> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://thegreenparent.co.uk/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Raising Wild Children - URL: https://thegreenparent.co.uk/featured/raising-wild-children-seren-hawley-plows/ - Published: 2026-10-23T16:00:00.000Z - Updated: 2026-10-23T16:04:02.000Z - Description: Raised on foraged berries and fairy stories in North Wales, the Hedgerow Healing founder explains why children need their wild edges back. A taste of our autumn issue. - Author: The Green Parent - Tags: nature education, foraging, outdoor play, #no-issue-banner **Seren Hawley-Plows on folklore, family and falling in love with nature. Interview by James Dixon.** There is a photograph many parents would recognise. A small child crouches beside a hedgerow, utterly absorbed in something most adults would walk straight past. It might be a berry, a beetle or an unusual leaf, but for that child it is a discovery. That sense of wonder, of the natural world as somewhere to explore rather than simply pass through, is at the heart of everything Seren Hawley-Plows does. Known to hundreds of thousands through her Hedgerow Healing social media channels, Seren grew up in rural North Wales immersed in folklore, foraging and seasonal traditions. Her new book, The Ancient Ways, is a beautifully written guide to reconnecting with nature through the changing seasons, blending folklore, practical advice and accessible rituals in a way that feels welcoming rather than intimidating. It isn't a manual for escaping modern life, but an invitation to slow down and notice it more deeply, whether you live beside mountains or on a city estate. For Seren, this relationship with nature began almost as soon as she could walk. "I grew up in the rolling countryside of Ynys Môn, North Wales," she says. "Surrounding our small cottage was a network of old hedgerows and field systems." Money was scarce, so much of the family's food came from the landscape itself. Her mother, the family's herbalist, would take her along country lanes, teaching her how to identify berries, herbs and trees and explaining which could be eaten and which should be avoided. "By the age of two I could apparently identify between five kinds of red berry and if they were a food source or if they were toxic," she laughs. Some of her happiest memories are wonderfully simple: running with the family's goats, gathering herbs, picking berries and being trusted to explore. > ***"Being allowed to identify plants, pick berries and generally be a little bit feral definitely helped to shape who I am."*** ## Wild, untamed edges That freedom is something she worries many children are increasingly missing. "Modern childhoods are at risk of losing the wild, untamed edges that come with the magic of growing up," she says. "Instead they are becoming fearful of the outdoors." She is quick to acknowledge that caution has its place. Children need to understand rivers, poisonous plants and genuine hazards. But she believes modern life often tips too far towards protection, creating an unintended distance between children and the natural world. "I was lucky growing up in the countryside, with parents who encouraged me to run around barefoot, climb trees and rocks and generally just let me be wild. If I was stung by nettles or scratched by brambles, then this was all a good lesson in how to be cautious in the natural world." **Want to read on?** *The rest of Seren's story, including how to spark wonder in a city park, why folklore helps children see nature with new eyes and how to start foraging as a family, is in our autumn issue, out now.* [**Buy the print issue, £5.95**](https://subs.thegreenparent.co.uk/products/autumn-2026?ref=thegreenparent.co.uk) · [**Get the digital download**](https://subs.thegreenparent.co.uk/products/autumn-2026-digital-download?ref=thegreenparent.co.uk) [![The Green Parent autumn 2026 issue cover](https://subs.thegreenparent.co.uk/cdn/shop/files/TGP131.jpg?v=1789725771)](https://subs.thegreenparent.co.uk/products/autumn-2026?ref=thegreenparent.co.uk) ## Enjoying this? Get The Weekend Read The best of The Green Parent in your inbox every weekend, plus members-only stories and competitions. Sign me up Thank you! Check your inbox to confirm. Free, every weekend. Unsubscribe any time. --- [***The Ancient Ways***](https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1035065991?tag=thegreenpar0a-21&linkCode=ll2&linkId=a26f39c5a9c76e86e9aebbb18b893b68&ref=thegreenparent.co.uk) *by Seren Hawley-Plows is out now, published by Bluebird.* *This article contains affiliate links. If you buy a book through one of them, The Green Parent may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you, which helps support our independent magazine.*