The sloth defence: They're not lazy. They're energy-efficient, strategic, ecosystem engineers who move at their own pace and make a massive impact.
I love sloths. So when I was trekking through the Costa Rican rainforest for my 40th birthday, utterly captivated by these magnificent creatures, I knew I was in for something special. What I didn't expect was for the jungle itself to ambush me.
Everything became hyper-real – sounds sharper, colours deeper, awareness heightened. It was immersive in a way that made all experiences I'd ever had suddenly feel... flat. That's when it hit me: if a rainforest can make you feel this alive and connected, why can't learning about climate action?
Plot twist: now it does.
I'm Helen Hill, founder of It Started With a Sloth, and I turn climate action into immersive play experiences. Interactive floor projections, LEGO cities, themed environments, games that teach sustainability. Museums, galleries and community organisations book us to engage families in ways that don't involve charts or existential dread.
The problem? We've tried fear (everyone's anxious), guilt (everyone's overwhelmed), and statistics (everyone's glazed over). Meanwhile, 75% of UK adults feel powerless to act.
What actually works: play. Stories. Tangible actions. Community. Hope.
Our TOGETHER experiences have proven this with 8,800+ children and 1,100+ adults. Methodist Church (2,500 young people), Bradford Museums, and we're just getting started.
I'm also a Climate Change Coach (ICF ACC certified), children's book author-illustrator, and spent 20+ years in education before deciding worksheets are vastly overrated.
What I do:
🍁 Create touring immersive experiences (pop-ups to longer residencies)
🍁 Develop sustainability programming museums and venues actually want
🍁 Train educators in playful climate communication
🍁 Prove climate action can be joyful and effective
Random but true:
🦩 I'm "silly auntie Heron" to my nephew (no, there's no heron emoji)
🐰 a bunmum to three unhinged rabbits
🏆 was a UK Green Business Awards finalist 2025
🧜♀️ appeared on BBC, The Times and The Guardian dressed as a 13ft plastic mermaid.
If you're looking to engage audiences with climate action in unexpected ways – or want to talk sloths, immersive tech, or why play is criminally underrated – let's connect.
Because if a sloth – nature's champion of slow and steady – can inspire this much change, imagine what we can do together. 🦥✨
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:
transforming overwhelm and eco anxiety into proactive, hopeful action by designing and delivering innovative, interactive, and playful climate solutions experiences and professional learning.
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
TOGETHER is our touring immersive and interactive experience containing 20+ action themed games where we captivate curious minds with the magic of sustainable living through playful, future-focused experiences
Activating your staff
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. Because play isn’t just for the kids!
A bit more about ISWaS…
a.k.a. the ‘official’ bio, sans puns 😂
Hi, I’m Helen
I'm on a mission to prove that climate education doesn't have to feel like homework – or a guilt trip.
After 20+ years in education and design, I'd had enough of watching children (and adults) glaze over when lectured about sustainability, or worse, become paralysed by eco-anxiety. There had to be a better way. Then came Costa Rica, a rainforest, and a life-changing encounter with sloths that showed me what immersive, sensory-rich learning could feel like.
That's when It Started With a Sloth was born.
I create immersive play experiences that transform climate action from overwhelming to achievable. Think interactive technology, LEGO cities, themed environments, and games that teach circular economy principles whilst people are too busy having fun to notice they're learning. Our TOGETHER experiences have engaged 8,800+ children and 1,100+ adults across the UK, proving that when sustainability feels joyful and collaborative, people actually take action.
My approach combines educational design expertise with climate psychology – because changing behaviour requires more than facts; it requires hope, community, and tangible next steps. I'm also a children's book author-illustrator (via my company UnlikelyGenius™️), "silly auntie Heron" to my nephew Emmett, and bunmum to three frankly unhinged rabbits.
I've been named Digital Women Entrepreneur of the Year 2024, finalist for UK Green Business Awards Entrepreneur of the Year 2025, and our launch campaign reached 25+ million people who witnessed our mid-life crisis AKA dressing as a 13ft plastic mermaids. Our work is backed by Innovate UK and featured on BBC, The Times, and The Guardian.
My qualifications include a PGCE for post-compulsory education, ICF ACC coaching status, Climate Change Coaching certification, and training in Embodied Transformation and Positive Psychology – all of which inform how we build stronger connections between body, mind, and planet.
But honestly? My greatest credential is the passion I have for creating a thriving future. We just need to do it together, one playful step at a time. 🦥
Jorge, 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 one, and I now call Jorge after our ninja sloth-spotting tour guide.
