Kate Tunstall is the editor of bullet journaling and personal growth blog, Refined Prose. Through her website, she shares her passion for journaling and other areas of positive psychology which support mental health and wellbeing. A particular area of interest is spending time in nature, which Kate and her family enjoy most weekends, with geocaching, litter picking, and kayaking being some favourite pastimes.
We sat down with Kate to find out how she will be tackling our month-long nature challenge, and why, as an advocate for improving mental health and wellbeing, she thinks this is a great opportunity to let nature boost your mood this June.
Why have you signed up for 30 Days Wild this year?
If I’m honest, signing up probably won’t change my habits through the month as we already spend a lot of time outdoors. The only difference is that I’ll be making a record of them and sharing what we’re doing as a family!
I’ve signed up because I’m passionate about the health benefits of spending time outdoors. It’s excellent for physical and mental health, partly just being around nature, but also because it promotes exercise and cultivates a natural respect and care for the environment.
Mostly, I’m doing this to reinforce the importance of these things to my girls, and anyone else who would like to follow along with us.
Will you be taking part as an individual or with anyone else?
We’ll be taking part as a family: myself, my husband, and our two girls.
Have you started thinking about your ‘Random Act of Wildness’ each day? Can you give us some inspiration?
Some of the activities we’ll be doing include:
- Geocaching
We’ve just discovered lots of new ones near us that we’ve not found yet so that will be lots of fun for the girls!
- Kayaking
Weather dependent, if it’s warm and dry enough we’ll take our kayak out on one of the canals nearby.
- Planting seeds
We’ll likely be planting some wildflowers (my favourites!), and sunflowers. We love to see their progress as they grow from seedlings to sometimes taller than our girls!
- Picnicking
I’m sure there will also be ice creams involved!
- Scooting
The girls love scooting to school, and we recently bought adult scooters too so we can join in! I’m sure we’ll be taking these out lots over the next few months.
- Releasing butterflies
For the last couple of years we’ve kept caterpillars. The girls are mesmerised by watching them spin a chrysalis, and eventually emerge as a butterfly. The process is totally fascinating, and releasing them in the garden is a bit of an event. Last year one landed on my eldest’s hand before it flew away which was quite special!
- Collecting shells
We’re fortunate enough to live close to several beaches, and the girls adore collecting shells. Being by the water is my happy place too!
Do you think it is important for people to get more connected to nature?
As I touched on earlier, it’s a really important way of developing respect for the environment, which organically translates to actively wanting to look after it. I love that my children really enjoy litter picking and I want to nurture that in them.
Also, it’s the absolute best way to reset a bad mood, for our whole family! If anybody is feeling irritable at the weekend, visiting a local nature reserve or public garden is our go-to come rain or shine. Without fail, the combination of exercise and nature lifts our spirits.
