Cara Silversmith

Book Cara Silversmith

Cara Silversmith tells stories from the heart, rooted in our environment.

Cara is an engaging, vibrant storyteller, who explores issues of identity, well-being, and our relationship to the environment through the art of storytelling. Cara uses her detailed knowledge of Scotland’s ecology and biodiversity, collected over three decades – as an environmental educator (One Nature Education), Countryside Ranger, and Geography teacher – to develop and tell stories which examine our relationships with our wider environment.

Cara works with schools, in community settings, on stage, and online as a creative teller and workshop leader. Cara has an MSc in Environmental & Sustainability Education, training in Non-Violent Communication and mental health first aid. Cara celebrates and explores lgbtqia+ perspectives, and works with neurodiverse experiences in performance and education, celebrating individuality of thought and experience. She has run workshops and story walks in a number of settings such as Out & Wild festival and as part of the SISF Go Local programme.

Cara had a Residency with the National Theatre of Scotland to develop a performance around mental health, climate justice, and the environment in 2022/23. This led to investigating local spaces, ancient stories, and rediscovering the importance of ritual in community practice. Cara has been storyteller in residence with a Creative Commons project where developed a story of place, rooted in history with a focus on sustainable futures. Cara also works with the Scottish Crannog Centre, using the principles of experimental archaeology in much of her work. She also regularly leads sessions for the Scottish Wildlife Trust.

Cara has delivered Global Lab sessions, to an international audience, over the past couple of years at the Scottish International Storytelling Festival. One of her shows ‘Scotland Wild and Free?’, examining the links between biodiversity loss and mental health, will be touring shortly.

She has a podcast series, “What of the ground we are standing on?”, co-crafted with the talented German storyteller, Catriona Blanke, https://whatoftheground.podbean.com/

Cara is also writing a series of books looking at science through the prism of story. Creating sustainable stories and narratives rooted in the wisdom of the past.

Cara is based in Angus but is more than happy to travel anywhere in Scotland.