Geoff’s Story.

With the fells of the Lake District as his backdrop and a canoe often strapped to the roof of his car, Geoff Norman brings a deep-rooted belief in the power of nature and community into everything he does. A former headteacher with over two decades in the classroom, Geoff now works across Cumbria supporting schools to nurture sustainability, wellbeing and active citizenship, through creative projects that help young people feel part of something bigger than themselves.

Geoff’s journey into the Triple WellBeing Fellowship was fuelled by a quiet longing to keep learning and to connect more deeply with the ‘why’ behind his work. What he found in the Fellowship was a language and framework that named what he’d always intuitively believed: that education should support young people to care for themselves, each other, and the world they share. For Geoff, this isn’t just theory, it’s felt in the rhythm of his nature journaling, the joy of delivering outdoor projects with sixth formers and the way he’s helping to shape a more hopeful future for education in the UK.

Geoff speaks candidly about his frustrations with a system that too often squeezes out creativity and agency for both pupils and teachers. But he also carries a quiet optimism, rooted in years of practice and a deep trust in the natural world. Whether leading sustainability programmes, walking with young people through woodland, or simply noticing the wildflowers in bloom, Geoff’s presence reminds us what happens when education slows down, steps outside and reconnects with what matters.

Listen to the full conversation with Geoff.