Welcome to our new Nature Wellbeing Calendar series.
Every month, our Calendars treat you to loads of easy and enjoyable ways to get your regular healthy ‘dose’ of nature. Learn more about how nature helps your health and wellbeing.
Here’s some ideas for August. How many can you do this month? 🙂
1. Yum. Get out your tubs and relish Blackberry picking season! Keep your eye on wild Hedges and Bramble patches, and watch as the fruit turns from green to red to a plump black. When you finally find a juicy one, enjoy savouring the burst of tart sweetness in your mouth. Crumble, jam, blackberry and apple cake …. yes please!
2. Wild Hedges are good for Hedgehogs too. Did you know that Hedgehog numbers have fallen by 30% in the last 10 years? You can help. Leave a patch of your garden to go wild, or create a ‘Hedgehog Highway’ with a gap at the bottom of your fence. This allows Hedgehogs to roam freely at night and find more food. They will feast on slugs, and help your prized plants survive, too! Find out more about caring for Hedgehogs.
3. Flower of the month is Pineapple Weed! Unsurprisingly, the small yellowish-green flower heads of this low-lying plant look like pineapples. What is surprising is that they also smell like pineapples! If you need a pick me up on a warm day’s walk, just bend down and gently squeeze a flower. You’ll be delighted by its refreshing smell, and feel energised for your journey home.
4. Need some shade on a hot day? Head into the woods! There are many small Woods in York. Why not walk or ride one of our Nature Routes to Knavesmire Wood, Rowntree Park Wood or Danesmead Wood? Once there, wander for a while. Find a seat in the cool shade, and relax. Take a few deep breaths. Breathe in through your nose, and out through your mouth. What can you see, hear, or smell in the woods around you? And how do you feel?
5. Enjoy a ride or walk out to Askham Bog. Formed in the Ice Age, it’s now one of the most biologically-diverse habitats in the North of England. What will you do there? Search for the giant Royal Fern, listen to birdsong from rarer Garden or Willow Warblers, or simply sit by the Pond in peace. Write or draw about your discoveries in your Nature Journal. Or perhaps take photos and share with friends and family and in our Nature WhatsApp Group.
6. Zip! Stop in your tracks as a bright spark of blue, green, yellow or red zips past you by the Pond. Keep still, and it will hover at head height and take a good look, before darting away again. Exciting! But is it a Dragonfly or Damselfly? Dragonflies are more striking, bigger and stouter than Damselflies. At rest, Dragonflies hold their wings flat out to the side, whereas Damselflies clasp their wings together behind them. Learn to tell the difference between Dragonflies and Damselflies.
7. Bring on the lights! The best meteor shower of the year, The Perseids, has arrived. Whilst the show lasts about a month, it’s most magnificent mid-August, with 150 meteors an hour. Look out your window, or take a night trip out for some star-gazing. And don’t forget to wish upon that falling star. 🙂 Discover more about the Perseids.
8. Finally, have you heard of the ‘golden hour’? On a sunny day, as the sun slowly sets, the blue sky fades to yellow. The last of the light warms the landscape in soft golden tones. Gaze out your window, or go for an evening stroll. Bask in the golden glow and let your lips curve into a smile, your shoulders drop, and your body relax. Feel grateful for the incredible beauty of the natural world.
York Bike Belles 