Libraries & Nature, a Creative, Historical & Mindful Partnership!
Libraries have taken themselves out into some of Manchester’s beautiful green spaces recently. 3 libraries paired up with a park and it’s Park Ranger to plan and deliver a walk that encouraged people to explore and discover the benefits, to our sense of well-being and community, through interacting with green spaces. Thanks to Culture Nature England, Libraries Connected & Natural England that enabled these fantastic activities to take place.
The first walk kicked off with Brooklands Library.
The sun shone magnificently for our first Nature Walk in Wythenshawe Park! Designed to be both an accessible, interesting walk around Wythenshawe Park and a celebration of International Women’s Day, the walk took place on Saturday 8th March, with the finishing line being Brooklands Library.
Participants took part in a walk incorporating the history of the park, as well as literary connections to nature. During the circular route, we spoke of the history of the park (specifically the ‘Women of Wythenshawe’), looked through some amazing photos from the local images archive to see which we identified or connected with the most, and enjoyed reading through some nature poems from female authors.
Making our way back to Brooklands library, everyone helped themselves to tea, coffee, biscuits, and cake for a well-earned refreshment. All who attended found the walk to be a wonderful way to connect to their local park, and loved the additional elements brought in through photographs and poetry.
“Fab event this morning. For the hard work you put in, from start to finish it was great…hope you can do more in the future. The refreshments were really lovely and much appreciated at the end of the walk.”
Arcadia Library joined up with a Mindfulness Practitioner Karen Walsh
to deliver a gentle and mindful walk through Levenshulme’s very beautiful wild space Highfield Country Park.
On the day, we were thankfully blessed with mild spring weather. Highfield was glorious! Library staff, Park Ranger, Ricky and Mindfulness Practitioner Karen Welsh greeted a group of Local Levy folk at the Bowler St entrance to the park.
We set off after an introduction to Mindfulness from Karen with a gentle breathing exercise to center ourselves and slow down into the rhythm of the morning…letting go of the busy nature of our lives. Karen then invited us to walk in silence paying attention at different points throughout the walk to the sounds around us, at other times we paid attention to the textures of nature, such as the leaves, lichen on branches, and fungus growing out of wood stumps. Each activity lasted 10 – 15 minutes, after which we stood or sat in a circle and shared what we had noticed and how it made us feel. The walk took us through the Bee Sanctuary an outstanding area that has been taken on by the local community, creating a space dedicated to biodiversity. As we wended our way along well-trodden paths of many before us, we finally ended up in a small forest like glade. With the sun piercing the canopy Karen handed out cardboard picture frames and invited us to really focus on the scenes of nature contained within these rectangles.
“It really helped me to feel more grounded and connected to local nature and a feeling of soothed and calmed. I’m not feeling very well today, and it really helped me manage that and feel more restored and kinder to myself.”
After the walk everyone headed back to the library to share lunch and laughter and get to know each other better. The response from participants and staff alike was overwhelmingly positive and asking, “for more walks please!!”
“A really peaceful activity and to just walk without speaking and listen to the sounds even the different birds and with a very friendly bunch of people and have the chance to go to Highfield Park which we wouldn’t normally go to on our own due to safety issues, and the foods lovely to … thank you “
Next up was a playful activity from Moss Side Powerhouse Library
It was particularly appealing to children, young people and families.
On a sunny Saturday morning in Whalley Range, there was a gathering under the trees.
From across the neighbourhood, families met up to explore Alexandra Park’s woods, search for golden leaves in the coppice, spy on robins, collected leaves and twigs to form faces in crevices of the trees themselves. A fearless few even put on blindfolds and explored the landscape through touch and sound.
Joined by nature walkers from 2 years old to 60, we shared books, fed squirrels and spent time in the peaceful company of strangers.
