About Chiara Fortina Santin

I am Italian and grew up in a small village in the North of Italy, near the Alps and the lakes where I was involved in a lot of community work e.g. organising leisure activities for young children, youth group leading, children and family camps in the Alps.

This is where I most feel at home: in Nature. I have always had this strong bond with the landscape around me, contemplating the stars at night as a small child whilst everybody was sleeping, picking lilies of the valley in the woodlands with my Dad, observing the nearby big river with its beautiful flow and dangerous currents, spending as much time as possible with my best childhood friend in a wood nearby, enjoying its sense of awe and beauty, the peace and quiet.

I didn’t know that my connection with Nature was so important to me until I came to the UK. Everything felt different, the outdoor smells, the wet weather getting in the way of going out regularly, the different places and landscapes. I didn’t feel at home even in Nature. I missed the Italian Alps, the smells in the air, the long sunny days of Summer, the challenges of treacherous trekking paths, the views from above, the whiteness of snow transforming the landscape, the calm of lake waters, the vitality of the mountain streams and the solidity of the rocks.

Slowly by exploring the greenspaces around me, getting curious and familiar with the landscape and the unpredictable weather, I started appreciating the beauty of Nature in Sussex where I live, feeling more rooted grounded and safe, and developing a deeper relationship with the English landscape.

Since I moved to the UK in 1998, I retrained from accountancy to becoming a psychotherapist as I always wanted to help children, young people and their families through dark times. I wanted to help people find their rainbow, to bring some colour and hope back into their lives so the rainbow has inspired my work with many diverse people, children and families and restore hope in their lives.