News

What is ‘Wellbeing’? For our 3 sessions in September we have explore what wellbeing actually is and what we can do to help improve it. We looked at the 5 Ways to Wellbeing and how these might relate to nature: Connect – both with each other and with nature. Learn – with the natural world there READ MORE

Sunday 27th August 2023 A community farm (in every sense) When they talk about ‘community’ at Claver Hill, it means everything as well as everyone. What do I mean by this? Well, it was clear from our Wellbeing Walk around the space that it is very much managed with the natural community in mind. All READ MORE

A personal journey Why do I have a photo of a cat here? Well, this was my lovely old Soots when he was in his prime, but I had to say goodbye to him this weekend. Aside from the obvious heart-wrenching grief of losing a precious member of my family, it has made me realise READ MORE

Talk & Walk – Saturday 1st July A hidden gem in the heart of Lancaster The Talk The Talk portion of the day was delivered by Janet, a volunteer who has a wealth of knowledge about The Storey Institute and the Gardens.  Janet delivered a fascinating insight into the history of the site (the gardens READ MORE

Dog rose (Rosa canina). Image (c) Ros Jones As a June baby, I am perhaps a little biased that this is the best month of the year. This isn’t without merit, however, as I hope you will see from what I have gathered below. This is based on observations and questions from the Summer Nights walk READ MORE

Up close and personal with Visions of Landscapes On Saturday 15th April, artist Anita Burrows part of Higherford Mill Artists and I introduced some immersive walks in the beautiful Storey Gardens. This was in conjunction with the fantastic art exhibition, Visions of Landscapes, being held in The Storey.  Half-hour walks were given throughout the day offering READ MORE

The aim of this session was to introduce and learn some different bird songs, of both resident and summer migratory species. This can be quite tricky to do in practice, attempting to distinguish one ‘voice’ amongst the many. Even more so as some of the songs are complex and varied. To make it easier, we READ MORE

Saturday 4th February 2023 How to ID trees in winter This may sound obvious, but for me the starting point is always observation: Once you have an idea of some of these features, you can then start to identify your species. If you already have some knowledge, this observation alone might be enough for you READ MORE

Wonders of Winter Wet but wonderful Our walk started out in the beautiful Fenham Carr Nature Reserve at Williamson Park. Despite a persistent drizzle (which soon had us all pretty damp), our spirits remained high. There was wildlife everywhere we looked: Blue Tits, Great Tits, Coal Tits, Robins, Dunnocks and Blackbirds at the feeders. There READ MORE

Rainbows and Reed Buntings This was the first event in a new series of talk-walks was organised to boost wellbeing. We started with a discussion about kingfishers – their biology and habits, with questions from the group. This was followed by two short mindfulness exercises. The event culminated with a walk along the canal and READ MORE