Forest Walk

(Forest Bathing)

Designed for families to have a great time wilding and reconnecting as a family.  The activities are creative and sensory but at the same time playful and a great way to spend time outdoors having fun. 

The walk will be presented into five sensory sessions where you are invited to connect with nature and then share your experience if you wish.

The walk will end with a chance to try a wild tea.

Wild Herbal Tea Experience

Tea has always been seen as a calming experience and the ritual of making and sitting down for a cup of tea is understood to be beneficial to our mental health. There is both reassurance to be found in the making process and warmth and comfort derived from the drinking.

Our small and wild tea session takes this experience one step further.   Before sitting down to enjoy the tea ritual the family will be invited to collect botanticals from nettles, dandelions to roots, leaves and herbs with which to make the tea.   You will be provided with a list of ingredients that may be collected with their known benefits to encourage education through play.  Families will create their own ‘family tea recipe’.

The smell and tastes of herbal teas can be an amazing psychological regulator.  Soothing smells can regulate someone who struggles to feel calm such as lavender, chamomile, peppermint.  We also find that as the children have helped with the collection of the ingredients and feel part of the ‘family’ they are more willing to taste the result of their work.

The ritual of the tea-making provides a structure to allow us to feel safe to share.  The seeping (brew time) extracts antioxidants, caffeine, flavors, and aromas from the tea. With hot water, it takes up to 5 minutes to brew a good cup giving the families time to be guided on how to drink a cup of tea mindfully. 

Nature Scavenger Hunts

Scavenger hunts are one of the best ways to bring kids into the present moment and get them off their screens.  It encourages children to use and develop their observation skills because when they are hunting for treasures they pay more attention to their surroundings and notice things they may have missed otherwise.  It is a wonderful way to help youngsters increase their awareness of the environment.

The hunts will change with the season and you will be given a route and a Nature Hunt List to complete.  Other suggestions include taking a magnifying glass on your scavenger hunt to help children to investigate their finds or a camera or smart phone to record the finds and then perhaps write up the experience after. Share with them when they see intricate patterns, subtle colour changes and interesting textures as their awareness of the environment around them grows.

Natural Art Session

A self-guide session where you and the children will choose a project from a choice of 5 natural art ideas.

Head out into the campsite and surrounding woods and see what natural items you can discover lying on the ground.  Collect them together and have a go at making your very own natural art using the collected sticks, leaves and petals and twigs.

Paints, glues and felts will be provided, experiment with different techniques and see what you come up with!