Nathan returns to his Suffolk roots to lead environmental education centre

After working overseas for most of his adult life Nathan Whittaker has returned to his homeland of Suffolk to lead an environmental education centre.

Nathan, who grew up in the Gipping Valley but has lived in East Asia since early on in his career, has taken up the role of centre manager at Flatford Mill in East Bergholt.

The centre, which sits in the heart of Constable country, is owned by the National Trust but operated by UK leading environmental education charity, the Field Studies Council, which runs a wide range of courses for schoolchildren, university groups and adult learners wishing to gain new skills.

Nathan said: “I’m absolutely delighted to take up this new role back in my home county and in such a special place. It brings together perfectly my experience in the education sector with my love for the environment.

“I grew up in Suffolk and lived about 10 miles away from Flatford. I spent much of my childhood in nature with both my parents being avid bird watchers and always out on walks with our dogs.

“However, after university I was keen to spread my wings and ended up living out in China for many years.

“I’ve worked in education for 15 years and, mostly in the international higher education sector, managing the interests of British and American Universities in China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Japan and South Korea.

“I returned to the UK permanently in 2019 whilst working for Royal Holloway, University of London and although I was still travelling to China for work that soon came to an end when the Covid pandemic hit.

“I think that gave me some opportunity to assess where my career was heading, and I realised I wanted a more sustainable approach to life and work and jet-setting off every couple of weeks was no longer what I wanted.

“I moved back home to Suffolk during the pandemic and took on a UK-based role with the University of Essex International College managing the day-to-day running of the college and student wellbeing.

“It was a demanding role but still wasn’t ticking the box in terms of applying my skillset and experience to a more environmental education role.

“Then, out of the blue, up popped this job with the Field Studies Council and I’m delighted to have been in post for several weeks now. I’ve a lot to learn still but I’m really looking forward to working with schools in the local area and beyond and widening our participation in outdoor learning.”

Nathan, who is responsible for managing the day-to-day running of Flatford Mill – the first and original field study centre to be set up by the Field Studies Council in the 1940s – said he wanted every child to experience learning outdoors.

“For me, I didn’t thrive in the classroom environment, but I always spent a lot of time outdoors in nature learning, so I know from first-hand experience how important it is for all learners to have those opportunities.

“Schools are up against a lot of challenges with rising operational costs and travel costs so one of the things I’ll be looking at is how we can work in partnership with different education settings to ensure all school children can enjoy outdoor educational experiences.

“With the general election looming, we also need all parties to maintain the emphasis on learning outside the classroom and make sure it does not disappear from the curriculum.

“School trips and time spent learning away from the confines of the four walls of a classroom is the learning that’s remembered by children well into adulthood. Those memories and experiences are rarely forgotten.”

The charity operates across four buildings at Flatford Mill including the Mill itself and Willy Lott’s House – both made famous by British painter John Constable and his Haywain painting.

The centre, which welcomed more than 5,000 learners through its doors in 2023, hosts residential trips and day visits for schools as well as leisure courses in natural history and arts and crafts.

For more information visit https://www.field-studies-council.org/locations/flatfordmill/.

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Editors notes

The Field Studies Council is an educational charity based in the UK. It opened its first Field Centre in 1947 at Flatford Mill, and now operates 20 Field Centres in various locations in England, Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland offering both residential and non-residential field courses.