Prompted by Nature

Hello, welcome to series 6, episode 5 of the Prompted by Nature podcast.  I’m your host, Helen, and this is the final episode for some time.  I’ve made the difficult decision to put the podcast on ‘indefinite sabbatical’ so that I can be more present and consistent with my writing.  I have a short solo episode coming up to talk about it but you can get all the updates on my Substack newsletter.  Just search ‘Prompted by Nature’ on the app or website. Onto today’s episode.  Today, I’m speaking with Lucy Power from Rowanbank Environmental Arts & Education.  This is a conversation we actually had before the summer and with summer holidays taking me away from anything other than my kids it fell by the wayside a little.  I’m so happy to be releasing it now though as it’s full of hope and creativity. Lucy is the director of Rowanbank.  Rowanbank Environmental Arts & Education CIC is a social enterprise, combining science with the arts to bring people together to enjoy and learn how to better care for their environment.  They engage people in an imaginative and inclusive way, helping them to connect with and experience the magic of nature. Lucy is a Climate Ambassador with Climate Outreach, and has been awarded a Churchill Fellowship in creative climate communication and education. Lucy is a qualified Forest School Leader and an EcoHomes and BREEAM Assessor. Lucy is also an aerial performer and teacher for All or Nothing Aerial Dance Theatre and Dance Base, Scotland’s national centre for dance.  Lucy has worked successfully with schools, community organisations, government agencies and the private sector. In this conversation we discuss: What Rowanbank is and how it came about How Rowanbank merges art and science to make environmental education more accessible and exciting The Natural Flights of Steps and the part it plays in Rowanbank The importance of carbon literacy and finding a variety of ways to teach this Rowanbank’s commitment to sustainable transport Rowanbank’s collaborative approach to creating stories Sustainable costume design The advice she would give to her younger self What she has coming up that she’s looking forward to You can find Lucy on her website www.rowanbank.org.uk and social media @rowanbank_environmental_arts Episodes that would go really well with this one are: 1.13a Dawn Nelson, Rewilding the Self through Storytelling 5.6a Angeline Morrison, Folk Music as Storytelling 5,10a Moya Lloyd, Building a Creative Community at the Boundary Way Project As always I’m on Instagram @prompted.by.nature, on my website www.promptedbynature.co.uk and on Substack, where you can become a free or paid subscriber - Prompted by Nature. I’ll be back soon with the writing prompt that accompanies this episode.  Sending you lots of love.  Happy listening and I’ll speak to you soon.  Bye!

Hello!  Welcome series 6 episode 4 of the Prompted by Nature podcast.  I’m Helen, your host and today I’m thrilled to release a conversation I had earlier this week With Marchelle Farrell.  Long-time listeners of the podcast will remember Marchelle from series 2 episode 10 - a conversation we recorded what feels like a lifetime ago, in November 2020. Marchelle has a new book out, Uprooting, and it was wonderful to chat up with Marchelle and talk all things gardens and writing. In this episode, we discuss: What Marchelle has been up for over the past two years Her new book, Uprooting, what’s about and how it came to be The reciprocal nature of the garden Redefining difficult conversations The importance of grief and mourning Non-verbal communication and writing The creative advice she’d give her younger self What she’s looking forward to Uprooting has already won an award in the shape of the Nan Shepherd prize for underrepresented voices in nature writing.  I urge you to read this book - it is profound and complex and explores Marchelle’s relationship with her garden as well as how these brings up connections to her beloved Trinidad. Uprooting is out now in your local bookshop or library - and remember that you can always ask them to order it in if they don’t already stock it.  Marchelle is usually to be found on Instagram under the handle @afroliage and on her website www.marchellefarrell.com where you can find upcoming dates of her book tour and speaking events. Just a little note that the connection was a little sketchy at times but I don’t think it affects meaning. Episodes that would go well with this one: 2.10a - My Garden, My Teacher - Marchelle Farrell 6.1a - All My Wild Mothers - Victoria Bennett 5.9a Writing in Place - Kathryn Aalto As always, I’m on instagram @prompted.by.nature or on the website www.promptedbynature.co.uk .  You can also sign up for my Substack on www.promptedbynature.substack.com Sending you lots of love.  Happy listening, and I’ll speak to you soon.

Hello and welcome to your writing prompt for my conversation with Katie Holten.  For this one there are a couple of invitations. The first is to, of course, download Katie’s tree alphabet as a font to your computer and have a play.  It’s really fun turning your words into a forest and seeing that forest come alive on the page. You could write something new, inspired by the letters as trees, or translate an existing piece into the tree alphabet. www.treealphabet.ie   The second invitation is to put the title of this episode on a sheet of paper and see where it takes you.  The title is ‘I write with the trees.’  I love this title because it could go in any and all directions.  for me, it conjures up images of future communities and societies in which humans dream things into being in collaboration with the trees and the more-than-human world. It might be that, having listened to the conversation, or even read the book, you have been inspired to created something totally different from these suggestions, in which case, go for it! Have fun with it and let me know how you get on if you use this one! Happy writing!  Bye!

Welcome to series 6, episode 3 of the Prompted by Nature podcast.  I’m Helen and I’m really happy to be back with this conversation with Katie Holten.  As I mentioned previously, because art and nature are so inextricably linked for me, this week’s action point, should you wish to get involved, is on the episode page for this conversation over on the website. This week we’ll be hearing from the very wonderful Katie Holten.  Katie Holten is an artist and activist based in New York City and Ardee, Ireland.    For over twenty years Katie has made unconventional works that intersect art, activism, ecology, language and history. At the root of her practice is a commitment to fighting the climate and biodiversity emergency. Her collaborative research-based work explores the inextricable relationship between Humans and Nature, between organic systems and human-made systems.  Several years ago, recognizing a looming crisis of representation as our species adapts to life in the Anthropocene, Holten created a Tree Alphabet and published the book ABOUT TREES, offering readers a language beyond the Human.  During lockdown, Holten made an Irish Tree Alphabet (2020) to explore language ecosystems and the importance of our words and the stories that we share.   In this conversation we discuss: Her new book, the Language of trees, how it came about and Katie’s process in putting it all together Katie’s NYC Tree Alphabet and its wider implications The magic of the Irish Tree Ogham Art as facilitation of ideas The book as a merging of science, poetry, journalism and music Art as activism The impact that her upbringing in Ireland has had on her work The importance of community spaces in environmental activism The creative advice she would give to her younger self and what she’s looking forward to I love how far-reaching art and creativity can be when it comes to communicating about the urgency of climate collapse and climate justice as well as how connected we all are in order to inspire people to get involved in whatever way they can. The Language of Trees is a stunning book filled with the words of some incredible writers from all genres and the beautiful artwork created by Katie’s tree alphabet.  It’s out now and you can get it at your favourite independent bookshop.  I’ve also popped in the Prompted by Nature bookshop over on https://uk.bookshop.org/shop/promptedbynature . You can download the font here: http://www.nyctrees.org/ Episodes that would go well with this episode: 5.2a Amy-Jane Beer: The Flow 5.1a Bryony Benge-Abbott:  Exploring the Intersections 4.13a Jackee Holder: Writing with Trees in the Urban Landscape 3.7a Rosalind Lowry: Land Art: Celebrating our Boglands You can find me in the usual places - on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook and on the website www.promptedbynature.co.uk  You can subscribe to my Substack newsletter over on Substack by going to https://promptedbynature.substack.com/  Thank you to my paid subscribers who help support this podcast and get lots of treats like the e-zine and write-along bonus episodes.  Please do consider becoming a paid subscriber if you are able to. I’ll be back in a few days with the writing prompt that accompanies this episode but in the meantime I’m sending you lots of love.  Happy listening and I’ll speak to you soon! x

In my conversation with Katherine, she spoke about creativity as a form of resistance.  This is something that really resonates with me as it kind of underpins everything I do.  When we stay present and connected, think creatively and allow this to guide us through the world, we are actively shaping the world we want to see; not just that but we become active participants in our own individual lives, which then feeds into a stronger, more rounded and imaginative collective.   Often it can feel as if being creative doesn’t contribute in any tangible ways but we only need to look at groups like Writers Rebel, Cape Farewell, Julie’s Bicycle and Human Nature (all links in the show notes) so see that creative, artistic practice can feed into the move to a better future.  Art invites us to think about topics or ideas in new and interesting ways, challenging our pre-conceptions and unconscious biases. For this prompt, create something that explores the idea of creativity as resistance in your own work.  The first thing that comes to mind when I consider this is the word resistance and how, by just forming that word in my mind, I feel a resistance.  It evokes thoughts of anger and oppression in me, and makes me think of all the times someone has told me I couldn’t or shouldn’t do something I knew was the right thing to do, even if it wasn’t the most comfortable at the time  - or the times when I’v told myself I couldn’t do something because of imposter syndrome or not feeling good/capable/knowledgeable (fill in the blank!) enough.  Conversely though it makes me feel like what I’m doing means something; it makes me feel powerful and strong.  I am actively resisting the things I know are not right and am trying, in whatever small way I can, to make a difference.  There are so many nuances to the word ‘resistance’ and working with it as a starting point is something you might consider doing.   What about asking what it is you are resisting?  Explore this idea to its limits and then begin.  Perhaps go through the same process with the word creativity.  Then put the two together and see what emerges. Most of all, if you are a creative - and I imagine that you are if you’re listening to this podcast - please keep going with your creative work, whatever form that takes.  The more of us who are sharing our experience of the more-than-human world as a response to biodiversity and climate collapse, the more we inspire others to do the same.  Art as a form of expression and protest is by no means a new thing and we can all be a part of what nurtures that into the future. Please do let me know if you use this one - even if just to share one word on my Substack or in a story, which you can tag me in on Instagram @prompted.by.nature or you can mention me in a note over on Substack if you’re a user, and I’ll restack your note. Thank you as always for listening.  Happy writing and I’ll speak to you soon.  Bye!

Welcome to series 6, episode 2 of the Prompted by Nature.  I’m Helen and I hope this finds you well.  Lots going on on this side of things but I’m going to jump straight into today’s episode. If you enjoy non-fiction at the moment today you may have heard of today’s guest, Katherine May. Katherine is an internationally bestselling author and podcaster living in Whitstable, UK. Her most recent book, Enchantment became an instant New York Times and Sunday Times bestseller. Her internationally bestselling hybrid memoir Wintering: The Power of Rest and Retreat in Difficult Times was adapted as BBC Radio 4’s Book of the Week, and was shortlisted for the Porchlight and Barnes and Noble Book of the Year. The Electricity of Every Living Thing, her memoir of a midlife autism diagnosis, was adapted as an audio drama by Audible. Other titles include novels such as The Whitstable High Tide Swimming Club, and The Best, Most Awful Job, an anthology of essays about motherhood which she edited. Her journalism and essays have appeared in a range of publications including The New York Times, The Observer and Aeon. Katherine’s podcast, How We Live Now, ranks in the top 1% worldwide, and she has been a guest presenter for On Being’s The Future of Hope series. Her next book, Enchantment, will be published in 2023. Katherine lives with her husband, son, two cats and a dog. She loves walking, sea-swimming and pickling slightly unappealing things. In this conversation we discuss: The weather! The importance of hope and magic The process of writing Enchantment Creativity as resistance AI and creativity in education Forms & lineages of creativity Mutation over survival of the fittest The process of ‘unknowing’ in her work Researching Enchantment The advice she’d give to her 15-year old self What she’s looking forward to You can find Kathrine’s Substack newsletter and podcast over at https://katherinemay.substack.com/ - I highly recommend subscribing to this as it’s completely wonderful.  You can find all of her books at your local bookshop or library (and if they don’t have the one you’re after, ask them order it in) and I’ve also popped Enchantment in the ‘Discussed on the Podcast’ section of my bookshop over at www.bookshop.org  Epsiodes that I think would go well with this one are: 1.10a Finding Magic in the Landscape, Jini Reddy 2.6a Art as Play, Beba Beeby 4.12a Soraya Abdel-Hadi, Finding my Creative Voice through Nature 5.11a Creating a Folklore of Place with Elin Manon As always, you can find me on the website www.promptedbynature.co.uk where you can find prompts, the pod and information about my upcoming woodland day retreat here in Sussex.  I’m also on Substack https://promptedbynature.substack.com or you can find me on Instagram @prompted.by.nature or Facebook and Twitter by searching Prompted by Nature.  Please do share, rate and review the podcast wherever you’re listening as this means the WORLD to me!!  And do tag me on social media if you’ve enjoyed this or any other episode. I’ll be back in a few days with the writing prompt that accompanies this episode but in the meantime I’ll send you lots of love.  Happy listening and I’ll speak to you soon!

Welcome to your writing prompt for my conversation with Victoria Bennett. Writing prompt, some news and an apology for this episodes tardiness! Thank you for your patience. <3 * When I listened back to the episode with Victoria, what I remember most is her thoughts around the use of time in writing a memoir.  She describes the process as engaging three forms of time:  deep time, long time and momentary time.  ‘I think that that combination of deep time in the Earth and long time in our sense of humanity and momentary time, all exist together, so in memoir writing, memories from my early childhood would sit alongside memories as a mother - with my son - so experiences of present moments and then memories of my mother are in there, and then her memories of her childhood.  And so all these memories would kind of interweave with each other and speak to each other.  But looking back into memories was a bit like that, finding these pottery shards in a garden because I would start and I would look back and think, ‘that's a terrible memory’, and then it's like, ‘that's a wonderful bit of pottery!’  So I'd find these moments that would be as alive and as present as the one I was in, and their stories that they had would be as present and and as revealing.  I suppose if I'd written it all off as being terrible I wouldn't have bothered…’ The invitation here then, is to create three pieces: one that engages with deep time, one with long time and one with momentary time.  These could take the form of journal entries, be three pieces of free writing, poems on the themes or something completely different.  This is the sort of thing I like to write about in my morning pages as I find that in that liminal spaces between night and day,  I’m the most alert to more abstract concepts such as time. Enjoy this one and let me know how you get on if you use it. Happy writing! Helen x https://promptedbynature.substack.com www.promptedbynature.co.uk @prompted.by.nature

Hello and welcome to series 6 of the Prompted by Nature podcast!  Happy Beltane if you’re listening in real time and are celebrating!  I’m Helen and I’m thrilled to be back after a little break.  Not much has changed - read a few books, had some time out in Glastonbury, released this season’s newsletter over on Substack - get subscribed if you’re not already! - and generally had time to write and to get back to my own voice. The action point for each episode will now be up on each episode’s page on the website.  Today’s episode is the perfect conversation to open with.  It’s slightly longer than usual as we covered so much ground.  We had to re-schedule it a few times due to covid and ended up speaking on the libra full moon - perfect for two chatty libras! Victoria Bennet lives in Orkney with her husband and son, for whom she is also a full-time carer and home-educator.  She is a writer, poet and creative producer, who founded Wild Women Press in 1999 and has spent the last 21 years facilitating creative experiences and curating platforms for women to share ideas, stories, inspirations and actions for positive change.  Victoria has a wealth of creative experience and I encourage you to explore her website for all the information. Victoria’s debut memoir, which we discuss in the episode, All My Wild Mothers, examines motherhood, loss, and the ancient art of wort-cunning (knowledge of medicinal plans and herbs) was long-listed for the Nan Shepherd Prize (2019) and the Penguin WriteNow Programme (2020) as well as winner of the Northern Debut Award. When she is not juggling home-ed, freelance creative projects, research, study and chronic illness, she can be found howling with the Wild Women, her creative tribe.  In this conversation, we discuss: What took her to Orkney The process of writing All My Wild Mothers The symbiosis of writing and gardening  Creativity and ecology The impact of her upbringing on her interactions with nature The structure of the book Choosing presence in both grief and joy Combining deep time, long time and momentary time in the writing process Re-finding creativity after loss Writing and memory Wild Women Press and prioritising creative projects And, two new questions for everyone: The advice Victoria would give to her younger self What she’s looking forward to You can find Victoria on Twitter and Instagram @beewlyd and on her website www.victoriabennett.me I’ve also popped the video created for the book using music inspired by it on the episode page on my website.  You can find All My Wild Mothers via any independent bookshop or you can order it from the library.  It’s also available on my Prompted by Nature bookshop.  And if you’re in a book club, I highly recommend taking Victoria up on her offer of coming along to any online meet-up to talk about the book. No change with me, I’m on @prompted.by.nature on Instagram, @promptedbynature on Facebook and @promptedxnature on Twitter plus you can subscribe to my Substack newsletter, read the latest on the blog and find out about upcoming events via my website www.promptedbynature.co.uk Remember to pop back on Tuesday for the writing episode that follows this one. Happy listening and I’ll speak to you soon.  Bye!

Welcome to your writing prompt for my conversation with LiLi K Bright and the final epsiode of series 5.  This one isn't so much of a writing prompt specifically as it is an invitation to do something different in your creative practice (as the title suggests!).  LiLi talked about the inspiration they gain from attending ecology and naturalist talks and events as well as joining writers hours and social events.  I was hugely inspired by this as something of which I don’t do nearly enough is attending events and courses which will shift my focus in unexpected ways and help me to engage with like-minded folk.   Since my chat with LiLi, I’ve signed up for some free and paid events in the coming months that I hope will both inform and enrich my writing, providing different perspectives - both scientific and artistic - that will allow me to go deeper into my understanding of the mechanisms of nature and where they intersect with a range of diverse creative forms.  I think when you’ve been teaching and creating and holding space for people for as long as I have, it’s really easy to become quite isolated.  This hasn’t been intentional but I’ve always been very ‘do it myself’ even when I don’t have to be; sometimes this can be a good thing and sometimes it can work out to my detriment.   So for you then, think about how you might want to diversify and expand your creative practice, or gain insights into areas you’ve always wondered about.  There are lots of free and low cost events out there now as well as paid for courses.  I’ve popped a couple of resources below and on the episode page of the website if you want to have an explore. So that’s it for series 5!  I told myself I’d stop for this series after 13 episodes and I think you’ll agree, we’ve ended on a high!  I’ll be back in a few short weeks after I’ve had a bit of a break to tend to my writing and facilitating.  If you’re interested in attending any of my future events - online or in-person - just pop through to the events page on my website www.promptedbynature.co.uk  Otherwise you can always find me on my Substack (where I’ve been really enjoying posting my weekly prompts and getting to know a few of you a bit better!) promptedbynature.substack.com and Instagram @prompted.by.nature.  All links can be found in the show notes and on the episode page on the website. In the meantime, please do reach out if you have any insights from any of these episodes and conversations or if you use any of the prompts and want to share how it went.   Happy writing, happy creating and I’ll speak to you very soon.  Helen x Free course platforms: https://www.mooc.org/ https://www.edx.org/ https://www.conservationtraining.org/ https://www.open.edu/openlearn/nature-environment/free-courses Also look into your local conservation charity if you're looking for nature-related courses. Sussex Wildlife Trust near me, for example, often runs tree and wildlife ID courses.

Episode transcription available here:  https://www.promptedbynature.co.uk/podcast-transcripts  Welcome to series 5, episode 14 of the Prompted by Nature podcast. Action point: See episode page on my website. Substack newsletter: Sign up for the free subscription via the link in the show notes or by searching ‘Prompted by Nature’ on the app. If you’d like to go paid, I’m offering this at 30% off the monthly option until 30th April. Onto today’s episode! LiLi K. Bright is a writer and workshop facilitator who’s obsessed with city nature. They write climate fiction and ecopoetry, and their main poetry project is about migration, liberation, London, Freetown, Accra, and the painted lady butterfly, exploring textile arts as part of their creative process. They love supporting people to connect with nature and creativity by facilitating writing workshops, climate science training and nonviolent communication training. In this conversation we discuss: LiLi’s insights into a multi-media approach to their creativity The merging of science and art in their work and the ways in which these disciplines can interact Their relationship with nature, how it developed and how it has shifted and changed LiLi’s fascination with trees and birds Wellbeing for writers and reframing ‘time management’ How LiLi approaches their creative practice All link to the website and events that LiLi mentions in our chat are in the show notes on the episode page of the website. You can find LiLi on their website https://cherrytreewalk.com and Instagram @cherrytree_walk Companion epiodes: 1.8a Ian Solomon-Kawall: Biodiversity, Creativity and Safe Space in Urban Settings 2.1a Avni Trivedi: Reconnecting with the Wisdom of the Body 4.5a Cheryl Duerden: In a Land of Giants, Empathetic Forestry 5.1a Bryony Benge-Abbott: Exploring the Intersections As always, I’m on Instagram @prompted.by.nature and the website www.promptedbynature.co.uk where you can find upcoming nature writing courses and day retreats here in East Sussex. Happy listening and I’ll speak to you soon.  Helen x

The transcript for this episode can be found here: https://www.promptedbynature.co.uk/podcast-transcripts Hello and welcome to your writing prompt for my conversation with Caro Giles.  So, obviously, this one is going to be moon-related!  I often write with the moon and have created materials helping others to do the same.  About 7 years ago, back when challenges were in, I ran the Follow the Moon challenge, followed by the ‘Create by the Moon’ challenges a couple of years later and this latter piece of work I’m in the process of turning into a workbook, which will be out in the summer - free to Substack subscribers on the paid level. To get us started though, I wanted to think about how we can use the energy of each moon phase to influence our writing and then extend this to consider the names of each full moon, as Caro does in Twelve Moons, and how these can form ongoing prompts for our words. Over on the blog, you’ll find a post about turning each phase of the moon into a character (link is in the show notes) and this is a really good exercise to familiarise yourself with the energy of each phase if you’re newer to it all, or just want another perspective. So going from new to full moon: New moon - intention setting Waxing crescent - planning Waxing half - balance, making decisions Waxing gibbous - problem-solving Full moon - manifestation, clarity and understanding Waning gibbous - self-evaluation, patience and letting go Waning half - cleansing and transformation Waning crescent (balsamic) - reflection/introspection Dark moon - quiet/silence Once we are familiar with the energy of each moon phase, we can start to see how these could be articulated in the settings and characters we create.  For example, a setting that might reflect the waning half moon, could be a cascading stream in the early hours of the morning.  How might that feel?  What does the natural world feel like at that time of day?  If the full moon were a character, perhaps they might be a creator or agitator, an activist or someone who works to shed light on a subject. Then you might like to start looking at the different names given to the full moon by different cultures and traditions throughout the world.  There’s the wolf moon, the cold moon, the harvest moon and more!  Use your imagination and envision settings and events that might happen under each moon, each taking on the energy and meaning given to it by the ancestors. Pop over to the post on the blog for more ideas, get researching and see how you get on.  I love working with the moon in my own life and using its phases as a creative prompt is such a wonderful way to enrich your own practice, especially if you’re ever feeling a bit lacking in inspiration. Keep looking up, my friends! As always you can find me on www.promptedbynature.co.uk where you can find links to my Substack newsletter and get information on my forthcoming day retreats and nature writing courses down here in East Sussex.  I’m also to be found @prompted.by.nature on Instagram. Happy writing and I’ll speak to you soon! Helen x

The transcript for this episode can be found here: https://www.promptedbynature.co.uk/podcast-transcripts Action point: donate if you can, to the Turkey/Syria Earthquake fund appeal through the DEC (www.dec.org.uk) if you’re in the UK or through the charities working in your country to help. Please ensure they are legitimate, reputable charities before donating. Before I tell you about today’s conversation, I wanted to remind you that my Substack newsletter is now available via the Substack app or in your inbox when you sign up. You can sign up for a free or paid subscription - £5pm or £40pa (a saving of £1.70 on the monthly price). All information about what is included in each option is over on my Substack page https://promptedbynature.substack.com/ and in the show notes for the this episode. I hope you’ll join me for more prompts, workbooks, e-zines and nature-inspired creativity and community. Back to the episode! Today, I’m thrilled to release my conversation with the lovely Caro Giles, whose book, Twelve Moons is now available and published by HarperNorth. Caro Giles is a writer based in Northumberland. Her words are inspired by her local landscape, the wide empty beaches and the Cheviot Hills. She writes honestly about what it means to be a woman, a mother and a carer, and about the value in taking the road less travelled. Her writing appears in journals, press and periodicals, including a monthly column in Psychologies. In 2021 she was named BBC Countryfile's New Nature Writer of the Year. In this conversation, we discuss: The story behind the memoir and how Caro came to write Twelve Moons The part a master’s played in Caro’s work Accountability in your writing practice How she found her unique voice following motherhood and the breakdown of her marriage How her role as a parent-carer has impacted her voice and the way that she approaches her work Caro’s personal relationship with the moon How Caro approached the book and her writing process Caro’s life as a singer and musician What she’s learnt that she wants to pass on Her vision for the future You can find Caro on Twitter and Instagram @carogileswrites and her book Twelve Moons is available via the Prompted by Nature bookshop on bookshop.org or at your local bookshop. Accompanying episodes: 2.10a - Marchelle Farrell, My Garden, My Teacher 3.2a - Stella Tomlinson, Priestesshood and Earth-Based Spirituality 4.2a - Rebecca Schiller, Earthed 4.7a - Ben Myers, Writing with the Land As always, I’m over at the website www.promptedbynature.co.uk where you can find information about my upcoming day retreats and writing courses in East Sussex as well as all the links to the bookshop and the Substack newsletter. I’m always on @prompted.by.nature on Instagram. I hope you enjoy the episode. The prompt that accompanies this will be out on Tuesday. Happy listening and I’ll speak to you soon! Helen x

Welcome to your writing prompt for my conversation with Elin Manon.  This is one of those prompts that doesn’t have to be written - it can be if you’d like, and know that these prompts are always more of creative prompts that you can make of what you will - but could be one to use to inspire a piece of artwork like a collage or painting.  Whatever direction you’d like to take this in is fine! So the invitation here is to do a little background research into the folklore of your area.  Folklore came up a lot in the conversation and Elin spoke of her connection to the stories of Wales and also of their connection to the folklore of Cornwall.  (And by the way did anyone pick up on the link in her story about the horse that comes in the night- the Night Mare?  Was I the only one who, upon listening back to the conversation, saw the light of realisation of ‘oh!  Nightmare!!’) Folklore and landscape are bound together - one, I believe, reflecting the other.  We see folklore in a landscape when we notice things like standing stones and stone circles and when we visit a space and are told, ‘they say this is where X happened with Y, many, many years ago.’  The land holds these stories and, as humans, it can be a way for us to connect with it.  Folklore is what is created when those who know the land the best begin to notice patterns, signs and symbols and transform these into stories we can learn from.  For example, in Sussex, where I live, there is a story about how the Wilmington Giant got there.  For those who don’t know, the Wilmington Giant is a huge chalk person carved into the side of a big hill.   If you look closely, most areas have some kind of folklore attached to them; these may vary depending on landscape, of course, but even my hometown of London has its urbanised versions of folklore, usually involving the devil in some way! The invitation here, then, is to do a little research into the folklore of the land on which you now live. What are the stories that exist in this place that may have been forgotten? Where did they come from and how have they moved and changed with the times?  If you can’t find any, why not spend some time outside in your local area connecting with a particular tree or space over the course of days or weeks and see what stories arise from it. Perhaps you are lucky enough to live close to a natural spring or well - where stories does it hold? If you live close to a river, what does it say as it moves and flows on? Perhaps your local park - or even graveyard! - has something in it that has always interested you - what stories might there be in that thing? Get curious and let your imagination run wild! A couple of previous writing prompts that might help get you started are the meditation I did for my conversation with Nathaniel Hughes and Fiona Owen, 1.3b, as well as with Nana Tomova, 1.7b.  And then the prompt for my conversation with Dawn Nelson (which would actually also be really good to listen to in connection to my conversation with Elin), 1.13b, tells the folktale of the river of Banorie, which you can then use as a writing prompt. Let me know how you get on with this one.  The folk tales of the world are always rich, diverse and, oftentimes, wildly entertaining.   All book recommendations in the 'Folk and Stories from the Land' section in my bookshop:  https://uk.bookshop.org/shop/promptedbynature As always, you can find me on the website, www.promptedbynature.co.uk or over on Instagram @prompted.by.nature, where I post most of my social media content. Happy writing! Helen x

Action point:  www.ecotalk.co.uk  Welcome to series 5, episode 11 of the Prompted by Nature. How have you been? Imbolc has just passed here in the UK and I can feel the very tangible promise of the lighter months slowly creeping up. The full snow moon has just passed and has been illuminating the early mornings with an almost solar glare - it’s been so bright! I’m in the midst of planning my upcoming e-zine in time for the Equinox as well as working on a few pieces that I’m feeling really inspired by. Onto to day’s episode. Today I’m speaking with illustrator, Elin Manon. Elin is a freelance illustrator from Wales now based in Cornwall. Her work is inspired by the natural world, folklore and folk traditions, particularly those Welsh and Cornish. A passion for storytelling and the celebration and protection of our natural world has been a constant drive within her work. Through the power of imagination and imagery, she aims to deepen our connection to the natural environment, reflecting stories of the landscape, in a world that is often focused on the modern and material. In this conversation, we discuss: Elin’s creative journey How Elin’s distinctive style emerged The place of storytelling in her work The boundary between Self and Art Finding the balance between work and creativity Charging what you’re worth as a writer Elin’s creative process The impact that Elin’s early encounters with nature and storytelling (especially the Mabinogion) had on her future work Why speaking and using Welsh is so important to Elin Why connecting with creatives can be an important part of enjoying and appreciating their art The lesson that Elin would like to pass onto you Elin’s vision for the future This conversation was so rich and I loved speaking with Erin about her incredible artwork. you can find her on her website www.elin-manon.com and on Instagram @elin_manon_illustration Past episodes that would work well with this one are: 2.5a Nick Hayes, The Book of Trespass 3.6a Jamey-Anne Redway, Illustration and the Natural World 3.8a Chloe Valerie Harmsworth, Nature-Inspired Creativity 4.10a Elizabeth Gleave, Restoring the Earth through the Arts 5.2a Amy-Jane Beer, The Flow Please do sign up for the Substack newsletter and, if you’d like, join me in the paid subscription where you’ll get all the usual offerings like weekly writing prompts, the discussion board and PbN updates every six weeks, plus 10% off all online courses, a free seasonal e-zine, sneak peeks into my WIPs and much more! Come find me over on the website where you can find all events, my blog, past episodes and link to the Substack and the PbN bookshop. On Instagram, I’m @prompted.by.nature, Facebook it’s @promptedbynature and Twitter I’m @promptedxnature. Remember that the writing prompt for this episode will be up on Tuesday. Until next time, I’m sending lots of love and creativity. Happy listening and I’ll speak to you soon! Bye. Helen x

Welcome to your writing prompt for my conversation with Moya Lloyd of the Boundary Way Project. In the conversation, Moya talked about her love of using found objects such as plants, mushroom and pieces from her family history to create art. For this prompt then, the invitation is to get creating using things that already exist. Perhaps you will create a collage out of old books (although I kind of shudder when I think about tearing up books, even old and decrepit ones!), photographs, till receipts, play programmes, your own drawings or sketches, photographs of the landscape, leaves, dried flowers or similar. Maybe you’d like to stick to writing and find old work that you’ve never done anything with and create new piece - a word collage perhaps, a kind of tapestry of old phrases you’ve already conjured up and then sew them together with newer ideas. The idea is here is to create something new out of the old. Make the most of what you already have and reshape and refashion it into something completely different. This is similar to a prompt I did way back in series 3, episode 4, inspired by my conversation with Grace Hull so do go and have a listen to 3.4b (and the accompanying conversation, of course!) if you want to extend this idea. That one also includes a short meditation, just to get your creativity flowing. I’m going to take a break from writing for this one and create a collage similar to the style that Moya uses in her personal work. I’m then going to write a short story or poem inspired by whatever comes out in the collage. I’ll post both on my socials and blog once they’re finished and I’d love to see yours if you try this. Remember no judgment on your own creativity, please - just experiment and enjoy! Happy creating and I’ll speak to you soon, Helen x

Action point: Right to Roam campaign www.righttoroam.org.uk Today on the pod we have the lovely Moya Lloyd of the Boundary Project in Wolverhampton. I first heard about the Boundary Way Project and their work on Instagram during lockdown and have been inspired with their creativity and arts projects ever since. This episode is quite close to my heart due to my work with Benfield Valley Project and I came away with lots of ideas for creative initiatives we could run. It was an absolute pleasure to speak with Moya, who is a quiet powerhouse of creativity and inspiration. Moya is visual artist with a passion for and background in community arts. She studied History of Art and Fine Art and uses these two disciplines to inform her work with Boundary Project, for which she is Project Lead. Boundary Way Project evolved through a series of arts and heritage projects inspired by people, nature and place at the Boundary Way Allotments and Community Garden, where is has been based since 2015. Through the Boundary Way Project, Moya works with a diverse and wide range of the community, organising arts events and projects such as art exhibitions, creative workshops and health and wellbeing sessions. In this conversation we discuss: Moya’s work at Boundary Way Project Her creative background and how she came to work in community arts Making art accessible and moving away from elitism in the arts Using found materials to help reduce materials’ costs Connecting with her family history through her creativity What the Boundary Way Project is, what they do and how Moya got involved in it The importance of connecting people with their creativity through nature The Boundary Way Writer’s Group initiative The biggest challenges and biggest joys that Moya has encountered through BWP How Boundary Way Project inspires her creativity All of Moya’s pieces that we talk about are on the episode page on the website:  https://www.promptedbynature.co.uk/series-five/510-moya-lloyd-of-the-boundary-way-project-building-creative-communities. I’ve also popped a link in the notes about the research that Moya mentions in the episode that makes the link between creativity and cultivating deeper relationships with the natural world. https://www.derby.ac.uk/research/centres-groups/nature-connectedness-research-group/ You can find the Boundary Way Project on www.boundaryway.co.uk and on the social @boundarywayproject and Moya can be found on Instagram and Twitter @artsandhealth Linked episodes: 1.2a Anna Neubert-Wood - Creating sisterhood in the Wild 1.8a Ian Solomon-Kawall aka. KMT, Biodiversity, Creativity and Safe Space in Urban Settings 1.9a Lucy Jones, Why Our Minds Need the Wild 5.5a Bella Gonshrovitz, ‘Grow, Cook, Dye, Wear’ As always, I’m at www.promptedbynature.co.uk, where you can find all episodes to the podcast, writing prompts, my own writing and a link to my newly-relaunched Substack newsletter. I’m also @prompted.by.nature on Instagram . I hope you enjoy the conversation. Happy listening and I’ll speak to you soon! Helen x

Linked episodes: 1.10a Jini Reddy, Magic in the Landscape 2.10a Marchelle Farrell, My Garden, My Teacher 4.2a Rebecca Schiller, Earthed 4.7a Benjamin Myers, Writing with the Land in ‘The Perfect Golden Circle’ Hello!  Welcome to your writing prompt for my conversation with Kathryn Aalto.  I got a lot out of the chat with Kathryn and it was lovely to be able to catch up with her and go a little deeper into her own creative life and practice. For this prompt, I’m combining two ideas that came up in the conversation.  Firstly, Kathryn’s definition of ‘sense of place’ and secondly her thoughts on ‘show don’t tell.’  Both of these concepts we covered in the course I took with Kathryn and the ‘show don’t tell’ technique is something I used to use a lot with my groups as a school teacher and still use now with my nature writing groups. Kathryn spoke of ‘sense of place’ as being ‘That invisible layer of memories, history and emotions that covers a physical landscape with this invisible strata.’ For this prompt, I’d like you to create a description of a place.  This could either be a space new to you, or that you know well, a place in which you feel a sense of belonging.  Perhaps it is a space close to where you live, somewhere you once visited, or somewhere you’re new to. Wherever it is, you are going to take your reader there using the show don’t tell technique.  For this, you are avoiding telling your reader anything but are rather trying to show them it.  For example, if you are in a woodland space, rather than telling them explicitly that that’s where you are, show them that that’s where you are.  If you need any ideas, consider the following: How does the air feel? If you close your eyes, what sounds can you hear - close up and far away? What colours, shapes and shades catch your eye? Consider Kathryn’s definition: what layers, memories, history and emotions exist in this place.  Maybe you have no emotional connection to this place as yet, and aren’t already aware of any history or memories held in the place.  What comes through when you are here?  What can you imagine about this place? When you read your work through, any sign of you telling me something, edit it to be more descriptive.  Remember this is just an exercise in which you are training your descriptive muscles to be more perceptive, to create more detail and to entice your reader, inviting them into this world with you as their guide. Please do reach if you use this prompt.  You can find me in my favourite online places - on the website, www.promptedbynature.co.uk and on Instagram @prompted.by.nature Happy writing! Helen x

Welcome to series 5, episode 9 of the Prompted by Nature podcast. I hope this one finds you well.  Action Point: WhenToPlugIn app: https://www.nationalgrid.com/cop26/when-to-plug-in-app Today, we hear from one of my teachers, the wonderful Kathryn Aalto. Kathryn Aalto is an American teacher, designer, speaker, and New York Times best-selling writer of creative nonfiction. For the past twenty-five years, her creative practice has fused nature and culture: teaching the literature of nature and place; designing beautiful and sustainable gardens; and writing about the natural world. Based in England, she teaches popular online and live writing courses, mentors emerging writers, and leads writing retreats in England and the United States. Kathryn is the author of three books including Writing Wild: Women Poets, Ramblers, and Mavericks Who Shape How We See the Natural World (2020), The Natural World of Winnie-the-Pooh: A Walk Through the Forest that Inspired the Hundred Acre Wood (2015), and Nature and Human Intervention (2011). Her personal essays and book reviews, appear in Smithsonian Magazine, Outside, Sierra, Buzzfeed, Resurgence and the Ecologist, and more. In this episode, we discuss: Kathryn’s childhood and youth growing up in Southern California How her love of the personal essay came about and how this influenced her writing How Kathryn’s connection to nature and place has changed and developed through her life Her definition of sense of place How her perception as an ex-pat enriches her understanding and encounters with nature and landscape The circumstances that surrounded her stepping into what she always knew she was meant to do The impact public speaking has had on her writing Kathryn’s writing tips and what it means to ‘show, not tell’ The lesson she’d like to share with you (and it’s a good one!) I took Kathryn’s nature writing course last summer and absolutely loved it. I’m not often able to invest in myself or my ongoing learning so it was amazing to finally take a writing class. I’m so used to teaching that it was joyful to be a student again. I can highly recommend any of Kathryn’s classes and workshops. You can find Kathryn and all information about her forthcoming writing courses at www.kathrynaalto.com and over on social media @kathrynaalto. I’ve also added Kathryn’s books to my bookshop over on bookshop.org so please do pop over there and have a browse. https://uk.bookshop.org/shop/promptedbynature As always, you can find me over on my website www.promptedbynature.co.uk and on social media @prompted.by.nature on Instagram, @promptedxnature on Twitter and @promptedbynature on Facebook. I have a few local in-person courses and day retreats coming up so do have a look on my website events page if you’re local to Brighton and Hove. The writing prompt that follows this episode will be up on Tuesday. Happy listening! Helen x

Welcome to series 5, episode 8 of the Prompted by Nature podcast.  This episode is a bit of a pep talk and a follow-up to my latest blog post, which you can read here:  https://www.promptedbynature.co.uk/writing-prompts/tending-the-compost I discuss my own thoughts around new year's resolutions and why I use a 'word for the year' instead as well as how I'm using all the fear, doubt and indifference to compost what comes next.  Please do read the post as well as listen here. As always, I'm over on the website www.promptedbynature.co.uk and on the socials Instagram: @prompted.by.nature, Facebook @promptedbynature and on Twitter @promptedxnature Happy creating! Helen x Ps.  Just a note that I talk about 'allum lilies' in the episode, but of course I mean 'arum lilies' - I don't know why I always get it wrong! :-D 

Welcome to your writing prompt for my conversation with Rebecca Beattie.  Something Rebecca said really resonated with me while we were speaking and that was her approach to creative blocks.  I’ve done episodes on creative blocks before (links below to previous episodes and blog posts on the website here: https://www.promptedbynature.co.uk/series-five/57-rebecca-beattie-rediscovering-natures-seasons-amp-cycles if you want to have an explore) but I loved when she said ‘find where you’re not blocked.’ The idea of focusing on what is working rather than what isn’t, isn’t a new one but sometimes it can be so powerful to be reminded that blocks are a. not forever, and b. may not even exist at all.  It all depends on your perception.  The areas in which I personally feel most blocked when it comes to my creativity, and especially my writing, is in the actual action of creating.  I have all the ideas and all the notebooks containing many, many fragments of these ideas, but I often struggle to actually sit down and start.  I know for myself that I benefit from working with others in a writers’ circle, having a mentor or setting myself clear but small goals for anything I want to write. You may not need this prompt right now, but I want you to bookmark it for the times when you might do in the future. So, if you are feeling blocked creatively right now, I want you to do the following: Firstly consider whereabouts you are blocked.  Which part of the creative process feels hard for you right now?  The beginning, the middle or the end?  Is it approaching one particular piece of work?  An article you want to submit, a poetry competition you’re trying to create something for, or writing anything at all down on the page?  Only you will know how to answer that.  For me, for example, I often feel blocked out of fear that what it is I want to create won’t be as good as I want it to be and that I’ll just let myself down and then be worse off than if I hadn’t started at all.  I often compare myself to others, telling myself that they, whoever ‘they’ are, could do it better than I could so I shouldn’t even start? Secondly, to help you find where you’re not blocked, just create anything.  So, for me, that always seems to look like the morning pages, or some kind of stream of consciousness practice in which I just sit down, set my timer for thirty minutes, or tell myself I’m going to write just three pages in my notebook, and then start writing.  For you, it might be that you would benefit from experimenting in an entirely different way.  So, if you are a writer, do some doodling or painting, or play with clay.  If you're a painter, do some writing or sculpting and so on.  What about getting out into nature, collecting whatever natural objects, like pine cones or leaves, you can find and making some seasonal decorations.  Sometimes we need to totally change our perspective to jolt our brains out of this blocked state and return to ‘manufacturer’s settings.’ Lastly, do this for as long as you need to before you return to your regular practice or that piece you have been working on and can’t get through.  Perhaps return slowly and just create some small, manageable goals for yourself - one paragraph at a time, work on a different section of the story, poem, or piece you’ve been stuck on.  Take it slowly and see what happens. The idea is that you give yourself whatever time is available to you (and I realise if you’re up against a deadline, things can become pressing!) to move through whatever has been getting in your way. As I say, you may not need this right now, but feel free to save it and come back to it whenever you need. Happy creating, Helen x

Welcome to series 5, episode 7 of the Prompted by Nature podcast.  I hope you’re doing well and keeping warm if it’s as cold where you are as it is here.  Well, it’s the final episode of 2022 and I’m very excited that this week’s guest is the one who will help us draw it to a close.  i’ll be taking a short break but will be back to continue series 5 in the new year. This week, I’m speaking with Dr Rebecca Beattie.  Rebecca is a Wiccan Priestess with a PhD in Creative Writing, whose childhood growing up on Dartmoor gave her an early appreciation of the power and joys of nature.  She has been practising solitary witchcraft for twenty years and an initiate of the Gardnerian Wiccan tradition for fifteen. She is acclaimed for her highly informed teaching of witchcraft subjects at Treadwell’s Books in Bloomsbury. By day she is a professional in a major charity, with advanced degrees in Literature and Creative Writing. In this conversation we discuss: Rebecca’s creative journey How Rebecca found modern Paganism and how this led her to find her path as a Wiccan Priestess ‘Life as a Training Ground’ How Rebecca approaches creative blocks How her ‘Wheel of the Year’ book came about and what makes it different The connection between creativity and spirituality Walking as an opportunity for stillness What the wheel of the year is and how it can be used The interfaith nature of the wheel Storytelling as a learning tool Rebecca’s early life living on Dartmoor and what drew her back there Connecting to nature in an urban setting Hiraeth is the word Rebecca uses to describe her feeling of homesickness Rebecca’s tips for connecting with each festival You can find Rebecca’s book, ‘Wheel of the Year: A Nurturing Guide to Rediscovering Nature's Seasons and Cycles’ is available at all good booksellers and in the Prompted by Nature bookshop over on bookshop.org (link in show notes).  Remember to support your favourite indie bookshop by buying through them and then post a review on Amazon.  Rebecca's website is www.rebeccabeattie.co.uk and she's on Instagram @rebeccambeattie Some episodes that would go well with this one are: 1.10a Jini Reddy, Finding Magic in the Landscape 3.2a Stella Tomlinson, Priestesshood and Earth-Based Spirituality 4.11a Annabel Abbs, Walking into Creativity 4.12a Soraya Abdel-Hadi, ‘Finding my Creative Voice through Nature As always, I’m on www.promptedbynature.co.uk and on the socials @prompted.by.nature on Insta and Facebook. The writing prompt for this episode is available straight after this one if you want to use it to inspire your Winter Solstice celebrations. Have a wonderful festive season, whatever you’re celebrating. Happy listening and I’ll speak to you in 2023! Helen x

Welcome to your writing prompt for my conversation with Angeline Morrison.  A shorter one for you today - either a prompt or just an opportunity to pause for a moment and consider the wider impact of your work and creative practice. In my conversation with Angeline, she discussed how she sees her work as one part of a whole, something that feeds into a greater body of work started generations ago and contributed to by all those working to tell the forgotten, ignored and hidden stories. For this prompt, then, I’d love you to consider your own work as a single thread in a much bigger tapestry, or, if you’re musical like Angeline, a note in the symphony of life.  This tapestry is beautiful, with every colour you can imagine, nothing is out of place and everything is as it should be.  It tells the stories of nature and envisions a world in which humans and the other-than-human collaborate and dance together to create beauty and to live in a way which nourishes us all equally.  The human footprint is a mere whisper of a shape in this tapestry and moves in a way that does not interfere or smother everything else but rather honours the small things, considering its impact before taking a step. The work that you are creating is just one thread in this kaleidoscope of experience but without it, it wouldn’t be the same.  Whether the thread be your words, your images, the shapes you are moulding with your hands, your voice, the way you move or any other way creativity moves through you, it is an integral part of a piece of art that extends back through time to meet our ancestors, and reaches forward to hold hands with those who will follow us, nourished by what you have created. Take this prompt in whatever way you need or want to.  Put ‘A Thread in the Tapestry’ as a title and see where it takes you; create your piece of the tapestry; or just take this as a pep talk that, whatever your art form, and whoever it is created for, it is important, it is valued and, most of all, it is a sacred part of you that affects the world in ways you will never know, whether you choose to share it or not. Let me know what comes out if you use this one. Happy creating! Helen x

Welcome to series 5, episode 6 of the Prompted by Nature podcast.  THANK YOU for the 10k downloads!! Action point: Go to on my website to see this week's action point and all the links that I suggest.  Onto today’s episode! Angeline Morrison is a singer, multi-instrumentalist and songwriter who explores traditional song with a deep love, respect and curiosity. Angeline mostly makes music in the genres of wyrd folk and psych folk, her work infused with elements of soul music, literature, ‘60s beat pop sounds, folklore, myth and the supernatural. With a feral approach, a handmade sonic aesthetic and a belief in the importance of tenderness, Angeline’s original compositions and re-stitchings of traditional songs focus on storytelling and the small things that often go unnoticed. Sounds like solitude, memory, nostalgia, a rainy walk amongst trees… In July 2022, Angeline was announced as the fourth winner of the prestigious Christian Raphael Prize at the Cambridge Folk Festival. Her latest album, The Sorrow Songs: Folk Songs of Black British Experience (released October 2022, Topic Records) is a work of re-storying. The historic Black presence in the UK dates back to at least Roman times, yet is often hidden, forgotten or  unacknowledged. In this conversation we discuss: Where Angeline’s love of folk music and where that comes from How her uncle instilled a love of playing and performing music How she overcomes creative blocks Angeline’s creative inspiration and her practice of ‘welcoming ideas’ The natural voice and story-telling ‘Creative singing intervention’ and how the Sorrow Songs came about Angeline’s concerns around creating Sorrow Songs and why she did it anyway Just a little note about the connection in the first half of the conversation. We had a few problems and then it cut out completely. The sound quality was much better after we reconnected but it doesn’t get in the way of the interview, I don’t think. You can find Angeline on Instagram @angelcakepie and on her website www.angelinemorrisonmusic.com You can also buy any of her EPs or albums via her Bandcamp page www.angelinemorrisonmusic.bandcamp.com  As always, I’m over on the socials @prompted.by.nature on Insta and @promptedbynature on facebook. I have some in-person nature writing courses and day retreats up on the website too so go to www.promptedbynature.co.uk and follow the link to the events page. Thank you once again for the 10k downloads, I’m utterly thrilled. Thank you for your support as always. Happy listening and I’ll speak to you soon, Helen x Books mentioned in the episode (all are available on my Bookshop.org page): Daphne Du Morier, Monte Verita (from The Birds) Sharon Blackie The Enchanted Life, If Women Rose Rooted Amy Ray, https://www.amy-ray.com/ , https://countryqueer.com/stories/interview/amy-rays-queer-country-story/ Angeline's Jools Holland performance:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FBnahOo1GBo  Happy listening!  Helen x

Welcome to series 4, episode 9 of the Prompted by Nature podcast. Today's action point:  Visit Hannah's website to find information and resources for connecting and protecting nature on your doorstep:  www.hannahbournetaylor.com/resources Today I speak with writer and nature advocate, Hannah Bourne-Taylor.  After careers in both equine photography and copy-writing in the branding industry, Hannah moved from London to Ghana in 2013 where she lived for eight years. She has ghost-written and edited best-selling books and FLEDGLING, her debut memoir, is a celebration of the wild and is being published by Aurum in April 2022. For context, before the main conversation Hannah had been telling me about the swallows she was trying to help after soffits were created during their migration south meaning that they couldn’t get back into their nesting spot.  Hannah heard about this on social media and got to work trying to help the birds.  I also told her about the Benfield Valley Project.  An update of the swifts situation is that since our chat, the landlord of the property involved has agreed to put up nesting boxes on the house that is their home.  I mention these points as we refer back to them in the conversation. In this episode we discuss: Her passion for looking after the individual What the finch and birds in general have taught her The finch as representative of ‘voices of the wild’ How her experience as a ghost writer and photographer influenced her ability to tell the finch’s story The parallels between Hannah’s experience of caring for a finch and my own experience of early motherhood The importance of feeling empowered to help with even the ‘smallest’ things The place her upbringing played in how she encounters nature The process of ‘looking to see’ The importance of enthusiasm in adulthood The emotional aspect of writing the book Hannah’s experience opening up about her anxiety and OCD The importance of not losing hope Recommended previous episodes to accompany this one:  Lucy Jones 1.9, Lorraine Tindale 2.3, Anita Bagdi 2.11, Lucy Groves 2.12, plus Sophie’s episode last week 4.8. Find Hannah on her website www.hannahbournetaylor.com and @hannahbt on twitter or @writerhannahbt on instagram.  Fledgling is out now and is published by Bloomsbury.  I now have a shop over on bookshop.org, where I’ll get a little kick-back on anything you purchase through it.  This will help me to fund future episodes of the podcast.  The link is on my website www.promptedbynature.co.uk, where you can find all episodes and upcoming course dates, or you can go directly to bookshop.org and search for ‘Prompted by Nature.’

In this writing prompt, I read a short extract of Ben's latest novel, The Perfect Golden Circle (pg 28) to get our creative juices flowing.  This prompt is all about seeing and feeling the heartbeat of the landscape around you - whether that's hills and mountains, the sea, or even a concrete jungle.  Nature is everywhere, sometimes we just need to look a little harder to find it. A few idea to get you started: Choose one aspect of nature, find something seemingly unrelated and connect them - perhaps, as in the extract 'the outlying hills are charcoal smears' - as if blended by an artist's hand; perhaps the crest of that wave reminds you of the candy floss you ate at the fair when you were five.  Maybe the bees don't buzz but hum a song to which only they know the tune.  Find the pulse in what's around you and think about how this particulate landscape can play a part in your creative work, a part that is wise, joyful, or even mischievous. Let me know how you get on if you use this one and enjoy!   Happy creating! Helen x www.instagram.com/prompted.by.nature www.twitter.com/promptedxnature www.promptedbynature.co.uk

In this prompt I give you four words to get you started on a creative piece.  I hope you enjoy it!  Remember to share anything you create with me either via my website www.promptedbynature.co.uk or on insta @prompted.by.nature Happy writing! Helen x

Today's guest is Georgia Wyatt-Lovell an artist, creative and the founder of Wyatt and Jack, a business that turns UK-sourced broken inflatables and deck chairs into the most beautiful bags! Georgia studied ceramics at Chelsea School of Art before continuing her studies at Swansea uni. As we’ll hear, she started Wyatt and Jack when she found out what happened to deck chair fabrics and got inspired to try out turning them into something else.  Wyatt and Jack have been innovating since 2010 and Georgia runs the business with her husband Steve and Marianne, who does customer services.  Georgia handmakes each and every bag herself and stockists include the National Trust and The Barbican in London. W&J have collaborated with, amongst others, Surfer’s Against Sewage, Refuge, Coppa Feel, Lucy and Yak, the Royal Navy and Marines charity (recycling old life rafts!) and Surf Sistas and have been featured on the One Show, BBC News, The Metro to name a few. This conversation doesn’t following the usual structure as we started talking really quickly and the conversation developed naturally - we ended up chatting for and hour and a half; we start mid-way through the conversation and we’ve already spoken about the need for open conversation in the climate movement and Georgia is talking about the need to choose where she puts her energy and her nerves around launching new collections. There are a few swears so be aware of that if you are sensitive to that. We discuss: Choosing where you put you energy The sudden growth of her business and how she dealt with that Definitions of success in business How the idea of Wyatt and Jack came about Her work with corporate businesses and the need for boundaries The importance of the little things and not aiming for perfection Th importance of mental and physical health in running a product-based business Creating achievable price points The work that goes into entirely handmade products The importance of creative exchange Knowing your limits and sticking to them Georgia shares so many stories and anecdotes all of which outline her dedication to her work and creativity and I really appreciate how Wyatt and Jack as a company are driven by the designs and the innovation that comes with that and are solely focused on that. Find Georgia over @wyattandjack on the socials plus on their website www.wyattandjack.com As always I on insta @prompted.by.nature and on my website www.promptedbynature.co.uk and you can buy me a coffee at www.buymeacoffee.com/promptedbynature Please do rate and review. Happy listening! Helen x

In this writing prompt, we focus on woods and trees and I offer some ideas for incorporating these into your writing.   The episodes I refer to are: 'Speaking with the Trees' series 1, episode 7 - Nana Tomova 'Quiet Enough for Nature' series 2, episode 5 - Nick Hayes I've also popped the image I talk about over on my website, which you can find at https://www.promptedbynature.co.uk/series-four/45-cheryl-duerden-in-a-land-of-giants-empathetic-forestry  Let me know how you get on and enjoy! Happy writing! Helen x

This episode’s action point - https://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/support-us/act/ Today I have the pleasure of chatting with Forester, Woodland Surveyor, Writer and Photographer, Cheryl Duerden Originally from Singapore and a graduate in media and mass communication, Cheryl started out in professional photography and journalism in 2002, travelling around the world on assignments. A chance opportunity – as a writer/photographer tagging along on a field trip – opened her eyes to nature conservation. She discovered and learned about tropical rainforests, mangroves and coral reefs, qualified as a scuba diving instructor and plunged deep into the underwater world, a surreal dimension that still captivates me today. Cheryl has travelled to remote islands and witnessed Nature’s marvellous scenes and wildlife, including rare birds of paradise, immense trees, dugongs, sharks and whales. After moving to the UK, Cheryl earned the chance of working with one of the largest conservation organisations in Europe and has since been learning as much as possible about the natural history of Britain, finding her area of speciality in trees. Cheryl says that she is on a journey to become a successful and empathetic forester, arborist, woodland consultant and ancient & veteran tree surveyor! Cheryl’s journey into forestry via conservation photography, writing and diving! Her love of learning How burnout led her to her work in the woods and the insightful colleague who changed everything Cheryl’s memories of nature from her homeland of Singapore Her love of the ‘small things’ The artistry in forestry and the importance of carrying forestry with conservation and positive woodland management Cheryl’s favourite thing about trees She gives her perspective of how she sees the connections that exists in nature The need for humans to take responsibility for the mismanagement of woodlands How tree planting should take into account the older, ancient trees A lesson would like to share with you Her hope for the future You can find Cheryl’s blog over at www.inalandofgiants.blog and her Intagram is @inalandofgiants.blog Remember to listen in to the writing prompt that follows this episode, which will be out on Tuesday. Find me on www.promptedbynature.co.uk , on Instagram @prompted.by.nature, and you can buy me a coffee at www.buymeacoffee.com/promptedbynature Share, rate and review - it really helps! Happy listening! Helen x

In this episode I speak with Lydia Needle.  Lydia is an ecological artist working in Somerset.  In her work, Lydia contemplates what we bring to the planet and our communities - what we can add, what we support.  She also examines waste, erosion, weathering and what we leave behind. Lydia is the Lead Artist and Curator of the ongoing collaborative creative project called ‘FIFTY BEES: The Interconnectedness of All Things,’ which we discuss in this episode. In this episode we discuss: What the Fifty Bees project/exhibition is and how it came about What the artist’s brief was Her unconventional path into the art world Playing a small part in the bigger picture The rise in the profile of weeds How art creates hope Lydia’s creative process What being an eco-artist means to her The importance of accessible art The lesson she’d like to share with you Her hope for the future All links to the exhibition, pieces mentioned in the episode and to Lydia’s social media, website and Folksy shop are in the show notes, so do go and have a look at those.  Lydia’s website is also a haven of art and inspiration, showcasing her work.  Please have a look over there and marvel at her incredible needle felt bee creations - they are amazing! Remember to have a listen to the creative prompt that follows this episode, which will go out on Tuesday and which will shed a light on a couple of the artists involved in the exhibition. Pieces mentioned (all pieces can be found on the Ace Arts Fifty Bees website www.acearts.co.uk): Dandelion (What the Bee Saw) - Sue Spence Weeds? (Stained glass graffiti) - Sarah Roberts The Perfect Imperfect Lawn - Miriam Sheppard Andrena Lepida - Beca Beeby Lydia's Links: Instagram:  @fifty_bees and @lydianeedle www.lydianeedle.com www.fiftybees.uk https://folksy.com/shops/LydiaNeedle As always you can find me on www.promptedbynature.co.uk where you can find links to my Substack newsletter and buy me a coffee page, and I’m on Instagram @prompted.by.nature Enjoy the conversation and remember to have a listen to the creative prompt that will follow and let me know how you get on if you try it. Sending you lots of love, Helen x

The first episode of series four and I’m back after almost a year away!  Really excited to be here again and getting reacquainted with you all.  I have missed the podcast so much but was in dire need of some creative respite. I hope you enjoy this short bridging episode in which I get you all caught up on what I’ve been doing over the past 11 months and let you in on what’s to come in series four. Here’s the website I mentioned for the amazing newsletter:  www.seedlings.media - Enjoy! Happy writing, lovely ones!  Helen x

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 three, episode seven of the podcast. I’m so happy to introduce to you today’s guest, the incredibly talented land artist, Rosalind Lowry. Rosalind Lowry is an award winning artist born in Northern Ireland who attended Chelsea College of Art and Central St. Martins before returning to her native land to set up her studio. Her practice is based on environmental themes and concerns, and using art as an intervention. She works in sculpture, land art and installations. Rosalind has completed a number of residencies across the world, from Rathlin Island to a North Vietnam residency awarded by the Arts Council which focused on natural dyes, another in Quebec dedicated to derelict old buildings, and a recent residency in 2019 for the State Government of Alaska in the national parks. Rosalind lived and worked alone in a remote area of the Alaskan wilderness creating a land art trail to attract people into the state parks. In 2018 Rosalind was one of 100 female artists across the UK chosen to create an artwork for the Artichoke Trust UK to celebrate 100 years of women having the vote. In early 2020, just before lockdown, Rosalind installed a commission of a large environmental sculpture in Belfast Cathedral called The Ark created from fallen branches of local native trees. For the past 2 years Rosalind has been Artist in Residence on the boglands of County Tyrone in Ireland for the Heritage Lottery and Lough Neagh Landscape Partnership, creating a series of installations across the bogs with a view to encouraging preservation of the land and highlighting the endangered animal and plant life on the boglands. In this episode, we discuss: Rosalind’s work and how she came to be a Land Artist Her and art work as funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund to raise the profile of and people engagement with the peat and bogland of Northern Ireland as well as at the Belfast Cathedral Her eventful time creating in the wilds of Alaska Her artistic process from commission to finished piece The ecological and health benefits of peat and bogland and why it needs to be protected Creating art through championing of the ‘under dog’ The space in which she has felt most inspired The need for her to release attachment from her work How she stays creative, her hope for the future and what she would like to pass on Just one thing to note is that the reception was a bit touch-and-go at times but hopefully that doesn’t come through too much - it’s just a note for a couple of patches where Rosalind goes a bit fuzzy. You can find Rosalind stunning work over on her website: www.rosalindlowryartist.com and on Instagram @rosalindlowry As pretty much everything I put out is free, it would mean the world to me if you would rate, review, subscribe and share this episode and any others you have enjoyed so far. And if you would like to go a little deeper, my patreon community starts from £3 per month and I share extra prompts, zines, workbooks and recorded ‘write-with-me’ sessions. That’s over on www.patreon.com/promptedbynature Remember to come and say hello on Instagram @prompted.by.nature or pop over my my website www.promptedbynature.co.uk where you can find all of my workbooks and zines to purchase. I’m taking a bit of a break from most teaching for now but events will go up there when things start up again.

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!

In this writing prompt, I talk you through a creative writing exercise I use in my creative writing sessions that I created inspired by Grayson Perry.  In his Art Club programme a few weeks ago, he described his process for creating a piece centred around a red Fox as being 'making each mark a reaction to the previous one.' How to do the activity: You are given a line, in this case our line is, 'I grow and nurture my plants to see where they will lead.'  Now write another line that is a reaction to this one, then the next is a reaction to this second one and so on until you have five lines, each of which is a 'reaction' to the previous one. The example I give in this episode is:  1.  'I wonder what it is like, inside the earth.' 2.  Rumbles from deep within shake foundations and roots, like some soft but terrible growl.' 3.  She sits atop the highest peak and looks down on the valley, regal in her stature, focused on what lies below.' 4.  'Prowling at night, fur on end, hackles up, they creep...' Once you have your four/five lines, choose one to be your opening line and one to be your closing line.  Write for as long as you wish but set a timer so you have an end :-)  See what happens when you try to direct your piece towards a final line. If you'd like to join the April Writing Project over on Patreon, just pop over to www.patreon.com/promptedbynature and select a tier that works for you. Enjoy!  Helen x www.promptedbynature.co.uk @prompted.by.nature

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!

In this meditation and writing prompt, we begin with a simple breathing exercise to bring the awareness to the breath and the body in order to help you move into the creative mind.  Inspired by Grace's words on the importance of repairing, reusing and repurposing over recycling, I then discuss the idea of repurposing, repairing or restarting a creative piece or idea that you may have put down, put away or completely disregarded.  Nothing is wasted!  Everything you've every created, 'good' or 'bad' can form the basis of something else. Enjoy! Helen x @prompted.by.nature www.promptedbynature.co.uk 

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.

A little glass of water (I don't like coffee :-D ) and a catch-up!  An impromptu solo episode in which I speak about: how things have been going with the Benfield Valley Project The South Coast 100k challenge in aid of the Sussex Wildlife Trust my new Patreon offering  and offer you three questions about your own creative practice Enjoy! Helen x www.prompedbynature.co.uk www.patreon.com/promptedbynature www.justgiving.com/helen-forester123

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

Hello! Welcome to series 3 episode 2 of Prompted by Nature, thank you so much for being here! Lots has been going on on this side of things. The Benfield Valley Project, which I set up last year, is about to become a constituted community group - whoop! - I’ve got started on issue one of my upcoming seasonal e-zine, which I’m really excited about and my newsletter subscribers will know that I’ve done a ‘soft launch’ of my Patreon community. I’ll share the address in a moment but first let me tell you about today’s conversation. Today I’m speaking with the wonderful Stella Tomlinson. Stella Tomlinson is a Priestess of the Goddess Brighid, an author and poet, and an experienced creative meditation guide. She helps women find peace, purpose and trust in life through nurturing a spiritual connection with Mother Earth. Her work has evolved from 20+ years experience in personal and spiritual development through meditation, mindfulness, energy healing, yoga and Goddess and Earth-based spirituality and she's been writing and teaching in these fields since 2011. Her latest book is called 'Whispers From Mother Earth: Poems and prayers of healing, inspiration and transformation'. Stella’s path and how she came to be a Priestess What a Priestess is Stella’s study of Druidry and how it complements her work as a Priestess of Brigid Ancestral and indigenous wisdom and the importance of connecting her spiritual practice with her ancestry Stella’s earliest memory of nature How Stella uses her menstrual cycle to connect with nature How these internal cycles link with her creativity and her writing process The triple goddess archetypes and why Stella works with the five goddess aspects How the writing process of each of her three books differed How she overcomes imposter syndrome The process of self-publishing and why she chose to approach a publisher for her third book How she looks after herself and her own creativity What her path has taught her and her hope for the future I loved having this conversation with Stella. I’ve known her for a number of years now after we met at one of my mala-making workshops in Portsmouth. Our paths have mirrored each other in some ways and so I loved hearing about how she came to move away for the yoga world and into a life more aligned with her heart and inspired by her connection to the earth. You can find Stella on her website at www.stellatomlinson.com and on Instagram @stellasoulwisdom As always you can find me over on www.promptedbynature.co.uk where you can book onto any of my in-person or online events and sign up to my newsletter, on Patreon www.patreon.com/promptedbynature on Instagram @prompted.by.nature and if you’d like to find out more about my 100k run in aid of the Sussex Wildlife Trust in September, which I mentioned in the first episode of this series, or to sponsor me, you can go to www.justgiving.com/helen-forester123 Remember to hang around until the end of the episode when I’ll give you a little insight into the meditation and writing prompt that follows this conversation. Happy listening and I’ll speak to you after.

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! Welcome to episode one series THREE! of Prompted by Nature. It’s so lovely to be back and speaking with some amazing people who I know you will love. A few updates from me before we start. Things have been busy on this side of things as Benfield Valley Project becomes an official CCG (regular listeners will know this story but you can catch up with the goings-on with this in most of my solo episodes), and I’ve also been getting more involved with the Climate Change pressure group Parents for Future. I’m also really excited that I’m going to be launching my Patreon very soon! This is something I’ve toyed with the idea of for a while; I knew I wanted to begin to create more of a community around the podcast and the work that I do on my website, social media and in my online and in-person sessions but really wasn’t sure how it would work. I’ll be using Patreon as more of a membership platform so look out for all the information in my newsletter, the first of which I’ll be sending out next week (sign up via my website), and on social media and I’ll go into a bit more detail about the offerings in the next episode. Due to all of this, I’ve decided that episodes will be released every two weeks rather than every week, just to give myself a bit of breathing space. I’m so excited about upcoming conversations and am so happy to be back at it again after a lengthier break than I had anticipated! So back to today’s conversation. Today I speak with the wonderful Rebecca Lazarou, otherwise known as Las the Plant Scientist. Rebecca is a medicinal plant researcher at Kew Gardens, an editor for the academic Journal of Herbal Medicine, science teacher at schools of herbalism including Botonica, a writer and educator. She is also the proud founder of Laz The Plant Scientist, an educational platform for holistic wellness, science and plant medicines and where she’ll soon be offering her gorgeous botanical creations. In this conversation we talk about: What a Plant Scientist is and how she came to study Ancient Greek Medicines at Kew Garden Research around psychedelics How she came to do what she does Awe and her work How she came to work with Kew The importance of creating a record of quality for plant medicines The importance of connection to indigenous wisdom and the land in plant sciences The part that her own creativity plays in her work How she grounds her energy and uses visualisation in her day Plants to help with your creativity Her hope for the future What she has learnt that she would like you to know You can find Rebecca on Instagram @laztheplantscientist and sign up for her newsletter over on her website www.rebeccalazarou.com As always you can find me over on Instagram @prompted.by.nature or on my website www.promptedbynature.co.uk where you can find all the details of my upcoming in-person outdoor creative writing sessions and creativity day retreats as well as my online versions of these offerings. My Thursday evening session is the highlight of my week and I’m considering starting another Monday night one. Please do join in when you can.

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

Welcome to this meditation and writing prompt inspired by my conversation with Lucy Groves of the White Stork Project. This prompt is a little different to what we usually do. I’ll be talking you through the prompt and then we’ll have the pleasure of listening to a White Stork greeting ceremony for a few of minutes to help get your centred and inspired to create a piece of work based on whatever comes up for you as a result. I’d also recommend opening the white stork project website and look at the migration map on their ‘news’ page. The link is in the show notes for ease but you can find it at www.whitestorkproject.org/news and it’s the entry for 13th October 2020. As I mentioned, this prompt is all about the storks that Lucy spoke about and her work with them. Here are some ideas if you listening to the soundscape and struggle with getting started: An ‘ode to the Storks’ A piece entitled ‘Flying with the Storks’ Research wildlife species that are native to your region or country and the initiatives working with these species and write something inspired by your findings Based on this research, why not envision a world in which these species live in abundance alongside humans? What would this world be like? How would it differ from our own? Listen to the soundscape and free write along with it These are just a few ideas, just see where the prompt and the ideas brought up in the episode take you. As always, don’t judge your creativity before you’re started and enjoy the process! I’m going to play the soundscape for three minutes and then it’ll fade out for you to either listen to again to start creating! Happy writing!

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!  Welcome to this meditation and writing prompt for my interview with Anita Bagdi.  In this episode, I speak about my own eco-anxiety and strategies that help me to manage and soothe it.  There are a few prompt questions (below) and I direct you to some meditations that help me over on the website. Prompt Questions: What is your definition of Eco-Anxiety? What triggers it specifically? How does your body/mind/breathe feel when you encounter your eco-anxiety? What strategies do you already have for dealing with your eco-anxiety? ----------------- Some ideas listed in the episode: Create something beautiful Get involved in a community project Use the meditations from your favourite episodes of Prompted by Nature or go to https://www.promptedbynature.co.uk/free-meditations for some older recordings I've done covering themes such as anxiety and overwhelm. Know that you are not alone Get help if you need it Let me know how you get on! Helen x

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!

Find yourself in a comfortable, seated position somewhere quiet.   We’re going to begin this meditation and writing prompt with some breath work and then do a little bullet journalling.   If you want to download the full transcript and questions for later they are up in the show notes on Marchelle’s episode on the website - just go to the series two page at www.promptedbynature.co.uk Otherwise, just have your notebook or journal to hand.  I’ll guide you through the meditation and questions and then leave you to write whatever these inspire, whether these are connected to the questions or not. Enjoy! Helen x

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!