The Community Farm, Chew Covid19 Response Fund
How are you doing today? The world creaks back into action but still many of us cannot go back into our normal activities.
The wonderful people at the Community Farm have been fundraising for a Covid19 response in order to reach out to those who would have enjoyed coming to the farm but are unable to do so.
Everything has gone online it seems, but the remote experience has its limits, so we are doing a completely tech-free offer! We are putting together natural craft and mindfulness packs that give a taste of our sessions while we are not able to meet in person. As EcoWild courses aim to enhance our relationships with ourselves, each other and the living world that we are part of, the packs will centre on the ways we usually do this.
They include Mindfulness in Nature daily practices, some wildflower seeds (planting hope for next spring!), a willow hoop and wool with instructions for crafting and a Wellbeing Journal.
Particularly for people who are living alone, isolated and who regularly struggle with depression / anxiety / low mood and health concerns, the packs will offer support to access the huge support and solace of having meaningful contact with nature. A regular habit of noticing the unfolding of the rhythms and details of the living world refocuses attention away from the fearful, intangible unknown, and towards gratitude, awe, groundedness and present-centredness. Nearby nature can be simply the wild sky from the window or the changing sounds or smells from hedgerows and verges.
Nature based mindfulness supports habits of mind that bring awareness to these aspects of everyday surroundings. Practical activities such as wildflower planting and weaving with wool and willow bring contact with natural materials that build a familiarity with and understanding of a complex, diverse living world.
All supply chains have been carefully considered as they are how we interact with and play our part in the web of life; they are as important to EcoWild as to The Community Farm. The journals support the charity MIND, the wildflower seeds are from a local CIC, the wool for crafting is from British sheep and produced in Cornwall, and the willow is grown on the Somerset levels.
We know that coming to the farm (and indeed Greyfield woods) for regular wellbeing sessions really is a lifeline, and we want to keep that connection available in these disrupted times. We also want to reach out to those who haven’t come on our sessions before and in doing so make new connections.
If you or someone you know would like to receive a pack please email emily@ecowild.org.uk. The pack will be dropped off by The Community Farm delivery vans if they are in your area, or by Royal Mail.