A few of the candidates were recently asked what made a place like Grizedale Forest a healthy place to be:
"A place to get exercise"
"Because there are trees there"
"A morning out of school"
"A chance to dig!"
"It's not that healthy when it's raining and cold!"
"We get to play on the adventure playground!"

There was a variety of responses but all those asked did agree that it was generally a healthy place to be.

They were then asked if they felt healthier for being in the Forest:
"It's a chance to get some exercise and when we do ASDAN we are told that exercise is healthy!"
"Yea too right"
"I like working in the forest it makes me use my muscles."

Our candidates have at least one thing in common, they enjoy hard work and learning, and being able to pass on what they have learned to others.

The whisperings were becoming louder as the day stretched out, something was going to happen. That was sure, but the nature of the whispers was still too quiet to be heard over the general chat of the day. Then it happened. It was a shout that would have shaken all the crows and sparrows and magpies from the trees!

One of the Explorer Award candidates had missed some sessions and was a number of hours down. I suggested to her that she could possibly do some conservation work at home or simply go for a walk in her local park or some other wild place. She seemed to be listening to what was being said. When she returned after the holidays she presented me not only with a list of local places she had visited, but with photographs mounted on paper with comments about what she had been doing. The best part of all the extra work she had completed was that she had taken her family with her, and she had explained to them about discovering wild places, that they could be anywhere, and that they could be enjoyed by all and not just candidates studying for the awards!

Discovery, exploration, and sharing, all on her own doorstep!

Winter in Arnside

Image copyright www.bayphotographic.co.uk

The morning really began a few minutes into the new day as I woke and looked out of the window to see how the frost had suddenly turned to snow on the roof of the neighbour's house. It was difficult to sleep after that as there was an excitement about what the rest of the morning would bring.


Snow brings with it a new place to discover, a new wild place to explore and enjoy and learn about.

It was difficult to lift my sleepsoaked body up from the bed as the boundaries between the mattress, myself and the duvet had suddenly become more than a little hazy and was proving difficult to sort out, despite the prospect of being amid the winter snow.

But something was whispering in my ear that today would prove to be good, fresh, and what the essence of the John Muir Award was all about.

Later as I waited for my lift I thought about taking my camera to record some of the sites that I would be experiencing throughout the day, not quite the flower press that John Muir had carried with him, but one that could nonetheless make a faithful record.

Wild places seem a little tamed when they have a covering over them, as though they are resting; but they are not always so genial especially when they stir, turn over in their comfortable bed, and throw off the duvet that is over them, then wild places show why they are called wild places and what makes them a great place to discover.