I hosted my first nature writing workshop and walk at Brandon Marsh Nature Reserve, in conjunction with the Warwickshire Wildlife Trust, open to 11-18 year olds. It was a brilliant experience.
I was really impressed with the poems that people wrote, and loved the enthusiasm during the nature walk. Big thank you to Dan from The Wildlife Trust for leading the walk alongside me, it was great to talk to the group about a variety of wildlife, including wayfaring trees and their folklore, lapwings, eyebright, knopper galls and lichen.
The writing I used in today's workshop: Crow and The Birds by Ted Hughes (clip one), Kingfisher by Robert Macfarlane, Mushrooms by Sylvia Plath, Adder by Robert Macfarlane, To The Roost by myself, Swan and Shadow by John Hollander, Being But Men by Dylan Thomas.
We talked about using the senses, rhythm and rhyme, writing as an activism, enhancing our description and for a bit of fun we played around with structure. We also worked on building confidence - it was heartwarming to see a lot of the attendees come out of their shell as the afternoon progressed. Most people even felt comfortable enough to read out their work by the end! I had some lovely, very positive feedback from the attendees, swipe to read it.
I am looking for more opportunities to run workshops. If you know a group who would be interested, please DM me.