By Kate Hodges
12th March 2020
EVENT Here Comes The Spring
Our new issue of The Green Parent, out this weekend, is packed with fresh, zingy ideas to take you into spring. Find out how to foster wonder in your family, take easy steps to rewild your children, try recipes for raw sweet treats, discover how to raise a reader, and read tips to make reusable nappy wearing a breeze. Or browse our ideas for spring activities that include finding new wellbeing and outdoor life festivals, singing in the woods together, trying out new nature-based play ideas, living like a Bronze Age person, becoming more mindful as a family, cutting down screen time, and taking time out to listen to the dawn chorus. Plus all your regular favourites and much more! Find your copy in your nearest good newsagents. Alternatively, subscribe or buy a single issue online
EVENT We’re Lambing
It’s that magical time – lambing season. Meet the new, bouncing arrivals, and, if you’re lucky, you may get to feed or snuggle them. Many farms, particularly community farms creak open their gates during March and April for everyone to meet the new arrivals. Find our favourite farms here, head to a City Farm in London, or find a community run place near you here or here. If you can’t get to a place near you, why not catch up with the tiny fluffs of wool coming into the world via St Fagans Museum of History in Wales’ Lambcam.
RECIPE and Do Wrack and Roll
Many regard March 17 as the first day of the seaweed picking season. Why not head to the coast to track down some of this tasty, nutrient-packed sea vegetable – there are good guides to foraging here and here and a guide to edible seaweeds here. Take inspiration from these recipes and try yours on pizza, as pesto, or to add a salty kick to sesame roasted cashews. If you have dry hands, try popping the bubbles of the bladderwrack and rubbing the oil into your hands – it’s a great natural moisturiser – try this recipe for a home-made calming face cream.
EVENT and RECIPE Easy Being Green
Ireland’s biggest St Patrick’s Day parades may have been cancelled this year, but London’s is, at the time of writing, still going ahead. Prefer to stay at home to celebrate? Why not try making some green food? You don’t have to load up on food colouring to make emerald-hued recipes, try green monster bread, low on refined sugar but high on spinach, a bright, vegan apple, mint and coconut smoothie, or, for grown-ups, an indulgent white chocolate matcha drink.
EVENT Barded Up
March 16–22 is Shakespeare Week, the perfect time to introduce smaller theatre fans to the works of the great writer. There are events taking place across the country, see family-friendly productions, take part in acting workshops, or join a creative writing class – many are free. This year the theme is Art and Design. If you’d rather stay at home, find plenty of resources for home educators and ideas for families on the website, or why not try drawing your own portrait of the great writer – find a downloadable challenge booklet here?
COMING UP
The Big Pedal
The Big Pedal takes place on April 22, challening children to ride, scoot or walk to school. Persuade your school to sign up now and get wallcharts, cards, and a place on the leaderboard.
What we’ve been reading this week:
How to protect yourself from the coronavirus
“Countless studies have found that the healthier your immune system is, the less likely you are to get a disease and the more likely you are, if you do get sick, to have a milder episode. So, yes, you should wash your hands and wipe down surfaces but you can also take preventative measures to protect your body against infection.
Herbal medicine is rich in plants that can keep you healthy. So I thought I’d share some plants that can help you:
- strengthen a weak immune system
- stimulate a stronger immune response if you do feel sick
- fight off viruses (like the flu and coronavirus)” Read more here
