Neil Andrews
A professional chef with 25 years experience of a wide range of cooking styles, in all kinds of establishments, but Neil’s favourite is still mother nature’s kitchen, where improvisation and adaptability are your two main ingredients.
His interest in the great outdoors started at a very young age. Neil’s stepfather (a poacher) schooled him in gathering what the countryside had to offer, which later in life naturally “fused” with his adult profession. This has also lead to a keen interest in plants & fungi and experimenting with these wild ingredients, combining them with food influences from around the world.

Neil spent eight years working with the ACF, during which time he instructed cadets and both TA & regular soldiers. He was the unit Adventurous Training Officer and organised many trips to the welsh mountains for groups of up to forty.
He also led trips to north-west Scotland each winter for a ten day (unsupported) trips,
Neil designs & makes a lot of outdoor gear that has been used all over the world. His outdoor experiences have meant that he has a very good understanding of what does & doesn’t work and he prefers to work with natural materials, rather than the over-hyped manmade synthetics that have flooded the outdoor market.

Trevor Funnell
Trevor is a true Sussex Countryman who has a wealth of experience in harvesting local game and fish. His practical approach to all skills is infectious especially when he shares his professional knowledge of knots and rope work. Trevor’s friendly and patient attitude is an absolute bonus to the Bison Bushcraft courses and we are privileged to have him on board.

 

Jackie Saull-Hunt
A fully qualified herbalist and teacher at The College of Phytotherapy, Jackie is the only person we would consider having along to lead our wild plant forays. Her knowledge of edible and medicinal plants and fungi is inexhaustible as is her enthusiasm for her profession.

 

Steve Yates
Steve Yates is a registered nurse with over 20 years clinical experience in the NHS. He has acted as crew medic during major ocean racing events including the whitbread (now volvo) circumnavigation race.
He is a qualified first aid trainer working in the rescue emergency care scheme and is currently delivering first aid training at national centres such as plas-y-brenin. Steve has recently qualified as a level 2 open canoe coach & is involved in teaching at the woodmill centre on their "bushcraft for paddlers course"

Needless to say Steve is a practitioner and teacher of bushcraft, in his spare time he disappears into the bush either walking or paddling.

Helen Leaf
Helen brings an extensive knowledge of edible and medicinal plants, gained from a lifelong exploration of hedgerows, fields and woodlands and from studies at the School of Herbal Medicine. She is an accomplished craftswoman, with a passion for traditional and primitive skills and preferring to work with plants and animals for raw materials. She is well known for her research into bone flutes, and her reproductions of historical musical instruments have been used on stage, in film, and appear in museums in the UK and abroad.

Her interests and experience include working as a musician, helping set up LETS systems, keeping bees, as well as gardening and archery. She is currently completing her PhD at the Institute of Archaeology, UCL.