Hi I am Clare and your guide for this journey!

I have lived in the town my entire life. I didn't intend to, but life happened and I ended up staying. I have come to realise that Nature is not something that is only "out there," in the countryside. I think I was meant to be here so that I could help others. The other thing I learned was that people in the country are not any more Nature-connected than people in the town, some are, of course. However, some are much less connected. Nor is it the case that the people with vast knowledge of different species are more connected. So whether you live in the town or country, have an encyclopedic knowledge of birds or have none, this journey has much to offer you.

I haven't always been so "Nature-connected" either. For many years I worked in a lab with no windows and only infrequently ventured into the garden that I had wanted for so long. Working life and the lure of screens and the cosy indoors drew me in until I became virtually housebound after the birth of my second child. At this point I had very low mood - I was tearful and out of sorts. So my doctor suggested joining a group of other mums and also getting outdoors. It started with a walk of 15 minutes along a local river. Watching the sunlight dancing on the water and hearing the birds singing really woke me up to the fact that without this noticing Nature, I was not able to thrive at all.

It had such an immediate and profound effect, I became commited to sharing it with others and trained as a Nature connection guide. Now, of course, the health service is actually prescribing such experiences for people - so-called "green presecriptions." The science has shown that Nature-connectedness is important both for our wellbeing and for those times that we are struggling. That is not to say that it is a cure-all, but it has helped a lot of people.

In spite of my indoors lifestyle, I have always had a strong love of wildlife and an interest in "the environment." This is at little at odds with the science, which suggests that Nature-connectedness, rather than knowledge, has a big role to play in how motivated people are in undertaking sustainable and pro-conservation behaviours. I believe strongly that healing the disconnection between Humans and wider Nature is key to solving the big crises we face (climate, ecological and perhaps social justice and mental health too).

It is really important to me that what I offer flows from my connection with Nature, actually co-created with wider Nature. So, what is shared here has been gifted to me to share with you over the years that I have been devoting time to this connection and asking how I can serve both the Human and the Wild.

What has been offered has a distinctly spiritual flavour. I am a scientist by background and so felt a little unsure about how this would be received by my community. I wasn't sure whether this was the place to start with an introductory course, but there is no getting away from it - our connection with Nature is existential and the disconnection goes far beyond being too busy. It reaches right into what we believe about ourselves and wider Nature. I hope that you will find this a rich and wonderful adventure. This is an experiential course - the main part of this is very much hands-on! The words are really just to point you to those experiences. As such, your real teachers are out in the wider world, waiting for you and will make your journey a unique one.

I have tried to make this course as accessible as possible, but please do get in touch if there are any aspects that do not meet your needs and I will try to help in any way I am able.

There is so much I would love to share with you, but I realise that we are almost all of us facing lots of calls on our time and so I have aimed to keep the content to the core things you need to know, plus a few optional extras (these are marked "optional" so that you know you can skip over them or save them for later if you wish).

Creating the Course

Social and environmental justice, ethics, authenticity and integrity are all hugely important to me, so all of the content of this course was created through connecting with wider Nature and sharing what I was inspired to offer. Therefore, none of this content has been generated by AI (artificial intelligence) with the exception of the video transcripts, which use a tool to detect the words from my speech. The videos are recorded live and unscripted, so they may seem rather less polished than you might find elsewhere. However, this means that I am offering what is present for me at the time of recording. This does mean that they are authentic and, as such, I share my own personal views and values. I recognise that these may not reflect your own, so do take what you need from this course and leave the rest!