Born in north London, Daphne started reading poetry as a moon-struck teenager. She grew up in Kent, where her botanist father enjoyed growing trees from seed. Subsequently she worked in two wonderfully creative primary schools off the Old Kent Road, previously only known to her as that brown Monopoly card, the cheapest on the board. This vibrant community had some of the exhilaration of the first plunge of a wild swim. She taught for two years in Kenya, which further nourished her love of nature. Later in Norfolk with her young family Daphne became involved in environmental campaigning.