows, observing and learning about the diverse range of flora and fauna.
Upon leaving school Matt went to Harper Adams University to study outdoor education and countryside management and left with a Degree in Adventure Recreation Management, as well as a future wife!
After leaving University, Matt worked as an instructor at an outdoor centre in the Peak District where he discovered that everything he had always been passionate about had a name, Bushcraft. Aided by an extremely knowledgable bushcraft instructor, Matt broadened his knowledge and developed his skills and started running bushcraft courses and expeditions in the Peak District.
Having moved back to Bristol, Matt had a chance encounter one day with Jonny Crockett of Survival School which led to him completing his NCFE Level 2 award followed by his NCFE Level 4 Bushcraft, Survival and Wilderness Living Skills Instructors and Mentors Award, the rest, as they say, is history!
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Matt went on to run Survival School Bristol from 2014 to 2021, with 8 happy years of meeting new people and providing course to people of all ages in the area. Following Covid Matt and his wife, Alice, decided to make a big life change and move to Alice's home county in the midlands and look for some land and a house to run as a smallholding, from this he discovered Seal Brook Wood.
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As well as managing Seal Brook Woodland School Matt also works as a Duke of Edinburgh trainer and assessor and does a lot of work with Peak District Survival School helping instruct courses and working in schools to deliver National Curriculum linked outdoor education.
Relevant Awards and Qualifications;
- Survival School Level 5 Course Directors Diploma NCFE CQ Accredited
- Survival School Instructors and Mentors Award Level 4 NCFE CQ Accredited
- Survival School Primitive Crafts Course Level 3 NCFE CQ Accredited
- Survival School Tracking Course Level 3 NCFE CQ Accredited
- Survival School Foraging Course Level 3 NCFE CQ Accredited
- Survival School Axe Proficiency Course Level 3 NCFE CQ Accredited
- Survival School Axe and Knife Throwing Range Master Level 3 CQ Accredited
- Survival School Level 2 Award in Bushcraft, Survival and Wilderness Living Skills NCFE CQ Accredited
- BSc Honors in Adventure Recreation Management
- Hill and Moorland Leader
- 16 Hour Outdoor First Aid
- DBS (Formerly Criminal Records Bureau) Checked
- Food Safety and Hygiene Certificate - Level 2
- Archery GB Instructors Award
- NRA Range Safety Officer for small and full bore rifles
- DMQ Level 1 and 2 Deer Stalkers Certificate
- NGO Game Meat Handling and Hygiene Award for Large and Small Game
- Chainsaw Qualified
- Child Protection and Safeguarding Trained
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Mark Fox
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As well as helping out at Seal Brook Woodland School Mark also set up and runs Peak District Survival School which was born out of Marks passion and personal interest in nature and wilderness living. His early interest in the outdoors was influence by his grandfather, a Dairy Farmer and Gamekeeper who taught him traditional country skills, an understanding of the use of trees, plants and a love of the wilderness.
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Mark has worked as an outdoor education instructor for the past 15 years for a local authority Outdoor Centre and a range of other providers and private contractors. He has travelled extensively and used this as a learning experience to enhance his skills and knowledge of the natural world and wilderness living.
Mark lives in the Peak District and can be found most weekends enjoying the Peak Park both above and below ground!
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Mark has extensive experience of delivering outdoor education to a wide client base including; schools groups, young people not in mainstream education, groups with challenging behaviour, family groups, corporate groups, teachers and military personnel.
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He is a qualified trainer and assessor for Survival School Ltd, and holds Bushcraft, Survival and Wilderness Living NCFE level 4 and a Cave Instructor Certificate (CIC)
Mark also researched, designed and accredited the Survival School CQ Level 3 Bread, Origin, History and Evolution Course.
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Relevant Awards and Qualifications;
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Mountain Leader Training Executive – Mountain Leader Summer Award (ML) and Single Pitch Award (SPA)
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Institute of Outdoor Learning – Accredited Practitioner of the Institute of Outdoor Learning
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British Canoe Union (UKCC) – 3* Canoe, 3* Kayak and Level 2 Coach
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Survival School NCFE Qualifications:
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Survival School CQ Level 2 Bushcraft, Survival and Wilderness Living
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Survival School CQ Level 3 Applied Bushcraft, Survival and Wilderness Skills
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Survival School CQ Level 3 Primitive Skills
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Survival School CQ Level 4 Bushcraft, Survival and wilderness Living, Instructor and mentor
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Survival School CQ Level 5 Course Director Diploma
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Other relevant Certification
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Data and Baring Service subscription (DBS) used to be Criminal Record Bureau
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Wilderness First Aid Certificate
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Archery Leader Award
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Level 2 Food hygiene certificate
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Child protection and safe guarding ​Trained
Carl Pedley
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Carl's love for nature stems from a childhood spent in the outdoors, walking and exploring the South Downs near his childhood home, after finding a copy of Food For Free and one of Ray Mear's early books his passion for Bushcraft was ignited.
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As well as UK adventures he has undertaken numerous overlanding expeditions ranging from 2 weeks to a month at a time, in destinations from Norway and Russia to Morocco and the Sahara desert, he has a love for the desert and would love to go back as well as doing a trip to the jungle.
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Carl started a career in tree surgery at 14 years old and aside from a 3 year break working elsewhere he has made it a career of 22 years, having done his time
at the top (of trees) he now has the less physically punishing role of managing the Bristol branch of Bartlett's Tree Experts, Carl has a specialist knowledge of tree pests, diseases and parasites, and what he doesn't know about trees isn't worth knowing.
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Carl's journey with Survival School started in a slightly unorthodox manner when he turned up unannounced on my front doorstep in mid-2014, it transpired that his depot was just up the road and driving past he had recognised the Survival School logo on the land rover and thought he would say hello. A cup of tea and a long chat later and he was booked onto the first Level 2 Training Course we ever ran in Bristol, he went on to complete his assessment and Level 3's whilst assisting on our courses. The next year he completed his Level 4 Instructors and Mentors Award and passed out as a fully qualified instructor, he joined the Survival School Bristol team as a full time instructor and second in command and is a very highly valued member of staff that maintains the very high standard of terrible jokes!
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As a family man with a wife and two young daughters much of Carl's time away from the woods is spent at home, although he does like to escape now and then to pursue a hobby in CrossFit (whatever that is!).
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Relevant Awards and Qualifications;
- Survival School Instructors and Mentors Award Level 4 NCFE IIQ Accredited
- Survival School Primitive Crafts Course Level 3 NCFE IIQ Accredited
- Survival School Tracking Course Level 3 NCFE IIQ Accredited
- Survival School Foraging Course Level 3 NCFE IIQ Accredited
- Survival School Axe Proficiency Course Level 3 NCFE IIQ Accredited
- Survival School Level 2 Award in Bushcraft, Survival and Wilderness Living Skills NCFE IIQ Accredited
- 16 Hour Outdoor First Aid
- DBS (Formerly Criminal Records Bureau) Checked
- Food Safety and Hygiene Certificate - Level 2
- NGO Game Meat Hygiene Award for Large and Small Game
- Chainsaw Qualifications and Aerial Rescue (too many to list)
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