Self care for nature lovers
It's self-care January and there are plenty of free things to do if you’re a Nature lover to make you feel great in yourself.
Here are some ideas -
• Take a walk through woodland.
Walk slowly taking in all the smells and sounds Breath deeply, slowing your heart rate increasing the dopamine
Look up and see the light breaking through the branches
Make plenty of stops so you can hear absolutely nothing but the sounds of birds or wind blowing through the threes.
• Discover plant identification apps If you’re like me I collected a huge amount of plants through lockdown, my house now looks like a small jungle! I also love plants in the wild too and on dog walks regularly come across species I haven’t seen before. There are some fantastic apps you can download to help identify these.
Nature id has a huge database of all things plants, it can also identify indoor plants too!
Picture mushroom can detect a mushroom species from a database of thousands worldwide, it uses pictures you take and can be used offline too.
Plant id for the iPhone allows you to take an image and look up via the photos app, this also works for animals too!
• Take a workshop I love a good craft, its a way to keep busy but still the mind at the same time, a few workshops great for nature lovers are - willow weaving, foraging, bushcraft or how about whittling?
• Go bird watching
Take a trip to your local hide, bring a camera or binoculars and watch birds in their habitat. To find your nearest hide get in touch with the RSPB.
Watch murmurations, in Wales you can see some spectacular murmurations however they can also be seen here on the south coast too with murmurations being spotted as close as Poole!
Seek out sea birds. Were so lucky to live by the coast and you can walk the coastal path from studland, along the Jurassic coast you’ll find many sea birds, some of which are endangered.
• Forage flowers and foliage...
Take a look at most verges and you will see cows parsley, ox eye daisies per ferns. Why don't you select a couple of bunches and display In vases around your home?
There’s no two ways about it nature is good for mind body and soul! We’d love to hear if you have any other self-care for nature lovers ideas! …
...Jen xx