Arts grant funded project releases first audio walk to connect people to the National Forest landscape

Earlier this year we awarded six artists and groups with our National Forest Arts Grant 2022, supporting creative projects inspired by the National Forest and connecting to either nature, health and wellbeing, sense of place, sustainability, or climate action. 

One of the successful projects this year was the Reconnect Collective with their project ‘Walks that Reconnect’ – a series of four downloadable interactive walk guides, inviting us to observe, explore and interact with the landscape around us.  

The walks are intended to help people process these turbulent times, gain a stronger sense of connection to the natural world and help envision and take action for a sustainable and thriving future. The walk guide and accompanying audio have been created to be used anywhere in the National Forest, on a route you choose, as part of the waymarked trails or while exploring sections of the National Forest Way. 

As you walk you will be guided through a series of activities, touching on appreciation, challenge, perspective and action. Each walk is a journey designed to help us experience first-hand that we are larger, stronger, more creative - and more deeply interconnected - than we knew. These walks aim to nourish and resource our Active Hope – the hope that we ‘do’ rather than have.  

 To coincide with National Walking Month and the start of the National Forest Walking Festival, the first guide is now available on the Reconnect Collective website. This first edition ‘Walking with Appreciation’ focuses on tuning our senses and supporting our wellbeing. Further guides will be released monthly in June, July and August. 

You can find out more and download the guides, here.