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Woodland Wisdom

We are nature. Reconnecting to ourselves and the rest of the natural world. Nature connection and coaching - services and page in development. Events coming soon!

30/07/2026

On a rainy walk in the Lakes with my friend Esther, we stopped to listen to this wonderful oak tree tell us her story.

She told us of years gone by, when she'd been just a sapling and had grown strong through the rocky ground with the help of the networks beneath her.

That she'd built the foundations that would support her growth, despite the challenges.

Of the many creatures that had made their home in her trunk and branches, and of the others that had simply passed by. They all enriched her life, some in ways they were unaware of.

She told us that turbulent times had shaken her foundations and uprooted her, small threads clinging to life while she tried to rebuild herself.

And then how she'd kept growing. How she'd found the strength and resilience to use what she'd learned, the growth she'd already been through, and her underground community, to reroot and keep going.

I loved this reminder that growth doesn't need to follow a standard path. That feeling uprooted might be scary but isn't the end. That the support you have around you matters.

Thank you mother oak for sharing your beautiful wisdom 🌳💜

26/07/2026

Take 1 minute to listen to a waterfall in the rain 💦

I love watching the rain drops hit the leaves too. Absolutely mesmerising 💜

21/07/2026

When times are difficult, I find myself leaning into the rest of the natural world even more.

Learning her names and stories, marvelling at her beauty, letting her hold me.

Some recent plants I found. Aren't they pretty? 🌿💜

(In order: reed canary grass, heath spotted orchid, purple cranesbill, sun through hawthorn, sea holly, bird vetch, variegated nettle).

12/07/2026

If you want to spend more time connecting with nature, but don't know where to start, these Forest Power Cards are such a great help.

Each card has a beautiful illustration and an invitation. They come with a book which explains how to interpret each invitation, and how long to do it for, And a little cloth bag to put the cards and book in.

I love going into a natural space, pulling a card and focusing on that for however long the book says. If I'm tired it means I don't need to think up a way to consciously connect with the Earth around me, I just follow the instructions.

You could use them in your garden, in the local park, on holiday. They'd be really great for kids as well.

I've started taking them with me everywhere! This week's invitation was to notice the light and shadows, which I did through this beautiful Hawthorn. 🌳💜

https://forestpowercards.com/?v=d41d8cd98f00

04/07/2026

Just a little bunch of medicine.

Elderflower is one of my favourite smelling and tasting flowers, but it's also so full of goodness. Great for inflammation, allergies, respiratory health and so much more.

I love foraging for so many reasons, being outside, connecting with nature, but it's learning about her gifts that brings me the most joy.

I've had a slightly difficult relationship with some of my local plants this year, and making elderflower recipes has been challenging. That for me is part of the process though. Learning about plants. Letting them teach us. Letting them humble us.

Next year I will return to this beautiful flower so much wiser about her 💜

24/06/2026

I received this beautiful tune from a song thrush last night. Take a minute to pause and listen 🎶💜

20/06/2026

Busy times here recently but a couple of weeks ago I attended a wonderful forest bathing session with Georgie at The Wild Revival.

A guided forest bathing experience is one of the most heart opening couple of hours you can give yourself. In a world where doing more and going faster are praised, and rest feels like it needs to be earned, slowing down is the perfect tonic. Breathing with the trees is even better.

Georgie is a fabulous guide and her session was relaxing, insightful and just what my nervous system needed.

Full forest bathing sessions are comprised of a series of meditations and invitations to use your senses to connect with the nature around you in different ways. We felt the forest against our skin, took in its scents and moved around the woodland exploring.

And my favourite invitation, to find a tree that called to us and go and have a chat.

This majestic oak was leaning as much as it looks on the photos. So far in fact I was amazed she was standing and I marvelled at the strength of her roots, the resilience she must have to have weathered so many storms and keep growing.

I sat at the base of her trunk as the rain threatened to soak us both, grateful for her oxygen, her support, her wisdom. I left her two feathers and sung her a song in return.

I left the session feeling a bit emotional and very grounded. I never fail to feel better after a forest bath and I learn something during every session 🌳💜

06/06/2026

Just a bee on some catmint 🐝

Sometimes it's the little moments in the middle of a busy day.

There were lots of them today. Clearly catmint is a fave!

31/05/2026

Writing about trees is one of my favourite things ever, so it was particularly special for me that this week’s nature connection session was focused on what lessons and insights our postgrad researchers could get from the trees around us.

It feels ungrateful to complain about warm sunny days in the UK when we get so few of them, but I was particularly indebted to this beautiful Horse Chestnut (Aesculus hippocastanum) for providing such wonderful shade while I pondered her wisdom. With huge leaves and a dense foliage, I felt truly protected by this mature Aesculus, and thought about how many creatures might use her branches for their own shelter. Birds, insects and small mammals, hiding from the weather, from predators, making a home to raise their young.

I studied her leaves, the different shapes and sizes, the lack of symmetry, the blemishes that made each one unique. They were all still growing, and supporting the whole tree, reminding me that nothing in nature is perfect and that it doesn’t need to be.

Already fading were her huge candle-like flowers, soon to be transformed into the chestnuts that most of us know from childhood conker fights. And yet in the middle, that transformation is happening quietly and without ceremony, reassuring me that growth doesn’t always have to be loud. Often it goes on in the background, without anyone noticing, and that’s OK.

Horse Chestnuts are not native to the UK, and generally grow alone because they need a lot of light and space, and don’t share the mycorrhizal networks of our native woodlands. They often look to me like they’re standing guard, on a solitary mission the purpose of which only they know. While the underground community our trees create is undoubtedly one of the most special aspects of our natural world, I quite like that there is also room for species to contribute in different ways, however they are able.

One of the students this week reflected on how the tree she was studying was kind, because it allowed so many other creatures to live in it, and I think that applies to my tree too. I certainly felt very cared for during our time together 🌳

19/05/2026

When I was younger it was a crab apple tree in a playing field near my grandparents' house. Me, my brother and friend had a tree gang, I've forgotten the name of it.

We used to pick the apples, put them on sticks and see how far we could launch them across the stream. Bonus points if we hit one of the trees at the other side.

Do you have any favourite tree stories? I'd love to hear them if you do 🙏🌳

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