Summer Medicine Making & Tree Tending Community day

Price Options

Adults £20, children free

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About the course

Join us for a morning of gathering and crafting medicines from the forest, hedgerows and meadows, followed by an afternoon tending the trees and ecosystems of the Children’s Forest. Adults and accompanied children are welcome.
We create a connective learning experience that will enable and inspire you to gather and share skills with your families and the children you work with. Through nature connection practices, practical knowledge and ancestral skills we explore connective ways to engage children with nature.


For most of our evolution, humans have lived in sync with nature.  Our nervous systems are hard-wired to respond to stimuli received from the natural world.  Faced with the over-stimulation of our modern world, our senses have become dulled and our sense of wellbeing affected.
This day offers the opportunity to remember your natural state of being in relationship with nature and to celebrate the gifts of summer.  We will use established nature connection practices to awaken your senses and restore wellbeing, and offer some that you can take with you to practice in your daily life.

Who is this course suitable for?

  • This course is suitable for adults and accompanied children, both beginners level and those with more experience in nature connection.

The course will cover

  • Learn wild medicines to forage for food and medicine for all the family.
  • Nurturing opportunities for adults and children to connect with the natural world together through creative processes.
  • You will learn techniques, which will aid your well-being and provide an opportunity to explore your inner worlds.

About the tutors

Anna Richardson: Anna has been a nature mentor and trained forest school leader for over 20 years, working with children of all ages and mentoring adults in plant lore, foraging, nature connection and bushcraft. The 8 Shields deeply informs Anna’s work and approach.  She is passionate about connecting to nature through creativity and reverence for life and is also a forest school trainer through Circle of Life Rediscovery and has co-authored two books : Learning with Nature and The Children’s Forest and am the founder of the Children’s Forest.

Erica Shorter: Erica has been learning and playing in nature as a Forest School Leader and Nature Connection Mentor for over 10 years. She is happiest wandering barefoot in the forest and brings a flavour of deep nature connection into her work with children and adults. She is informed and inspired by the 8 Shields and is passionate about creating spaces for people to deeply connected with nature and their inner landscapes.

Testimonials

Upcoming courses

September 20th 2026, 10-1.30pm

Autumn Equinox Community Celebration

Adults: suggested donation £10-£20, Children: FREE

Celebrate the bounty of the years harvest together at Spring Rise. We will celebrate the gifts of the land through song, story crafts and simple ceremony to honour this special time of year and the generosity of the land.

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September 24th 2026, 10am-12pm

Parent & Toddler Group

Adults: £5 suggested donation pp, Children FREE

Journey with us and the trees as we gather around the fire, forage from the trees, sing songs and share stories, crafts and connection.

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Sept 26th 2024, 4-6pm GMT

WEBINAR; Introduction to growing Forests from Seed

£7-£15 sliding scale

Join us online as we introduce our Forest From Seed programme. Learn the practicals of seed gathering, germinating, planting and tending trees & how to develop knowledge and care for the trees through story, song and craft to create a meaningful relationship that deepens connection and more.

Find out more