Sarah Walker is an accredited practitioner with the Institute of Outdoor Learning, with a BSc. Honours in Biological Sciences (Zoology) from Edinburgh University and over 10 years of teaching experience in environmental education. Under the name of Wild Willow, Sarah has produced a series of educational videos available online. Sarah writes:
‘During the pandemic, like so many folk, I found myself stuck at home and fed up. Getting out and about in the local park was, and still is, an important part of my family’s routine. Being outside in nature has always been one of our coping habits and our daily park visits helped us cope during the lockdowns too. We found ourselves noticing different details each day and we found that we could all appreciate these small details.
My daughter, who is 6, is always delighted when she can show us something new that she has discovered, I enjoy a mindful moment just observing, and my husband tries to photograph even the smallest details (or especially the smallest details!) with his phone’s camera. Over the winter months, we continued our park visits and I tried to capture what we did and what we saw’.
The result was a set of short videos called ‘Discover Winter Trees’. They are short, only 3-5mins long, and each one suggests a different detail that you can look for when you head outside. To access the videos for free, please click here
Sarah would be delighted to find out how other folk have used these videos and what they have spotted. You can let her know through the weblink above or on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/WildWillowNature
Thanks Sarah for sharing this excellent resource with us and we hope others will find it useful. For more ways to connect with nature from within the home check out our Bring the Outdoors InBring the Outdoors In resources.