Reflections on the Perspectives of Nature Conference

On December 8, 2023December 8, 2023 By EmmaLeave a comment

Notes on the importance of collaboration and connection.

Last Friday on the 1^st of December I was standing on a stage at the Creative Centre at York St John University in the heart of York and something magical happened. As I read aloud my observations of the natural world on stage, a musical score began playing, bringing my words to life. I was participating in an event called Perspectives of Nature, a collaboration between myself, Ewan East (Currently studying for a PhD in Music Composition) and Alice Baxter (Currently studying for a Practice based PhD Fine Art and Contemporary Poetry) .

_{Me and Ewan opening the Perspectives of Nature event.}

Last February I and a group of nature writers (from the Naturewrights collective) produced some written observations of the natural world for composer Ewan East. Ewan was was looking for inspiration to compose a collection of music that drew on the natural world and took the listener on a journey of their own creation, travelling through the music to different areas of the country to experience observations of nature.

_{My piece of writing and Alice’s art. The iPads played the musical score for each piece of work giving the viewer a rounded experience of the moment.}

Ewan took our words and translated them into a musical score called Journey. He then asked artist Alice Baxter to take the music and words and translate them into Art. The end result was a beautiful and 3D collection of music, words and art that recreated the awe of interactions with the natural world and that we showcased at the event Perspectives of Nature, which was beautifully curated by Simon Ellwood. Journey showcased encounters that in our busy modern lives we so often fail to notice. The music touched my soul, a visceral moment of awe and spirit brought to life.

Alice’s art touched my heart, abstract patterns and colours, patterns etched onto board with paint and mixed media that transported me back into nature.

I started teaching Nature writing during 2015 after I left a very stressful role in the NHS. I offered my services on a voluntary basis to teach ecotherapy nature writing to support people struggling with mental health illness to make a deeper connection to the natural world as part of a recovery journey. When I started running the classes I had a love of both writing and nature but had no formal training in either. However, through the months and years of running the class I found that using writing as a tool to connect people to the landscape transformed both mine and my class participants connections with the natural world, and opened up how much nature can play a huge part in our lives – even living in a city.

*_{The panel of Naturewrights writers and Ewan East}*

Leading the ecotherapy class and using narrative to explore themes of nature, such as the beauty of nature in the dark winter months started to open up a world of exploration. Through storytelling and creation I became curious about so many natural wonders and my sense of awe and connection increased. That journey led me to complete an MA in creative writing and now a practice led PhD. My PhD is looking at the desperate need for humanity and compassion to be at the forefront of mental health care. I am writing a novel that takes the reader through a mental health experience, demonstrating that good mental health is about spirit and connection, so much of which is stripped out by clinical processes and environments. Somewhere we have lost who we are, and we have lost our roots. Continued engagement with nature writing and collaboration has been key to keeping my own mental health in balance whilst studying this theme.

Something beautiful happened at the end of the conference. A friend who has been struggling with depression sat with me in the audience to watch Michael Malay read from his amazing book Late Light. My friend said to me at the end of the performance that being part of the event had been like being part of a community for the day, and that he felt there was something that he could take away in terms of connecting to nature independently, but still feeling connected to others as part of that relationship.

Nature is providing me with the opportunity to re-engage with others in a way that celebrates awe and wonder of the world. I wonder if more people engaged in this way how differently we would spend our time and consume things in this world?

One of the most wonderful things that has happened time and again since I have been teaching nature writing is that I have been approached by students who say:

‘It’s not the same now Emma, I have to introduce my family and friends to walk like you, they just want to rush by everything.’

What they mean by that is that by spending time noticing, they have formed a connection and a curiosity that wasn’t there before.

I engage with nature as an act of non-violence and stillness, a spiritual experience which can be as simple as a nod to the trees that line the river on the cycle path to work, or the moment of noticing two blue tits hopping from branch to branch in the honeysuckle that is growing from a pot in my city back yard. I spend time writing and creating art out in nature, a meditation on my place in the world and my connection to the landscape. I recently read a fascinating blog post by Ellen Vrana in The Examined Life called Stillness As Art in Times of Chaos: Toni Morrison on Art as Human Necessity.

Vrana has drawn on the writing of Toni Morrison and others to investigate how we react to chaos and trauma. Varma discusses the way that Toni Morrison has described an answer to violence and chaos as stillness, the act of creating meaning and understanding. This was echoed during our conference by Anita Sethi who read form her book I Belong Here: A Journey Along the Backbone of Britain in which Anita describes how a racial attack on a train led her to walk The Pennine Way as a way of reconnecting with the landscape in which she belongs and as a stance against the violence that she experienced against her.

Collaborating as artists gave me the sense of bringing together and communicating something essential. A translation of the natural world into something beautiful and engaging that hopefully was an awakening or a heightening of that sense of awe and connection for others that attended the event.

Today I teach freelance nature writing for the Field Studies Council alongside leading a project called Converge which aims to support people to re-access education to reclaim identity and human spirit.

_{Some of the Naturewrights collective. (Left to right: Gurnam, Nicky, Berenice, Sarah and me)}

Continued connection with nature is essential to me as part of keeping me well and grounded, if you are interested in engaging with the work that we produced you can experience Journey here. Last Friday was the first time that I had met with the writers from the Naturewrights collective in person, we have been working together online after the group originally formed from one of my first cohorts of students with the FSC. The Perspectives of Nature conference has opened up my eyes to how much more can be done to re-connect people with the natural world through the arts and humanities, and to the raw and beautiful power of creativity in giving a voice to so many and to our experiences in the world.

Thank you to Ewan for making this event possible and creating such inspirational music to accompany our pieces of writing and to Alice for the beautiful art work and to Simon for helping us to curate the event and to make it happen.

With huge thanks also to:

William Davidson for chairing the Perspectives of Nature Panel.
Claire Hind for chairing the contributions.
Michael Malay for his brilliant end note speech and reading.
Anita Sethi for sharing her work.
Max Stephens - Performing Seasons

Contributors:
Dr Carolyn Drever
Berenice Tregenna
Amy Ertena
Stephen Jackson

Last but not least - my wonderful Naturewrights contributors:
Nicky Hutchison
Christine Surridge
Berenice Tregenna
Sarah Drysdale
Dr Carolyn Drever
Kate Ruth
Debra Williams
Steven Songhurst
and Gurnam Bubber for joining us to read Steven’s work.

All the Gear and No Idea…

On November 11, 2023 By EmmaLeave a comment

As a teenager I had a Saturday job at a surf shop. To be fair, it was more that a family friend humoured me- I didn’t do much work! I loved hanging out on the beach and helping out hiring out the surf boards and wetsuits. My sister was an avid surfer (actually making it on to the British surf team at one point), but I’ve always preferred drinking tea and cuddling the cat (a young fogey as my 90 year old friend lovingly calls me). But I did understand what I was talking about, I knew something about surfing and the geography of the beach. Occasionally you would get someone turn up with ‘all the gear and no idea’ as we would say. Keen as mustard, but before giving it a proper go has splashed all the cash on the image rather than learning the skill.

So….that’s how I’ve felt owning a very fancy Plein Air painting box. It was gifted to me by my Dad a few years ago, when he (like me) decided the comfort of his sitting room was more appealing than standing outdoors for long hours. He had never really used the box, other than the simple pleasure of kitting it out, filling out the little satisfying trays and dreaming about all the wonderful art that he might create.

The box has sat dormant in my house. A layer of cobwebs lining the grooves, the metal trays inside shop bought new and gleaming. A pristine layer of kitchen roll lining one, and a dried up roll of masking tape in another. I’ve been worrying that my skill level isn’t good enough to use it and instead spent at least four years dreaming about ‘one day’ when I might be ready.

So this morning, I was brave, I cleaned the box up, removing some shrivelled spiders in the process. Knowing I had an afternoon to kill while my son is at a Forest school, and also knowing I could paint in privacy – away from the judgement – I decided to christen the box and give it a go.

I can now proudly say, I have the gear… and some idea. Still a way to go, but I thoroughly enjoyed every minute 🙂 I am going to finish the painting at home, I will post it up here when I do along with some of the things that I learnt in the process, in case anyone else is gearing up to give it a go.

Plein-air painting, a lesson in bravery.

On September 3, 2023September 3, 2023 By Emma1 Comment

It’s been well over two years since I’ve taken out my acrylics or oils.

There’s also a big difference between painting from a photograph to painting a scene outdoors in situ. Today we visited Pool Bridge Farm for some wild swimming and I took my acrylics to dive back in head first to painting.

The hardest thing about painting outside is other people’s curiosity. I try and see it as a positive thing, but when you put down your undercoat and first blocks of shadows – it can be quite daunting when passers by are giving you funny looks (work down the pics to the last one – which is the first stage of my painting!).

Final sketch (I used titanium white for final highlights – which in hindsight was a bit much, I was going to work into it further at home, but sadly some of the paint stuck tog on the journey home and tore the sketch).

I’m always very heavy handed with oils and acrylics – I had also forgotten how quickly acrylics dry (note to self look into products to extend drying time).

I’m pleased I did it though. Painting for me – isn’t about being gallery worthy, it’s about relaxing and absorbing a scene, appreciating every detail.

It’s amazing how tiring it is trying to concentrate on painting. It makes you appreciate the skills of great artists who spend hours in the studio. This kept me entertained for well over an hour. At the end I reverted to my pen to add some finer details as this was just a sketch.

I’m glad I did it, and also glad I braved the icy waters for a dip, although I’m going to have to build up some tolerance again!

End result:

1st stage of painting, using an undercoat – which next time I would lighten, and blocking out shadows with an old credit card.

Braving the icy waters with my daughter 🙂

Crow Encounters…

On August 5, 2023August 22, 2023 By Emma1 Comment

I’m running a creative writing course in September on The Folkore and Mythology of Wild Birds. I have long been fascinated by the wild birds in the UK. The course will aim to inspire creative writing through learning about Gaelic folklore amongst others.

I have had some fun encounters with crows in particular. A good friend has been adopted by a crow that she has nicknamed Bobby. Bobby flies to greet her on her dog walk every day.

There is also a fantastic crow nicknamed Captain Jack, a jackdaw, which was hand reared by the owners of Pool Bridge Farm wild swimming lakes. He loves nothing more than landing on your head when you are swimming across the lake or jumping onto your lap. You have to watch out though, he has an eye for sparkly things and I’ve heard about an engagement ring and hearing aid recently stolen and deposited in the lake!

If you are interested in booking on my course the details are on my courses / tuition page.

My daughter and I have been sketching crows!

Getting pecked by Bobby

Getting back to Nature…

On May 17, 2023May 17, 2023 By EmmaLeave a comment

I recently wrote this book review of Woman in the Wilderness by Miriam Lancewood- so I thought I would share it here, so that if like me you are often trapped indoors, when you would rather be out adventuring – this is a little slice of happiness to dip into as you please.

‘If I really know what it is to live in the great Dao, then it is above all busy-ness that I fear.’ (Lao-tzu)

‘What do you think that means?’ I asked Peter, reading it out loud.

‘Well if you are busy, you’re occupied. Then it’s very easy to lose awareness. Without busy-ness there is time and space to look at yourself, to find a way out of your mental prison.’
Lancewood, 2017

Woman in the Wilderness is the memoir of Miriam Lancewood, a woman who has spent her adult life living in the wild with her partner Peter Raine. Miriam met Peter when she was travelling in India as a young woman aged 21. Peter, 30 years her senior, had already been living and travelling in India for five years, having previously completed a PhD in environmental studies and working as a full time lecturer in New Zealand before giving up everything to travel. Today he describes himself as a writer and philosopher and has been heavily influenced by philosophers such as Friedrich Nietzsche. Miriam completed a degree in physical education and had spent a year working in Zimbabwe before travelling to India, she had also been a top performing athlete in pole vaulting. The pair formed a strong partnership and travelled together across eight mountain ranges in the Himalayas and then spent many years travelling through South East Asia, including Papua New Guinea , before eventually returning to Peter’s native home of New Zealand. With Miriam’s physical abilities and strength and Peter’s calm and philosophical outlook on life they make an intriguing couple with many shared skills that have given them the ability to adapt through many challenges.

Woman in the Wilderness details six years of their travels, focusing specifically on living wild in New Zealand. Reading it filled me with an inner sense of peace and calm. Despite them facing challenges of survival, what this book does really well is to hold up a mirror to modern life, looking at it through fresh eyes. Miriam describes with energy and enthusiasm her love of the outdoors, the feeling of freedom and happiness she experiences when exploring and the way that time stretches when there is nothing to do but get through one day at a time.

‘Can you imagine a way of life so quiet, so timeless, so abundant and full that watching a single leaf fluttering from the trees, lifted into the air by a little breeze, turning silver in the sunshine in the sunshine is meaningful? ( (Lancewood, 2017, p. 88)

Miriam also fills the book with beautiful sharp imagery, such as this small observation of a hare:

‘Its ears would lie flat on its back, its body would take the shape of an arrow and it would effortlessly fly at tremendous speed straight up a steep slope.’ (Lancewood, 2017, p. 200)

When Miriam and Peter travel into populated areas to stay with friends between trips and to re-stock, they question what they see. The frenetic pace of modern life, the strange habits, rules and time schedules of society, the constant pressure, and burdens that we give to ourselves, the effort of interaction when so many expectations are placed on us. It makes you question materialism and how much we actually need, compared to what we think we need, to be happy. The thing that I enjoyed most however, is that they are not purist in their views, they can appreciate a comfortable armchair, enjoy using the internet when it is available to them, relish taking a hot shower when possible, but they don’t take anything for granted and greet everything with curiosity and contemplation.

Dipping into this book over the Easter holidays I felt like I was seeing the world with fresh eyes, although I won’t be moving into the wilderness just yet, it made me appreciate the very simplest of things, sitting out in the sunshine with the cat purring on my lap, a newly opened tulip, an affinity to the natural world. Miriam describes everything in our houses as dead, when everything outdoors is living and breathing. I appreciate what she means by this.

‘Nature provides all the living beings with everything we need to exist in this world,’ Peter said. Air, water, gravity, light, ground, soil, food-everything. Even well-being is provided by nature and beauty.’ (Lancewood, 2017, p. 114)

Reading the reviews for this book some people expressed disappointment that Miriam doesn’t detail practical skills such as starting a fire when the wood is damp, or navigating wild spaces. Some people also commented that the story became monotonous because nothing major happened. I didn’t feel this way at all, in fact I found it hard to put the book down. I felt that Woman in the Wilderness was the perfect combination of adventure and philosophy, it hit the nail on the head of so many of my own thoughts and values and each chapter helped me step into the natural world that I so often crave to experience.

It has inspired me to live more simply, to follow my intuition and above all to continue seeking time in nature, and if I can’t be in nature to connect to the natural world through writing and drawing, something I am very grateful to the Naturewrights group to inspire me with daily.

To read this book is also to appreciate that we are ourselves just natural beings, and sometimes we need a reminder to slow down, to focus on what is really important and to allow ourselves the time to just ‘be’ in the moment.

‘I understood that we’re so focused on becoming that we miss being, and being is where we all are.’ (Lancewood, 2017, p. 187)

References

Lancewood, M. (2017). Woman in the Wilderness: My Story of Love, Survival and Self Discovery. London: Piatkus.

*Here is my confession – I first stumbled across Miriam and Peter on Channel 5 – on an episode of New Lives in the Wild with Ben Fogle of whom I am a huge fan. They were the most intriguing couple that I have seen on this show, which made me want to find out more, hence how I stumbled across Miriam’s book, a highlight on the show is her making Ben Fogle wash his hair in his own wee! (Sorry Ben – but it was funny!)

You can read more about Miriam here: https://miriamlancewood.com and Peter also has a webpage: https://peterraine.wordpress.com/

A Brush with the Devil

On March 13, 2023March 13, 2023 By EmmaLeave a comment

Anyone that has learnt to drive will have that one place that instilled the type of fear into them that might make them tempted to pull into the side of the road abandon the car and resign yourself to a life of walking.

Mine was the Devil’s Elbow, a tight hairpin bend on a steep gradient in the middle of the North Yorkshire Moors on the A169 road to Whitby. I remember chugging along age 18 in my first car, a Sunbeam Talbot, that rattled and clanked along the road. I would brace myself approaching the bend, dropping gears to chug up the hill, willing my little car to get to the top, willing myself to negotiate the gears and steering, petrified of stalling and a having to do a terrifying hill start, trying hard to ignore any cars stuck behind me in my retro vehicle, terrified of the car in front of me stalling and making me stop.

The reason for navigating this awful bend – The Devil’s Punch Bowl – otherwise known as The Hole of Horcum a spectacular spring-sapping formed basin on the Levisham Moor, formed over thousands of years by the process of natural erosion from springs flowing across the moor and carving out the basin, the process is still in action today.

I chose this walk as part of a blind selection of walks – chosen at random for a bit of fun. Driving across from York I was filled with apprehension, the weather was grey and bleak, reminding me of childhood car journeys in thick fog across the moors, scared to death that we would break down, cheering when we saw the headlights of another car approaching. The foreboding is always heightened further by the legendary Saltersgate Inn (now demolished) which sits at the bottom of the Devil’s Elbow twist in the road. It was rumoured to be haunted following the sinister murder of a customs and excise officer who, after discovering smugglers, was hit over the head with a rock and buried under the fireplace which was then kept continuously lit for 200 years!

I was so glad we went ahead with our plans and didn’t back out. Once we dropped into the Devil’s Punch Bowl we were greeted with swathes of snow and sheltered from the wind. By the time we came back up onto Levisham moor the sun was out giving us spectacular views of the vast landscape.

Down in the valley the trees were dripping with melting snow and covered in beautiful lichen formations.

My favourite story about the Devil’s Punch Bowl is the legend that it was created by the Giant Wade after he became frustrated with his wife and threw a load of earth at her! Thankfully my marriage is on much better terms and the only thing thrown by us and the kids was a load of snowballs.

A note about recovery from mental health illness….

On January 5, 2023 By EmmaLeave a comment

(A little detour away from nature based writing!)

I’ve been working in mental health recovery services for over 20 years.

I’ve spent the last 3 years researching mental health impacts in relation to the stories that we tell about ourselves and how we are perceived in Western culture once we have a diagnosis.

Here is something important that I have learnt:

It doesn’t matter what symptoms, diagnosis or treatment are delivered, the key to recovery is being treated with kindness, compassion, empathy and allowances being made for human fragility.

If people are treated as ‘otherly’ because of a mental health diagnosis they will continue to experience a crushing of spirit that is detrimental and permanently damaging to mental health.

We have few words in our culture for spirit. We often spend time focusing on our physical well-being, but barely any time is spent on our inner wellbeing as part of a normal routine and life style.

Imagine instead of paying a membership for a gym to workout your body, you paid a membership to take care of your soul. My mind gym would have relaxation suites, wifi free areas, spa rooms, confidence building classes, nap cafes, pet therapy, free talking services for validation of difficult times and counselling….all under one roof as part of a normal life style! It would be open to everyone, as after all – we all have physical health / we all have mental health and we all have the potential to experience ill health in either of these areas.

What would your soul gym include ? What words do you use to describe your inner self and spirit? Would you ever take a mental health day off sick as readily as a day off for physical health?

I’m genuinely interested to know!

Winter Solace

On January 3, 2023January 3, 2023 By EmmaLeave a comment

A New Year collection of writing celebrating the winter months.

Is anyone struggling with the cold damp weather? It’s so easy to feel dragged down by it and to trudge around with our heads down focusing only on placing one foot after the other; however if we stop to notice and observe – there are so many beautiful things around us in the natural world to notice.

This was the theme for a workshop that I ran in October with fellow writer Nicky Hutchison. Nicky creates and produces her own books which are beautifully hand-bound. We invited all workshop participants to submit their work for inclusion in a Winter Solace themed book as part of the NatureWrights online community involvement.

We are very proud of the result. Nicky will be making more of these publications to go on sale to the public soon!

Our resident artist Sharon Williamson did a really beautiful job of creating the art for the books. We are excited to run more workshops like this in the future 🙂

Happy New Year Everyone!!

Autumn / Winter 2022

On November 6, 2022December 23, 2022 By EmmaLeave a comment

Autumn 2022 started with a visit to Scotland, sadly for a family funeral. The weather was bleak, wind and torrential rain when we arrived but by the end of the visit we were walking on the beach in sunshine watching the seals. My other half was channeling his Scottish ancestors with a beard and guernsey, not at all bothered by the storms.

As a family we have been weathering a few curve balls, sickness, bereavement, personal challenges. Hence why it has been quiet on here. I’m limping along with my research study and have some exciting developments with my nature writing freelance work (more to follow).

A much needed trip to the North East coast to see my best friend and her beautiful greyhounds was a moment of joy, a hoar frost had settled on the surrounding landscape, which brought an ethereal beauty to our walks.

Sending everyone well wishes for Christmas and New Year.

Lets hope that 2023 is a good year 🙂

The Green City of Bath…

On October 27, 2022October 27, 2022 By EmmaLeave a comment

Before I set off for a half term adventure to Bath my friend lent me a little trug for tired little dachshund legs. A little beach trolley that we could pull our dog around in, should she decide to give up on walking. (Which is quite frequent.)

Let me explain, it’s not that she is ill, or arthritic …. we own a ‘cat’shund, a dog who thinks she is a cat. Unlike a normal dog that gets excited when you eagerly say ‘walkies’, our dog looks at you, rolls her eyes and raises a flippant paw, as if to say ‘no thanks, you go on dear, have a lovely time’ before readjusting her lounging position on the sofa.

The Roman Baths – I was very impressed with the organisation of the museum. Not too much info overload, spot on to engage adults and children.

So it was with trepidation that we set off on our city break, with my husband taking the gung ho attitude of ‘she’s a bloody dog! I am not pulling her round in a trolley!’.

Needless to say the last few days have been what we term ‘divide and conquer’, this used to be reserved for our two children, with a three year age gap. Now it’s teen activities / versus dog activities.

Finding dog friendly green spaces we discovered that Bath is one of the most beautiful and green cities that we have visited. Golden sandstone Georgian town houses, are gathered in terraced rows, proudly sitting against a vista of rolling hills and trees.

Gorgeous Autumn leaves, taken from our basement flat and both parks.

The streets are peppered with antique shops, bric a brac finds and quirky outlets, we are all coming home with a few vintage finds. After a ten mile walk on Tuesday, in which we strayed out of the city and found Prior Park (National Trust site), and then yesterday the Royal Victoria Park with its gorgeous botanical gardens, we thought the dog would have given up. However it turns out the sight of a squirrel can re-ignite some inner canine hunting instinct and spark a burst of energy big enough to put a race horse to shame.

She still had her moments though, which luckily for us meant a good excuse to frequent some gorgeous coffee shops and long lazy pub lunches. Her doleful eyes ensured lots of treats from cafe owners and even a carry from one of the teens. Especially after we stumbled across this smug pair:

A very dog friendly city, I highly recommend a visit. Not sure if the ‘cat’shund would agree, she is looking forward to getting back to her beloved sofa and blankets, but we will definitely be returning in the future.