Welcome to Wildlife Wellbeing Walks monthly updates for June 2026. This month (in case you hadn’t spotted it!) is Wild Roots Nature Fest 2026.
June is also the month that sees the Wildlife Trust’s #30DaysWild campaign, encouraging us to notice and connect with nature. I’m not strictly following their guidelines, but I am making space for time in nature each day – even if it is just to sit and listen to the rain outside my window, and have a 10 second break from my work (like I did just now).
Our new Introduction to Plant ID course continues in July, with a session on flowers, and we have a number of outreach sessions planned over the summer, as well as our usual walks programme, so do keep a look out on our events pages and social media for updates on those.
Read on below for our latest updates:
- Species of the month is Dog Rose
- Updates on community outreach and volunteering sessions
If you aren’t on our mailing list and would like to sign up, we’d love to share with you.
Warmly,
Ros
Wild Roots Nature Fest 2026 - latest news
It has been wonderful to see the reactions of people as they have picked up the festival programme and seen the bright colours, the list of sessions and the images of all of the people delivering them.
This has felt like a really collaborative process, working with lots of local people and organisations to create and deliver this celebration of nature. We have aimed to make this as inclusive as possible, so that everyone in our community feels welcome. In a time of division and with so many world challenges, it is wonderful to see people coming together to celebrate the wider world around us, supporting each other and nature in the process.
A big part of this year’s festival will be the #NaturePledges we are asking participants to take part in and even include some of the activities we are offering as part of the festival. For anyone who wants them, we will send resources to help you achieve your pledges. We will follow these up with community meals in the autumn to see how you’ve got on, and to give us some feedback on that and the festival.
We look forward to welcoming you to a packed programme of nourishing events across the festival.
A huge thank you to everyone who has come together to make the festival possible. From those who are delivering sessions, whether voluntarily or paid, to the working group, and all of the supportive people in the background, including local shops, who have helped to make this a reality.
Species of the month
Dog Rose (Rosa canina)
A staple of many hedgerows, the Dog Rose is in full flower at this time of the year. Differing from many of our cultivated varieties in having a much more simple flower structure, this rose has evolved for reproduction through its relationship with its pollinators. The 5-petalled flower has a central stigma that receives pollen grains for fertilising the eggs, and many stamens containing pollen that will fertilise the next flower. These wide, open structures are attractive to bees, big and small, and many other pollinators, such as butterflies.
From a social perspective, we have a long relationship with Dog Roses, having used them culinarily and medicinally for hundreds, if not thousands, of years. The rose hips in autumn are a wonderful source of vitamin C and, unfortunately for some children, the seeds formed a natural itching-powder, much loved by playground pranksters.
Personally, I think these are incredibly beautiful, with their heart-shaped petals and subtle colour-washes, like nature has painted them in watercolour. Beautifully delicate and yet somehow robust and full of purpose.
Community outreach & social prescribing: Updates
May has been a much quieter month for delivering outreach sessions, with preparations well underway for Wild Roots Nature Fest. Our main focus has therefore been on volunteer sessions for the festival, where we’ve created t-shirts, badges and bunting to use at Wild Roots. Thanks especially to Katrina from Sewing Cafe Lancaster for her support and guidance!
We have been planning for more outreach sessions from July onwards, including:
- 10 walks for the Stop Smoking services in Lancaster via different hubs. Dates so far confirmed are 8th and 15th July from Marsh Community Centre, with more to follow. These will be open to non-smokers as well, as part of a wider initiative about supporting lung health, and sessions will also be advertised online.
- We will be starting a women’s nature walking group using existing funding to provide a safe space for women to get out and about on a regular basis.
