Pictures from today's foraging and wild food cooking masterclass led by Robert Fallon.
The fire lit, the sun was shining. We learned to make nettle pesto, wild pigeon medallions, chestnut flour pancakes and elderflower amber. So much delicious wild food and learning packed into a morning. Some feedback and pictures from yesterday's Embodied Wild Swimming workshop, facilitated by Vicky Cuming. An exploration of our personal relationship with the sea, with a guided swim and fire after.
"a gentle and grounding experience which has instantly made me feel more at ease and comfortable in the sea and I swam further from the shore than I ever had" "This session will stay with me - for all the right reasons, loved it, thanks!" Shinrin-yoku is Japanese for 'forest bathing': immersing yourself in a forest to experience the healing benefits of Mother Nature at her best.
Researchers in Japan and South Korea have established a robust body of scientific literature on the health benefits of spending time under the canopy of a living forest. The idea is simple: if you visit a wood and walk in a relaxed way there are calming, rejuvenating and restorative benefits. It's believed that the trees in a forest emit natural aromatherapeutic effects from the essential oils in the wood - an actual 'magic in the air' - that you inhale over an extended period, causing you to feel calmer, energised and relaxed. Have you tried forest bathing? Good vibes, sunny weather and impressive gardening skills from a great group at our Mindful Wild Gardening session yesterday: clearing beds, making space for plants and trees, and a veritable feast round the fire after.
When we garden, we connect to the earth, and other living beings and sensory organisms. Gardening is centring, it’s grounding, it’s slow - it feels good to make space for this in our modern lives. This year I decided I need to swim more.
I run and do yoga, but my low back is hurting, and lots of people say swimming is good for that. My work is changing too, and because of that I’m looking more closely at how much I spend. To save paying £4.25 every time to swim at my local pool, the King Alfred, after 10 years of living in Hove I finally wake up to an open secret: the sea's at the bottom of the road, and it’s free. |
Author & CuratorNigel Berman is the founder of School of the Wild. Archives
March 2024
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