Enjoying the meadows

“We abuse land because we regard it as a commodity belonging to us. When we see land as a community to which we belong, we may begin to use it with love and respect.”
– Aldo Leopold

Since I’ve created my documentary about the Women’s Land Army I have delved further into reading about how our landscape has changed over the years, and what the future holds, for farmers in particular. I’ve been looking into how diversification is key and how the future lies with regenerative farming, looking after the soil and the biodiversity in and around the farm itself.

Naturally this led me to our relationship with the land, and how many feel apart and disconnect from it, when it is actually somewhere we belong. We all know that science has proved nature reduces stress and makes your feel happier; being outdoors in nature also uses less energy than direct attention activities such as laptop work, scrolling on your phone, or watching a film, which is why taking a week out camping can do wonders for your wellbeing and is a form of self care.

This year I have watched the seasons change in the fields around where I live, and it has been fascinating seeing how the different flowers all have their own time to flourish. I have found that the seasons all blend together and you can’t really say where one ends, and another begins. Personally I quite like this lack of clarity and the blur between the two; it makes you realise we can’t categorise everything and put it in a box with a label.

I believe that camping is a form of self-care. It’s an area in which you can fill with only the necessary items that you need for living and relaxing. It’s about providing your soul with joy and creativity, and I find is the best remedy if you are feeling stuck in an uninterested place within your mind. There are no deadlines or to-do lists here, it is an outlet to express all those ideas which get stuck inside of you on a day to day basis. A place to work on you.