Nice to meet you! I’m Helen

An educator, designer, illustrator, award-winning author and most crucially… a massive child. I’m also a gold-level clumsy noggin who’s guaranteed to be the one who face-plants on entering a room.

I’m a great believer in imperfect environmentalism. No one can get everything right all of the time. And trying to is just a highway to paralysis.

It’s about finding actions that fit in with you and your family. Creating small ripples of change that’ll help us all ride a growing wave of action.

How we built ISWaS & Be The Future

Our businesses started with a hashtag, evolved with an email, and now run almost entirely on an intricate understanding of UK-Australia time differences.

Before Sally (founder of collaborative partner Be The Future) and I met, we were both living in the UK and spreading climate positivity for #tacklethecrisis, because we’re both pretty sure that’s what the world needs. 

Something to counter the doom-and-gloom stories that make us want to stick our fingers in our ears and assume the foetal position because it’s all too much.

So there we were, being ambassadors for this hashtag, when Sally spotted the logo for my first business: UnlikelyGenius™️. 

She figured there had to be an interesting person behind that name. So in December 2020, she wrote me an email:

I’m looking for a witty, funny, smart copywriter and designer to help me with my idea. And you seem kind of perfect.

I jumped on board right away. Phew.

We got to meet in person a couple of times between lockdown ending and Sally moving back to Australia (could this founding story *be* any more pandemic?)

Sure, running a two-woman-two-business enterprise between Yorkshire and Sydney isn’t always the easiest way to do things… 

But thanks to the wonder of Zoom, WhatsApp, and our ability to reliably set alarm clocks, everything’s working out pretty well. 

Which is lucky, because we adore what we do: 

Harnessing the magic of hope, solutions and optimism to create the vision of a healthier, greener future.

We know how tough it is to find your place in climate action. The mountain often feels too big to climb. So when people get in touch to tell us we’ve inspired them or lifted them out of a climate slump, we’re honestly chuffed to bits.

It’s why we get up in the morning (nine/eleven hours apart).

⬇️ If you love our story and our mission, check out some of the things you can get involved in! ⬇️

TOGETHER Climate Play experiences

Collage of vibrant indoor botanical gardens and environments with various plants, trees, and decorative elements, featuring colorful lighting, seating areas, and nature-inspired design. Central logo reads "Together by Be The Future [IMMERSED]."

TOGETHER is our concept for an immersive and interactive experience containing 7 climate solution themed zones, plus accompanying touring and digital experiences. Our playful, interactive sustainability incursions to engage and empower young minds. Suitable for early learning centres, primary schools and governments.

Training to energise your team

A church interior with a large screen displaying cherry blossoms, three stained glass windows, and a digital projection on the wooden floor showing an outdoor scene.

You’ve got your sustainability agenda, your’ve set your goals, but now you need the team on board. We can provide interactive training that revitalises your team to get involved in the sustainable action.

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Increasing interactivity in your experiences

Do you want to create engaging, interactive learning experiences that spark curiosity and inspire action? Through interactive technology, storytelling, and games, we can bring people together, and encouragecommunity-driven change.

A bit more about ISWaS…

a.k.a. the ‘official’ bio, sans puns 😂

  • Headshot of Helen, smiling at the camera

    Helen Hill, founder

    Helen is an educator, creative, award-winning author and big child, based in West Yorkshire, England. She’s also a gold-level clumsy noggin who’s guaranteed to be the one who face-plants on entering that room.

    Newly named as Digital Women's Entrepreneur of the Year and featuring on their '60 Digital Women to Watch list', Helen is the frequently exhausted but always excitable creative mind behind 2 businesses. Helen loves nothing more than to get giddy with ideas for books, games, activities and mischief, bringing in her 20+ years of working in education and the design industry. She is also an accidental tech guru and trained climate coach. Her latest 3AM brainchild, TOGETHER, is an Innovate UK backed project providing playful and immersive climate education experiences for all.

    Helen is also the owner of UnlikelyGenius™️ Ltd where she specialises in producing playful design and concepts for creative educational resources and book illustration, focusing on teaching tough topics. Working predominantly in wellbeing, mindset, personal development and the environment, she has a strong focus on helping people and planet to thrive.

    Connect with Helen on LinkedIn

  • Jorje, THE sloth

    The muse, the dude, the babe that is the sloth who led to my love of the rainforest and achievement of a major bucket list item. It was my love of sloths that led me to travel to Costa Rica, where this LEG-END welcomed us on day 1.