Jo Smith

Jo’s varied career has taken her from the housing estates of Moss Side to the conurbations of Cameroon. After studying French at the London School of Economics, Jo qualified as a town planner and later specialised in community-led housing improvement projects for local authorities around the UK. Her work in Africa included urban development planning in Algeria and Cameroon. Jo has also worked as a theatrical agent and garden designer, and qualified as a teacher in her 50s, working in schools in SE London. Jo is passionate about the benefits of outdoor learning and says that she is constantly bowled over by the ways in which farm visits allow young people to challenge themselves and examine their potential in a new light.