I’m writing this on 3rd December which means we’ve already had 3 days of our Nature Advent(ure) Calendar.
During this first week of advent we’re setting the scene of what’s to come, and I want to take the opportunity to thank some of the people who have helped us out with this project at really short notice. A lot of them are longstanding members of the green volunteer network, others are people who we’ve roped in because of their particular area of expertise. THANK YOU to everyone who has participated in getting the project up and running and to all of you who are participating.
We started off with Scott from Eolas Outdoor Learning giving us some hints and tips about taking photographs of nature. Photography is a great way to take notice, something that Rachel from Other Ways to Walk talked about in her video explaining how looking for 3 good things in nature can be really helpful. I was lucky enough to take part in a short online workshop with Rachel a couple of months ago, an experience that really showed me how mindfulness in nature really can be taken online. If you’d like to experience that connection check out her meditation on a dandelion. As Rachel says in that video, connection with nature doesn’t have to take a special trip to the countryside, nature is everywhere and that’s what I love about Jackie’s Pavement Safari. So just to prove I’m following along, the picture above is of my 3 good things and includes my favourite photo from a recent pavement safari I took. The vibrant soft green moss really stood out against the hard black asphalt. As you can tell, the photo was taken on a slightly less wet day than today. As you probably know by now, rainbows are my thing, so I was thrilled when I got caught in a rainstorm the other day. OK, that’s a slight exaggeration, but it was worth it the moment the sun came out and I looked behind me to check for rainbows. Then last night, the rising moon was totally awesome. I’m sure my photography isn’t up to scratch but I was really happy to capture the branches in front of the hazy moon – and it really was hazy, it’s not just out of focus! Standing with my camera trying to get the picture really focused my mind too. Please do share any photos you are capturing this advent with us on social media.
By the time you read this our fourth video from David at RSPB Baron’s Haugh will be up on the advent calendar. Although due to lockdown he’s not at the reserve, he’s at his home – which is perfect really, as most of us are simply watching birds from the kitchen window or on a walk in the park. Talking of walking, Paths for All are encouraging us all to walk once a day this winter – sign up on their website to win prizes.
We’ve got more great content coming up over the next few weeks. From Tuesday 8th December it’s Woodland Week on the advent calendar. We get to go on a virtual woodland walk, see how a group of volunteers are making a difference to their local woods, there are festive decorations to be made from twigs and we even get to be a tree. Come and join us! You can sign up for our newsletter on the website and we’ll send you a weekly email about what we’re up this month. For those of you who are already signed up, please do check your junk mail folder as I know from experience that some messages are not getting through. Any questions please get in touch: sarah.burgess@vaslan.org.uk