By Kate Hodges
14th January 2021
DO New Issue!
The latest issue of the Green Parent is out now! The first edition of 2021 has just been published, packed with cosy, uplifting content to help you stay connected and peaceful during the winter months. Inside you will find: Take 15 minutes to improve your relationships, follow cycle awareness advice to boost fertility, nurture your mental wellbeing with plants and read about the importance of the deschooling process. Plus ideas on how to tell a story, take our outdoor challenge (1000 hours outside this year!), feed your family nourishing low carb treats and get better sleep….All this plus plenty more inside to inspire. Get it now, subscribe via our website, or purchase a single issue for just £3 plus p&p here.
DO and RECIPE Wassail up?
We find that marking even obscure festivals is helping power us through lockdown; it spices up and differentiates days, as well as helping us observe changes in the seasons. Current restrictions mean that organised wassailing events won’t be taking place this year. So this time around, we’ll have to create our own traditions. Find out more about the history of the pagan custom of visiting orchards to sing to the trees and so ensure a good harvest here and here. Perhaps you might make a visit to pour cider over the roots of some fruit trees within walking distance, or if you’re lucky enough to have one in your garden, make a hullabaloo banging pots and pans. Even if there are no trees within striking distance, a warming, spiced wassail cup is always welcome; find a version with alcohol here and a child-friendly recipe here
EVENT Eco Drag
Once more, the Southbank Centre is bringing light to our lives; literally and spiritually. If you’re close enough for a exercise walk in SE1, explore the outdoor light exhibition that is curling around the trees and benches Thames-side. Alternatively, head online for a feast of free activities, from the thoughtful and emotional interactive adventure, The Origin of Carmen Power to 111, a powerful dance duet, hip hop film Here/Not Here and Glooptopia!, a live exploration of political hope with autistic green drag queen Oozing Gloop. Find out more here
DO Outdoor Fun
These simple outdoor play ideas from Thimble and Twig are setting our inspiration antennae a-twitching! Finding natural things to fit in an egg box is such a simple but lovely thing to do, while the natural mobile and jar xylophone are now on our to-make list.
DO Magical Menagerie
We were so excited about the Natural History Museum’s Fantastic Beasts: The Wonder of Nature exhibition, but sadly lockdowns have put the show on ice for now. However, you can get a sneaky taster of the wonders on display virtually. Head to the Museum’s website for a free digital wander around the gallery, as well as augmented reality treats and a trip around Hintze Hall with Sir David Attenborough
BONUS ACTIVITY - MAKE THE MOST OF YOUR EXERCISE WALKS
The last year has seen us exploring our neighbourhood on foot more deeply than ever. We’ve found nature reserves we didn’t know existed, pockets of wildness filled with animals, flowers and plants to forage and eat. We’ve scoured large-scale maps for new pathways and cycle routes, and looked at this historical map overlay site to find long-forgotten ancient monuments and quirky historical sites nearby to explore. Why not try looking for some secret history near you? Atlas Obscura compiles local oddities from a tree trail across Hackney to whirlpools conjured up by witches and trees growing in a mandala of tombstones laid by a famous writer. Find the whole glorious global map of curiosities here and explore this weird world from your desktop. Find more ideas to make your daily walk more fun here
****Don’t forget! The Big Garden Bird Watch takes place January 29–31. Sign up today to be sure to get all the information you need ahead of time****
LOCKDOWN RESOURCES
Many of us are again under restrictions. Don’t forget our Lockdown Lifesavers list of lesson plans, home-ed resources, workouts and online fun and Food Directory, where we’ve gathered some great independent food stores and co-ops who are pulling together to provide you with fresh, healthy, ethical supplies.
BIRTH STORIES WANTED!
Do you have a positive birthing story? We’re starting a new regular feature in the magazine and we would love you to be part of it. We’re looking for bite-sized acccounts of your experiences, whether you had a baby in a yurt, half-way up a mountain, at home, or in hospital.
Perhaps you laughed your way through your birthing experience, or it was orgasmic. Maybe another of your children helped deliver their little sister, or you unexpectedly welcomed twins. We’re looking for the extraordinary to the ordinary, the funny, the tender, the heartwarming stories of babies coming into the world, whether it was last week or several decades ago.
If you’d like to share your tale in the magazine email [email protected]
What we’ve been reading this week:
Mothers Who Make Facebook Group “Mothers Who Make is an artist-led movement that aims to support mothers to maintain their artistic identities alongside their care-giving roles, and to make motherhood better valued & more visible in society. We run a programme of peer-support meetings, creative events and projects, across the UK and overseas.” Read more here
Found something inspirational to read that you’d like to share? Want to share your creations with us? Have an idea for things to do? We’d love to hear from you. Email Kate
