A  wonderful source of inspirational ideas, people and resources for connecting children and families with nature.

A great 15 page pamphlet from UK based Mind.org.uk. Explains the mental health benefits of connecting with nature and gives tips and ideas to try. These articles from the ABC in Australia and Washington Post in the US provide a good overview of the benefits.

In her 2018 article, ‘Rewilding your Child’, Joanna Pocock introduces some of the leading experts and thinkers drawing attention to the ‘nature deficit’ pandemic in the West and some of the inspiring community lead initiatives leading the re-wilding movement to help address this deficit. 

This community driven movement is creating more wild time opportunities and free, curriculum-based activities. Examples include the Australian-based Nurture in Nature, the UK-based Wild Network, the North American Association of Environmental Educators (NAAEE) and Richard Louv’s US-based Children and Nature Organisation which advocates for ‘more green, less screen’.  He has written seminal books on the subject including 'Last Child in the Wood' and more recently 'Our Wild Calling'.

My books are a new contribution to a growing wealth of great nature books for kids being published.   Some lists include The Guardian List of Childrens Nature books, Backwoods Mama, MotherNatured, books by Ashland Creek Press who specialise in Ecolit publications.  The British writer, painter, and art critic John Berger, wrote a famous 1977 essay, “Why Look at Animals in which he tracks our changing connection with animals back through time.  "With their parallel lives, animals offer man a companionship different from any offered by human exchange. Different because it is a companionship offered to the loneliness of man as a species".

With live wildlife cam feeds on Youtube you can sneak a peak into the lives of almost any animal or bird. I 've fallen in love with Puffin Watch, and regular check in on them. A great way to learn and enjoy.

Take it a step further and become a Citizen Scientist.  Australian opportunities listed HERE.

This Netflix documentary is a powerful, moving example of the personal transformation that can occur through connecting with another living being. Watch HERE.

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Visit the makers website for tips on how you can do it too! - www.mywildteacher.com

Dadirri is an Aboriginal word and practice from the Malak Malak people who live in Nauiyu (the Daly River community) in the Northern Territory.  It means ‘the practise of deep inner listening and quiet still awareness, which connects us and nurtures spiritual well-being’.

Read and watch a short film about Dadirri on the Miriam Rose Foundation website HERE.

Enjoy this fascinating Ted talk explanation about the wonderful world of smell that our loveable dogs experience every day. Click HERE to watch.