Deep in Nature

Summer holiday family forest school sessions are NOW LIVE FOR BOOKING!

So excited to be back in the lovely woods at YWAM (Harpenden) this summer.

This year we are running on Mondays and Fridays during the summer holidays.

We will have a different nature-based craft in every session so you will always be able to do something new, as well as the old favourites such as the potion station, mud kitchen, slack line and hammocks.

For those who haven't been before, there is free parking on site, as well as the all important cafe and toilets.

The sessions run for one hour and are suitable for children aged 18 months up to around nine years plus a parent or carer.

Any questions, do let me know. I look forward to seeing how much everyone has grown since I last saw them!

Booking link is https://bookwhen.com/deepinnature

I wanted to share this beautiful moment from a recent walk. I'd gone out as I was feeling stressed and anxious.

I stopped and took a little bit of time to admire the beauty of this hawthorn.

I watched the leaves and branches move gently im the breeze, noticed the vivid green of the leaves and the gentle white of the blossom.
I enjoyed the scent of the hawthorn flowers and listened to the sound of the birds in the background.

It only took a few minutes but I felt my shoulders drop, my breathing slow and I felt calmer and more able to carry on with the day.

This is a lovely, quick and accessible idea to try out - it works for children and adults to take a few moments to pause and recharge or reset.

Have a go and let me know what you think.

One of the things I love about slowing down and being mindful in nature is that you see things you would otherwise miss.

If you slow down and start to notice, you will see these small holes in the ground in woodland, at the edge of fields, or sometimes in your garden.

These are the burrows of miner bees, a solitary bee that builds nests to lay eggs and overwinter. At this time of year as the ground warms up, the bees start to emerge from their nests and these little holes and piles of soil are the clues to their existence.

By taking time and noticing what's around us, you can spot some wonderful and overlooked sights. Once you start noticing nature and connecting to it, you will find your eye drawn to these little details more and more. It's a great way to connect with nature and helps you to be present in the moment.

If you want to learn more about miner bees I recommend taking a look at the Woodland Trust website which has some great information.

If you're looking for a way to shake off thr cobwebs, we have a few spaces left at our last forest bathing sessiom of the year at Wrest Park tomorrow (Sunday 28 December 10.30- 12.00).

Come and join us for our Christmas family forest school sessions.

We will have nature-based Christmas crafts to make and take home and our usual forest school equipment to play on.

If the weather is fine we will finish with a campfire and smores - if not, we will have a hot chocolate station inside.

Numbers are capped to make sure we can comfortably accommodate everyone and there will be free flow access inside the hall as usual.

We will be offering different craft activities at each session.

Sessions suitable for children aged 18 months to 9 years (with a bit of wriggle room for parents to decide what's appropriate).

We look forward to seeing you there!
Any questions, drop us a message.
Booking on the usual bookwhen site (link in bio).

Have you noticed that there are lots of acorns this year?

That's because this year is what's called a "Mast year" - essentially a bumper crop of acorns across most healthy oak trees.

This happens every few years - scientists have been researching this area and have found that oak trees produce the same amount of flowers each year, but that weather conditions in Spring and Summer, affect how many acorns are produced.

The Mast year crop is something that is co-ordinated across most healthy oak trees - it's not just the individual trees which is totally fascinating!

Research is still ongoing as to how this co-ordination happens but it's likely to be transmission of chemical signals through the mycelium network underground (the wood wide web).

I meant to post about this a few weeks ago but I found it so fascinating I went deep with my research online and then acorn spotting in practice!

For anyone else who is interested in the science behind this - Dr Andrew Hacket Pain of the University of Liverpool has posted some open access research articles which are super interesting.

Next time you're out walking or playing in the woods, check out any oak trees around you and see if you can spot lots of acorns.