Carers in Nature

Spring 2024: Going deep into nature by Fred Miller

With the aim of enjoying time out in nature, at Longfield Wellbeing Centre, and at Stratford Park, our Carers in Nature group have been exploring bird life through ‘deep listening’ to bird calls and songs. Sitting and noting the direction of different sounds is quite meditative and absorbing.

At Stratford Park, thinking about the navigational skills of birds, we walked a trail and left a feather as a ‘sign’ at different ‘landmarks’, then found our way back, like a migrating bird.  We each explained why our chosen landmark was a good one: a tree with incredibly smooth bark, a view of the lake, a very prickly tree, an orangery with good memories. But one mysterious sense some migratory animals have that we cannot feel directly is the magnetic field that surrounds us!

And sharing nature at Longfield, in the gardens, we are now benefiting from the involvement of gardener and photographer Shelley Everett, who shows us seasonal delights such as flowering currants, bursting buds and her close-up photography of insects.

Autumn 2023: Carers in Nature by Fred Miller

Our fortnightly sessions continued at Longfield Wellbeing Centre. 

They give some sociable time-out in nature for those who give and receive care.  The sessions are jointly run by Fred of Stroud Valleys Project and Lorraine Trowers, who also runs The Place Outside CIC - a nature based practice for mental wellbeing. 

During late summer we collected seed heads. We combined them with sheep’s fleece into an artwork. The wool represented the animals that help to transport seeds in their fur, feathers and in their wings.

We also enjoyed observing the canopy of twigs overhead with a hand-held mirror (called a ‘sky-eye’), as we went under trees and bushes.

On another day, Lorraine took the group on a barefoot foray to enjoy the feeling of damp mossy grass. 

Summer 2023:

Summer sessions are now on…

Fortnightly sessions on Wednesdays take place at different locations:

Wednesday 19 July in Stratford Park in Stroud: 11am-12.30pm – Meeting point: Museum in the Park

Wednesday 2 August at Capels Mill in Stroud: 11am-12.30 pm – Meeting point: Waitrose entrance

….and continuing on alternate Weds; other locations can also be arranged (suggestions welcome). For further details and to book, please contact Fred Miller: fred@stroudvalleysproject.org or phone: 01453 753358 or 07794 066196.

Spring 2023: Enjoying the beauty of nature by Fred Miller

Being in Nature sessions at Longfield Hospice started again in the New Year with a focus on the light coming through the trees. Even on an overcast day it’s inspiring to look up at, and through, the varying shapes of silhouetted trees.

In a walk through the gardens, we collected thin stems and seed heads and made ‘twig windows’ to take home, to enjoy the light coming through.  

At our sessions at Capel’s Mill, we are starting to monitor the river flies in the Frome by doing ‘kick samples’ of the gravel near the footbridge.

This should tell us how healthy the river is, through the quantities of Mayfly and Caddisfly larvae present… it’s not bad so far!

Autumn 2022: We have been running our popular Carers in Nature group throughout the Spring and Summer of 2022. We run this project in conjunction with Gloucestershire County Council and Gloucestershire NHS Trust, and the idea is to give carers the opportunity to take a break and enjoy some time outside in nature.

You can come alone, or bring the person you care for, and we’ll support you to take part in some activities that will give you a fresh insight into the natural world – there are also plenty of opportunities for sitting, chatting and having tea!

Carers in Nature usually meets every other Wednesday afternoon in and around the Stroud area.

Past groups have enjoyed making infusions from foraged leaves, creating a birdsong soundscape, and getting active with conservation tasks to help with our other projects. These are only a few of a variety of activities that groups might take part in.

You don’t have to be registered as a carer to take part – anyone who spends their time looking after someone is welcome to join.

We also offer bi-weekly ‘Time with Nature’ sessions at Longfield Hospice, near Minchinhampton. The grounds of Longfield have gardens, trees and birdsong so here we can  listen, tune in to nature, gather, and just be.

We are always interested in finding new ways that we can bring these sessions to the carers that need them, so if you have any ideas you would like to share, please get in touch.

If you would like more information contact us on 01453 753358 or email sharon@stroudvalleysproject.org.