Prompted by Nature

Hello! Welcome to Prompted by Nature series three episode seven. How have you been? I hope things are going well for you right now. This week I’m speaking with the wonderful Chloe Valeria Harmsworth, a nature writer and illustrator from St. Albans, Hertfordshire. Chloe uses her work to encourage others to engage in the natural world in a variety of ways and has been published in print magazines such as Breathe, Bloom, Be Kind and Oh magazine, and on websites and blogs such as Bloom in Doom, Creature Candy and Sustainable St Albans. Her work and art covers various environmental and conservation issues and explores how nature aids mental well-being. She was the Creative Manager and Editor of the latest issue (Volume 3) of Bloom in Doom Magazine, which is on the theme of 'Forests'. In this role she called upon her passion for nature and her experience as an educational publishing editor to commission articles, interview people such as Darren Moorcroft (CEO of The Woodland Trust) and me! You can buy the wonderful and fascinating issue by going to https://www.bloomindoom.com/shop In this conversation, we discuss: Her nature-centred childhood and how she came to be a nature writer and illustrator How her local natural space helped her to reconnect with her creativity and aid her mental health Creating a nature diary as a way of learning about wildlife and local biodiversity and how this led to writing articles and being published Why we should worry about knowing ‘all the things’ when engaging with the natural world Seeing the value you in your own work and finding your voice The importance of putting your own projects first Her writing process Her favourite memory of nature Valerie is currently writing a book about woodlands, which will describe the wonders you can see throughout each season in this magical environment and is due for publication in 2022. To find out more about this, her previous projects and articles, and to see her nature photography and art, visit https://www.instagram.com/chloevalerienatureart/ Many of her articles can also be seen at https://chloevalerienatureart.wordpress.com/writing/ Just a little note that for some reason the sound quality of this episode wasn’t great. I’ve worked some magic in the editing process to help it and it doesn’t get in the way of Chloe’s words but I wanted to mention it before we got into it. As always I’m over on www.promptedbynature.co.uk where you can find all of my writing prompts and blog post as well as news about my upcoming events such as a writing residential with the Field Studies Council. If you’re an Instagram user, I’m @prompted.by.nature and if you’d like to sponsor me for my 100k charity run in aid of the Sussex Wildlife Trust please go to my justgiving page www.justgiving.com/helen-forester123 I’m currently 26% towards my target and I’d love to have your support if you are able to spare a little money. If you enjoy this episode or any of the others, please rate and review it on whichever platform you’re listening on. As I mentioned I’m currently taking some time out from the meditation and writing prompts but rest assured that this will follow in the coming weeks. Happy listening and I’ll speak to you after!

Hello and welcome to series 3 episode 6 of Prompted by Nature. I hope this one finds you well. so we are finally emerging slowly from our third period of lockdown here in the UK and I’m thrilled that my in-person events are starting up again. If you are local to Brighton and Hove or Sussex, my forest-based creativity day retreat at back at the wonderful Wilderness Woods and I now have new monthly sessions at both forest and seaside locations down here in Brighton and Hove. Just pop to the website for more information and to book onto any of those. And if you are feeling a little lacking in inspiration, my Patreon is now in full-swing with the start of a 30-day writing project for April plus there are a number of other nature-inspired creative writing resources including write-with-me sessions there for you if you’d like to join the community. Subscriptions are £3-£9 per month. Just go to www.patreon.com/promptedbynature to find out more. So back to today’s episode. Today, I’m speaking with artist and illustrator, Jamey Anne Redway. I first saw Jamey on a Springwatch Instagram live in which she spoke about her love of the natural world and how she evokes this through her stunning illustrations. Jamey is a self-taught artist & illustrator based in the beautiful Suffolk, who has always taken inspiration from nature, as you will see throughout her work. She paints with watercolours and Indian ink, with the window open listening to the sounds of the Swifts during the Summer and the Tawny Owls in the Winter. Jamey is currently an MA Illustration student at Falmouth University. She works for the British Trust for Ornithology and is a Trustee for the Norfolk Badger Trust. In this conversation we discuss: Her work as an illustrator and her journey The part that storytelling plays in her work How she uses watercolours and Indian ink to create movement and to capture the ‘aura’ of the animal How art evokes conversation about the natural world and its conservation Art as communication and literacy The need for more support and encouragement for creatives When she feels at her most creative The place that mindfulness plays in her creative process Her creative self care practice What her journey thus far has taught her Her hope for the future This was such a lovely conversation and Jamey’s passion for her work and for the natural world is infectious. I know you’re going to love this one! You can find Jamey on her website www.jameyanndesigns.com and on Instagram @jameydraws or over on Twitter @jredway95 As always, I’m on www.promptedbynature.co.uk where you can find more information about my Patreon community, my upcoming events as well as my own writing and words. Remember to stay around until the end of the episode when I’ll tell you about the writing prompt that follows this conversation. Happy listening and I’ll speak to you after!

Hello and welcome to series three, episode five of Prompted by Nature. I noticed recently that I’ve had a few more listeners to the podcast so I thought I’d just say a quick hello and give thanks to the countries we now have tuning in each week. I’m Helen, nice to meet you! And hello to listeners in the following places (run through list). Even if you’ve only listened in once and never again, thank you for being a part of this community! So, back to today’s conversation. This week I speak with Medical Herbalist, Barbara Wilkinson of the Herb Society. Following a lifelong passion for health and nutrition, Barbara qualified as a Consultant Medical Herbalist in 2012. She is a member of the College of Medicine and Integrated Health, and runs The Springfield Clinic of Natural Healing in Cheshire. Barbara is an advocate of cultivating the use of plants in everyday life and keen to empower people with the confidence to embrace food as medicine. As well as running her own practice, Barbara is a Trustee for The Herb Society and has appeared as a guest speaker at numerous events and conferences. She has an allotment, where she grows produce that is used for medicines within the practice, and has worked with The Herb Society on designing gardens for the RHS Flower Show Tatton Park. In 2018, she appeared in the BBC’s coverage of the RHS Flower Show, as part of a special segment looking at fermented foods. She recently supported Horticulturist Alys Fowler in producing her new book A Modern Herbal. In this conversation we discuss: Barbara’s work and the part the her upbringing plays in her work Her grandparents and parents work running a temperance bar and how this influence her work Barbara’s personal connection to nature Her work with the Herb Society The importance of consultations in herbal medicine and working with a qualified herbal therapist Her advice for working with and growing plants How her work and creativity intersect What she wants to pass onto you And she speaks passionately about her hopes for the future Barbara is a font of wisdom and it was so lovely to learn about her relationship with plants and how this influences every part of her life. If you’re like to connect with Barbara, you can find her over on the Herb Society Instagram, where she posts about her allotment and information about how to grow herbs and plants as well as an abundance of wisdom about their therapeutic and medicinal value. The instagram is @theherbsocietyuk and website is www.herbsociety.org.uk As always you can find me on the website www.promptedbynature.co.uk where you can find all the information about my upcoming in-person events re-starting down here in East Sussex very soon plus my online classes. If you’d like to join the growing Patreon community, you can go to www.patreon.com/promptedbynature to find out more and sign up. Subscriptions are £3-£9 and you get a lot for your money! I’m on instagram @prompted.by.nature if you’d like to connect there. Remember to stick around until after the conversation to hear about the writing prompt that follows this. episode. Happy listening and I’ll speak to you after!

Hello! Welcome to series 3 episode 4 our Prompted by Nature. Spring is now officially springing and the sun has returned…kind of, although it’s still a little chilly, not quite t-shirt weather yet! In today’s episode, I’m so excited to share with you the conversation I had with Grace of Green Soul Grace last week. Grace Hull is an environmental educator who created Green Soul Grace, a personal blog, shop and podcast to explore what conscious living really means, in the most holistic, inclusive and accessible way, and Earth For All, an environmental education organisation. She takes pleasure in encouraging and facilitating folks to begin or further their journey of holistic sustainability, and in celebrating how our cultural heritage shapes our sustainable practices. I first fond out about Grace’s work via Instagram and bought a couple of her gorgeous cutlery wraps for my two children for when picnic weather comes again! In this conversation we discuss: Her work with Veolia and how it prompted her to set up Earth for All and Green Soul Grace The importance of consuming less, repairing, and reusing over recycling How redundancy and the passing of her mother gave her time to create something new for herself What ‘holistic sustainability’ is and how it informs her work and life The importance of representation and relatability in green, sustainable spaces The influence of her Grandmother in her work What Earth for All is and the motivation behind it The part that her creativity plays in her work Her connection to nature and how she uses this to help inspire others What she’d like to pass on and her hope for the future This was such a wonderful conversation and, really, I could have spoken to Grace for hours about her work! You can find Grace over on her social media @greensoulgrace, on her podcast of the same name, which you can find on Spotify, Apple and wherever you get your podcasts. Her websites are www.greensoulgrace.org on which you can also find her beautiful shop, and www.earthforall.org.uk where you can find out about Grace’s speaking gigs and her schools’ workshops as well as her business consultancy and longer term projects. As always, I’m over on Instagram @prompted.by.nature and on my website www.promptedbynature.co.uk where you can find out about my in-person events starting up again in April and my online offerings. If you’d like to join my Patreon, where I’ll be running writing projects, offering workbooks and e-zines plus a ton more, you can go to www.patreon.com/promptedbynature If you like the podcast, I’d love it if you’d subscribe and give it a five-star review, it all helps to get these voices and this work ‘out there’! Remember to stick around until the end when you’ll hear all about the meditation and writing prompt that follows this episode. Happy listening and I’ll speak to you after! —————————- Thank you so much for listening - I absolutely loved that! In the meditation and writing prompt that follows this episode we’ll be starting with the concept of ‘reduce, reuse, repair’ in all of its guises and seeing where it takes us! As always I’m sending you lots of love. Happy writing and I’ll speak to you soon.

In this meditation and writing prompt, I read through Stella's poem 'Inner Space' from the 'Whispers from the Elements' section of her most recent book 'Whispers from Mother Earth' (available from her website www.stellatomlinson.com). I then talk you through some of my own ideas for where you could take the poem and use it as a prompt for your own words and creativity. Please feel free to share your words with me either via the contact box on my website www.promptedbynature.co.uk or by connecting with me over on Instagram, @prompted.by.nature ---------- Inner Space from (Whispers from the Elements) by Stella Tomlinson Vast. Deep. Free. Oceanic. Limitless. Infinite Love. This is the space between my breaths… The space between my thoughts. I connect. I drop into this space. And all is well. Boundaries melt away. Tension dissolves. I am supported. Floating and buoyant on a sea of now. No beginnings, no endings. No comparisons. Just here. Just love. This space is always within me. I unlock the door with the key of stillness. I close my eyes and watch and feel the breath. Time slows…My mind expands…I dissolve. Pure consciousness expands within me and hold me in Her embrace. I am alive. At one. Spacious. Free. I feel You in this space. We are all here, where nothing divides us. --------------------------------- Happy writing! Helen x

As always, if at any point in the meditation you feel that your mind is running away from you or your thoughts are taking over and you can't come back to it by focusing on the breath and letting those thoughts pass, just stop and come back another time. <3  In this meditation, I talk you through a visualisation inspired by Rebecca's own practice.  The writing prompt is based on whatever comes through as a result of the visualisation.  Allow it to be a starting point for something that might end up being totally unrelated :-) Let me know how you get on! Happy writing! Helen x @prompted.by.nature www.promptedbynature.co.uk

Hello lovely!  I wanted to take a little opportunity to say hi and see how you are.  In this episode I talk mainly about the ways I've been keeping myself connected to my creativity and to nature in this time of disarray.  I hope my suggestions help. <3 Remember you can always find me over on Instagram @prompted.by.nature or on the website www.promptedbynature.co.uk where you can also book onto my weekly nature-inspired meditation and creative writing sessions. See you in a couple of weeks for series 3! Happy writing! Helen x

Hello lovely you! Welcome to series 2 episode 12 of Prompted by Nature. How are you this week? This week’s episode is my final conversation episode of 2020 although next week the tables will be turned when my amazing friend Priya Shah will be interviewing me, which should be interesting, as she’ll be asking me the questions that I usually ask my guests! I hope you’ll join us for that! But onto this week’s episode. Last week, I had the pleasure of speaking with the wonderful Lucy Groves of the Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust. Lucy is a conservation biologist working on a range of projects across Sussex and has an interest in animal behaviour, movement ecology and nature connection.  Lucy joined Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust in 2019 as Project Officer for the White Stork Project which is a multi-partner project aiming to restore the White Stork to Britain after a 600 year absence. Based at the Knepp Rewilding project in West Sussex, Lucy is responsible for coordinating partner organisations and release sites, post-release monitoring of the storks including movement data from GPS tracking and collation of sighting reports,  as well as delivering public engagement using the emblematic White Stork to drive nature connection in local and wider communities. A self-confessed nature nerd, small mammal lover, thread painter and Mum to a Little Owl, she is happiest when outdoors searching for British wildlife. In this conversation, we discuss: How she found her way into conservation biology Her experience of burnout and work-related mental health issues and how this led her to her work at Knepp Her connect to animals and fascination with animal behaviour How she came to be involved with the White Stork Project What the WSP involves The wonder of instinct in animals How she stays inspired How she stays motivated and how her experience with lyme’s disease forced to reassess her priorities in times of tiredness Her hope for the future and what her journey has taught her I first found out about Lucy work on BBC Springwatch when they showcased the white stork project at Knepp. I started following Lucy on social media and an absolutely fascinated by the journey of the storks and the work that Lucy and her team are doing. It was so lovely to hear more about the project and the wonderful things that we can do to help heal our planet and its wild inhabitants. You can find Lucy on Instagram and Twitter @lucyinthewild and can read all about her work with the white stork project on www.whitestorkproject.org As always I’m over on Instagram @prompted.by.nature and on the website www.promptedbynature.co.uk where you can sign up to my weekly online nature writing sessions, book in for any of my 2021 in-person outdoor writing and creativity sessions and retreats and buy gift vouchers for the nature lover in your life! And if you enjoy the podcast, please do share with your communities by sharing on social media or in real life. And please pop in a review and five stars wherever you’re listening if you can - every little helps get these voices and conversations out there. Remember to stick around until the end when I’ll give you a little insight into the meditation and writing prompt that follows this episode. Happy listening and I’ll speak to you after. ——————————— Wasn’t that so inspiring I hope you enjoyed it! In the meditation and writing prompt that follows this episode, we’ll be taking inspiration from the storks and creating a piece guided by their journey. As always, I’m sending you lots of love. Happy writing and I’ll speak to you soon!

Hello my love! Welcome to series 2 episode 11 of Prompted by Nature. How are you? How this week been for you? I’m not going to lie, this full moon has had me all over the shop - that of course, and the fact that we have a new house mate in our abode. We are over-wintering a baby hedgehog, Carrie, who was very poorly and underweight when she was found in a garden nearby on Halloween, and is now too young to hibernate so the lovely Carole, who runs the local hedgehog rescue group and who has been amazing in helping and advising me in setting up the Benfield Valley Project, asked if I wanted to look after her now that she is doing better. Suffice it to say, it feels like a huge responsibility, especially with hedgehogs being on the ‘at threat of extinction’ list, but she’s settling in well and we love her already! I’ll keep you posted as the weeks go on as to how she gets on. Anyway, onto today’s conversation. In this episode I speak with Anita Bagdi. Anita is a self-taught freelance illustrator, a book lover, coffee addict, Mum of two beautiful girls and a worried warrior of climate change. She loves creating mood, capturing everyday feelings, finding different, sometimes funny ways of telling stories and showing beauty in colours or in black and white. In this episode, we discuss: Anita’s inspiration and how she got started in illustration Her art as a way of understanding her eco-anxiety The conversations that her art brings up with her children Her personal connection to nature and her memories of her childhood in Hungary Her creative process and how she stays inspired Anita’s connection to Mothers Rise Up and Parent’s For Future and how this has influenced her creativity Her hope for the future What her journey has taught there that she would like to pass on As I mention in the conversation I first connected with Anita through the parent climate change group, Parent’s for Future, which we joined at the same time and then were part of the group who worked on the Open Letter to Boris Johnson calling for a ‘Green Recovery’ earlier this year. Anita shared a few things about her artwork in the WhatsApp group and I followed her on insta and was immediately enamoured by her use of colour, structure, and the powerful messages about our natural world in her creations. You can find Anita over on instagram @anitab_art or on her portfolio website, where you can find the link to her shop www.anitabagdi.com As always, I’m over on insta @prompted.by.nature or on my website www.promptedbynature.co.uk where you can find link to my Etsy shop, gift vouchers for my in-person outdoor retreats and creative writing sessions as well as information and bookings for my Monday night online nature-inspired meditation and creative writing sessions. Please do give the podcast a five-star review if you have time and share with your community on social media or in real life. Thank you to those who have already done this, it’s making a huge difference in getting the meditations, writing prompts and these voices ‘out there.’ Remember to stick around unit the end when I’ll give you a little hint at the meditation and writing prompt that follows this episode. Happy listening and I’ll speak to you after!

Hello! Welcome to series two, episode 10 of Prompted by Nature. I hope this one finds you well. It definitely feels like we’re well on the way to winter here in the UK, with cold snaps aplenty and lots of my favourite cold, crisp, sunny days I can spend outside. Today’s episode is all about the wonderful Marchelle Farrell, also known as @Afroliage on Instagram. Marchelle Farrell is a gardener, writer and mother, born in Trinidad and Tobago, but has spent the last 20 years attempting to become hardy here in the UK. She has worked as a consultant psychiatrist and psychotherapist in the NHS, and currently spends much of her time getting to know her country garden, and writing about the things the garden teaches her about herself. In this conversation, we discuss: Her relationship with and connection to her garden Allowing herself to listen to her garden What houseplants taught her about working with her garden The connection between her work in her garden and her work as a psychotherapist Gardening as a creative practice The importance of listening to the land The garden as a metaphor The need to face certain patterns in order to change them The garden as a transitional space And so much more - honestly, that summary doesn’t even scratch the surface of our chat! I first connected Marchelle after following her on social media and becoming inspired by the words and images she posts about her work with and relationship with her garden. As we discuss in the episode, Marchelle’s work has played a big part in my own learning and understanding of gardens as spaces of privilege as well as empowerment and her words around the place that colonialism plays in each of our relationships with nature and green spaces have deepened my own understanding of the role I can play in helping to dismantle the systems that we have all, in one way or another, inherited from our ancestors. Marchelle is humble, wise and always thought-provoking and I’m so grateful to her for agreeing to be a part of this podcast. You can find her on her Instagram, where she posts images of her garden accompanied by the insights that come from her work in it, on @Afroliage and you can also sign up to her wonderful newsletter through the link in her bio there. As always, I’m on @prompted.by.nature on Instagram or or your can find me over at my website www.promptedbynature.co.uk where you can sign up for my weekly online nature-inspired meditation and creative writing sessions (bit of a mouthful!) and find out more about my work. Remember to stick around until the end of the episode, when I’ll give you an insight into the meditation and writing prompt that follows the conversation.  Happy listening, and I’ll speak to you after! ————————————————— Thank you so much for listening - wasn’t Marchelle just wonderful! In the meditation and writing prompt that follows this episode, you’ll be looking into your own relationship with green spaces and asking questions around how you (and I!) can listen more deeply and play a bigger role in ensuring that nature is an enriching and accessible space for us all. As always, I’m sending you lots of love.  Happy writing, and I’ll speak to you soon!

In this meditation and writing prompt I invite you to get yourself into an outdoor space, or somewhere you can see the sky, to spend time gazing softly at the passing clouds, the shifting light and the creatures that dwell in that space. In this explanation I mention the free meditations that now sit on my website.  You can find them here: www.promptedbynature.co.uk/free-meditations  I hope they are of use. I'd love to hear how you get on. Enjoy! Helen x

A solo episode in which I discuss my own creative exhaustion and just some of the ways I help my body and mind recover from the times when I've pushed them just that little bit too hard! I have a new weekly online nature-inspired meditation and writing session starting every Monday 8-9.15pm.  More information here:  https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/nature-inspired-meditation-and-creative-writing-class-tickets-127694857757  Find me on Instagram @prompted.by.nature or on my website www.promptedbynature.co.uk Happy writing!  Helen x