With the start of the 2022-23 academic year, we are happy to have resumed our weekly ECOWild Walks and ECOWoods Sessions. These projects both provide opportunities for our community to spend time together immersed in the natural world, learning about it, connecting with it, and helping it recover.

ECOWild is our nature and wellbeing project, enabling participants to learn about nature and nurture their relationship with it through wildlife observation, mindful exercises, and creative activities. On Tuesday 11th October, we had the pleasure of hosting our ECOWild walk taster at Forrest Hills. We situated ourselves in the cycle of the seasons and reflected on the Autumn Equinox, a time when the outer energy begins to retreat in preparation for winter. We also learned about Rowan trees which, in Celtic tradition, are connected to this time of year and believed to help us shed old beliefs and nurture new qualities. We let go of old beliefs in the flowing river and anchored the new qualities in a touchwood, a piece of Rowan wood that each participant spent time carving and smoothing, and took home with them.

ECOWoods is our ecological restoration project presenting a great opportunity to develop new skills and knowledge, gain practical experience of restoration work and give back to nature, all whilst spending time outdoors with likeminded people. The project is firmly anchored in principles of natural regeneration and natural climate solutions. On Friday 14th October, we headed out to Forrest Hills where volunteers gave our trees some TLC. They helped fix, stabilise, and clear previous tree planting seasons’ stakes and tubes. Strong winds as well as wildlife such as deer can bend stakes, and grass can easily grow within the tubes, competing with the trees for space, nutrients, and light. This will ensure that our trees can keep growing happily for many years to come. Volunteers also helped weed one of our tree nursery beds, where young tree saplings are currently homed temporarily before being planted in their forever location.

Over the coming weeks and months, we will be heading out in nature every Tuesday for an ECOWild Walk and every Friday for an ECOWoods Session. Each week is different as tasks and activities vary according to the time of year. Join us for an opportunity to learn more about nature, connect with it and help it recover! To find out more and keep up to date with everything happening across our networks, please visit our website, have a look at our online events calendar, subscribe to our fortnightly newsletter, and follow us on Instagram and Facebook.