Tag Archive for: evaluation wellbeing

Summer in the 72 Seasons

Summer!

It wasn’t the sunniest and warmest of Summers in the main. Maybe all the sunshine was allocated to Spring? I think if I’m honest this season struggled a bit more than the others. Lots of people did manage to go on holidays, including me, and staff shortages meant an extremely busy Summer when not away. One seeker explained “I am enjoying this project but feel I’ve contributed less lately due to family commitments during the school holidays.” Maybe everyone spent more time in nature and less time sharing pictures, or our seasons maybe didn’t pop quite as much, but luckily our intrepid seasonal seekers adapted well and sought out quite a lot of nature to share with others.

I think it shows how resilient the project and the concept is. A year is a long time to run an activity with people, and there has to be peaks and troughs within that year. Also, as an experimental concept, running for the first time, it’s always tricky to predict how much people will ‘get it’ especially since this project is a little deliberately vague so people can make it what they want it to be.  I only hoped that some people would stay with us for the whole year, I did expect quite a lot of people to drop out. Spoiler alert! They didn’t, well not many did!

Let’s take a look at what happened.

Season; 2 – 6 July: Trees Create Dappled Sunshine

I have a little confession to make here, this is what I think of as ‘my’ season. It’s my birthday in this time and when I was writing all the seasons and planning it out, I did decide to create something that is special for me. That special thing is when trees create dappled sunshine. I love to walk through a woodland or through just a couple of trees where beams of sunshine fall down through the canopy, and one footstep is lit up and glittery and the next in shadow. I think it’s one of the most beautiful things in the world, and a little bit of everyday magic. Luckily, our seekers agreed with me and this season made the final cut.

We keep a season if more than 50% of our seekers agree with it. They can agree in two ways; ‘yes I noticed this’ or ‘yes I think this is right but did not notice it myself’ and we gave that option to account for busy lives, or trips away or just times when people had other things going on.

I do love the way our seekers notice wonderful little moments and then share it. On the 2 July one person captured a spiderweb which has captured many raindrops. One person said “These are like beautiful jewels” and another “Amazing that it can hold all that water and possibly even survived the heavy rain we’ve had to catch that many droplets – incredible!”.

Spider web fact- Spider silk is stronger by weight than steel. Spider silk is lighter than cotton and up to 1,000 times thinner than human hair, yet it’s also incredibly strong for such a wispy material.

In the emails we sent to people explaining the new seasons to look out for we would share snippets of information and some knowledge about each season, to help encourage people to keep learning, which is one of the five ways to wellbeing. The five ways to wellbeing are a core part of this project, the principles underline the whole piece of work. It’s that the five ways – connect, take notice, keep learning, be active and give back, are proven ways to help us feel better. That’s quite important during a pandemic, when our wellbeing is much more fragile.

 

This photograph of birds feeding was taken on 5 July by one of our seekers.  Isn’t that an amazing photograph? Really in the moment, perfectly timed, and crisp focus too.

Our seekers were out in force that Sunday, also spotting…

An elephant hawk moth, daisies and a field of lavender.

One day later, 6 July a seeker shared a photograph of wild strawberries. “I’ve been picking and eating wild raspberries on my walk” one seeker mentioned and another “Wild strawberries are tiny with a surprisingly good flavour.”

Season; 7 – 11 July: Hot Winds Blow

It’s January as I write this, and it’s cold and windy. But I can think back to when the wind is hot, I can remember the feel of that on my skin. I can remember the warmth. It’s a hard season to capture in a photograph, and most of our seekers seemed to be looking down. Maybe they were avoiding those hot winds?

 

Mushrooms taken on the 7 July, and both ladybirds also spotted (do you like what I did there?) on the 7 July.

One place where it’s always windy, hot or not, is our anchor, Pendle Hill. All our seekers live around it, within half an hour or so. This project is funded by the Pendle Hill Landscape Partnership.

This image of Pendle Hill was taken on the 11 July. We did keep this season.

Season; 12 – 16 July: The Raspberries Turn Red

Some raspberries, red ones, at Quarry Hill in Nelson, taken on the 12 July. It looks like a gloriously sunny day on that photograph.

Yet look at this, taken just two days later. The Great British weather in Summer is a moveable feast!

Fog on the hills taken on 14 July.

Then back to sunshine again. Impossible to predict. I know, I tried! This time our seekers found flowers

Pink flower taken on the 15 July, same as the yellow flower, and the photograph of the white flower was taken on the 12 July. I don’t know the names of all of these flowers, except for Cow Parsley on the right.

Taken the day before our new season on 16 July, one seeker was cleverly anticipating the next season.

Season; 17 – 23 July: Lavender Feeds the Bees

Great timing as this was taken on the 17 July. I also love how this seems to match Cath’s drawing perfectly. The colour, shape, stance, everything is just spot on. Sometimes, there is a season like this where everything works- the timing, the weather, the noticing, all in perfect alignment and this was one of those seasons. Lots of people saw lavender with bees on in real life and there was 100% agreement this season, but it was quite tricky to photograph. That doesn’t matter though, its nice to think of people watching the seasons in real life, and not always through a screen. Especially this year, where screen use is probably higher than it ever has been.

Amazing that one of our seekers managed to photograph this, which was taken on 19 July.

72 Seasons has been a really democratic place, where anyone could share knowledge and information, stories, and wonder. It has remained a really pure group on Facebook, which is drama free and all about nature in this area. Not everyone taking part in the project takes part in the Facebook aspect, its not necessary, but these blog posts do have a heavy Facebook influence. The amount of knowledge shared is wonderful. Here are just a couple of examples.

A hazelnut developing 19 July.

A Chicory Field on 21 July, identified via the hive-mind. “I wonder if it was planted/sown or if it has just taken over the field? you sometimes see it on roadside verges too” one seeker mused and another thought “I think chicory too”. Little snippets like this happened many, many times, and each time it helped the group to connect a little more. One seeker told us they were “Enjoying to growing feeling of being part of a community.” in Summer.

I originally planned the connect aspect of the project to be purely about connecting to the nature around you, and it evolved to be more. That’s exciting, when an idea starts to find it’s own path.

Season; 23 – 28 July: The Hollyhock Grows Tall

By Summer, our seekers were confidently going off-piste. Sharing what they noticed as they looked for the seasons but not always sharing the seasons!

One seeker found a clump of mushrooms, and titled the picture ‘Bleeding Fairy Helmet’ thankfully, as I don’t know about you but my mushroom identification skills leave a lot to be desired. A newly sheered sheep made an appearance and this season the group had long discussions about invasive and dangerous plants like this Himalayan Balsam, spotted and photographed on the 24 July. I recognise the plant by its smell mostly, it’s a sickly sweet smell which immediately reminds me of walks in my childhood but I have no idea why.

The weather was also noticed, although sadly not much sunshine was found. That tricky Great British Summer again.

The 26 July saw our seekers drawn to water, with both of the above photographs taken then. The water level was high for summer, do you remember the weather? It was really mixed.  “A very poor July weather wise so far” one seeker told us.  Another said “July has just been so atypical this year! Up on the Bowland Fells we have had very little other than heavy cloud & rain, with some fierce winds.” and another explained “A rather wet July , lots of mist on Pendle Hill. Then a sudden break in the cloud gives you such amazing views. Has been cool in the evenings.”

On the 28 July they found rainbows. Which kinda proves how mixed the weather was. 72 Seasons in one day? Not quite. One person did say “Perhaps we really do need 72 seasons – the weather is so changeable.”

 

Season; 29 July – 2 August: Damp Earth, Humid Heat

Another season which is a tricky one to photograph. While I mention that, how well has Cath Ford, our artist, done? She has represented concepts really well throughout. I’m sure there must be a few head scratching moments when I send her the titles, but I don’t see that in what comes back. It all feels beautiful, and right, and often seamless and timeless, like that image has always been a part of that season, and Cath revealed that to me.

Our seekers loved the images too  “The illustrations were ‘spot on’ And illustrated the seasons well.” one seeker told us in Summer, “Love the images – they are really inspiring and draw me in.” continued another and “The illustrations were brilliant” and “Love the pictures of each season” and we could go on!

A cloudy Pendle Hill 30 July. There is a famous book called ‘Mist over Pendle” and it’s such an apt title. I often think of it, as I see Pendle peeking from the mist.

As we left July and entered August, our seekers kept taking notice. Flowers were spotted.

Both of the above were taken on 1 August. The ‘Mallow Half and Half Petals’ attracted some attention, as the group tried to work out what caused the unusual colouring? “virus infection and complicated genetic effects ( epigenetics) are other possibilities. Whatever the reason it’s interesting and Beautiful.” was the ultimate consensus.

And I dug up some potatoes I’d grown and took a moment to show off!

Oh these potatoes, they look so innocent, but in reality… I have a four year old son, and during lockdown we planted these potatoes together. We checked on them most days, and even gave them a bit of watering. I taught him how to earth up the potatoes. We talked about them and about eating them for four months. Then, when they were cooked, said 4 year old refused to even taste one. Aaargh, Kids!!

Season; 3 – 7 August: The Breeze is Hiding

I mentioned that we keep the seasons which get more than 50% agreement. Some are only just over the 50% but a decision needs to be fairly applied. This was one of those slightly more controversial seasons. One seeker told us “The weather has been different each day recently from calm and still to stormy.” and another was blunter, “The breeze was most definitely blowing, not hiding!” which did make me laugh at the time!

Season; 8 – 12 August: Blackberries Stain Fingertips

This is a new season and replaced ‘a cool wind blows’ as less than 50% of our seekers agreed. One person explained there was a  “Warm wind blowing.” and another said “During this period we had just about the only day so far in 2020 when there was NO noticeable wind or breeze at all!” which again, I loved. I do really like the honesty of our seekers, and I sometimes think they like the seasons I get completely wrong more than the ones I get right! The process by the way, when we have a gap, is that I read all the comments from this season and have a look at what people were sharing at that time. There is usually one thing that is mentioned most. This season was Blackberries. I wanted a description linked to an action, as it is surrounded by two more passive, watching type seasons. I actually really love the description I came up with in the end. Is that too big headed?

This image of Blackberries was taken on 8 August.

While talking about the 8 August, our seekers enjoyed chatting about the old aide memoir of cut the lavender back to 8 inches on the 8 August (8 month). We mostly agreed this maybe was more suitable for further south gardens. “Not cutting mine back……it is covered in bees and the flowers are not over yet” one seeker explained.

Here is a lovely picture of Lavender in Sunshine taken on 8 August, just to confirm the point!

Ahh. The Great British Summer is back. ‘Foggy View’ taken on the 8 August. Lots of different weather in different parts of our area on 8 August.

Wildlife spotting continued;

Caterpillars spotted on the 11 August and Chicken on a wall spotted on the 13 August. Quite intrigued about the chicken! I don’t remember noticing this at the time. Do you think there are some hidden steps, or is the garden much higher? Is there an intrepid chicken run type flying contraption just out of shot? It feels like there is a story here. I would have asked more questions had I spotted that one!

 

Season; 13 – 17 August: Morning Sunshine Lights the Grass

All of these images were taken on the 13 August, the day the new season began. The third one is such a close match to Cath’s drawing.

It’s lovely when people remember the previous seasons.

Feeding bees, and dappled sunshine spotted in the forest, both on the 15 August.

Sometimes it’s just what catches peoples eyes, and this bright red poppy is certainly eye catching!

Poppy photographed on 16 August.

Season; 18 – 22 August: The Apples are Ready to Harvest

Taken on the 19 August I think this photograph works particularly well with Cath’s drawing. I feel like I can put my hand into the image, and pick an apple. Do you know how to tell if an apple is right? You hold it in your hand and twist ever so gently and if it is ready, it comes away easily. If you have to yank it away from the tree, it’s not ripe.

Season; 23 – 27 August: The Sunflower Stretches High

All of the above were taken on 23 August, the sunflowers were stretching high against lovely sunny blue skies.

Season; 28 August – 1 September: Earth and Sky Begin to Cool

Another tricky image. I’m starting to think I put all the difficult ones together! People did share images which evoked feelings though. It’s a season of change, and you can see warmth and coolness here and transitions too, with a sunny canal shot from the 29 August, a tree leaves image which feels colder also from the 29 August and a ‘Spectacular Sunset’ taken on 30 August.

Season; 2 – 7 September: The Orange Leaves Start to Show

There is a poignant feel to this season, as the leaves start to change. There is also a quote, unattributed, and often misquoted (possibly by me) that the trees are about to show us “how beautiful it is to let things go”. Do you feel this? I’m not sure I do yet. But I do know that 72 seasons has made me enjoy winter and autumn and to look forward to every change, not to miss the days before. Spring and Summer will always have my heart, but I’ve learned to see the act of noticing change as the important part.

These leaves were spotted on 5 September. Don’t forget this is a taste of Autumn to come, not full autumn yet, as this next image shows. Tomatoes ripening in the sunshine. I can almost smell the warmth of that spot nestled by the dry stone wall.

Tomatoes growing in a photograph taken on 6 September.

Season; 9 – 12 September: Spider Webs Glisten

This was another season which was better in real life. Many people spotted the webs and this season received 97% agreement overall. However, the wispy-thin-ethereal-ness of spider webs are not so easy to capture on a photograph. Our seekers did manage though, just a little later. Practice makes perfect possibly?

Elderberries from 12 September and  Fox and Cub, a wildflower from 12 September

The group carried on connecting this season in other ways. There was a lively discussion around Elderberries. One person asked “Haven’t you got to be careful about elderberry cordial? I’ve seen something somewhere about there being something unpleasant in it which can be a problem when you don’t know how much is in the berries themselves.” and another, answered “Wikipedia link and others say that the plant contains compounds that generate cyanide. Various reports of poisoning, also seems to be little evidence of health benefits.” Although, confession time again, I’ve made elderberry cordial every autumn for three or four years now and I am convinced it helps me catch less colds. That could well be a placebo effect!

Also on the 12 September, this photograph of Holly Berries.

Some of our seekers really do discuss timing and the changes in nature, almost having a sense of the pattern of the world. One person noticed that here saying “amazing that the holly berries are already red.” and another explaining “They do seem to be reddening quite early. I also spotted some less “ripe” berries too.”

Season; 13 – 17 September: Tree’s Drop their First Leaves

90% of people agreed with this season, but few photographs were shared. Maybe everyone was busy with back to school and work routines and there wasn’t time to go and explore, just to notice?

Great photograph of a Honeybee in Passion Flower was shared on the 14 September. One of our seekers explained “Pleased to see this honey bee working the passionflower in my garden. She was there for ages. Hoping she passes on the message. They haven’t got long now before they have to hunker down in preparation for winter.” One seeker agreed, “it’s a stunning flower very exotic looking.” Another replied “Our garden has been so busy with bees and coloured butterflies today. So good to see . Didn’t manage to get a pic.”

Butterfly photograph taken on 15 September.

And another seeker captured a butterfly photograph for the other seeker who didn’t get one. Isn’t that a fine example of good sharing!

Spider webs had a surprisingly long season, with people spotting them and remembering them all the way through September.

One seeker found these fantastically lit examples in a field on the 14 September. I really love the way the sunlight picks them out.

21 September a spider in its web is found!

29 September was the best day for Spider webs, maybe an important date in the arachnid calendar? I think this is a really important set of photographs as it shows you can look for nature and the seasons from the wildness of huge vistas or in your back garden or just walking along a street. That’s the most special part of it, it’s everywhere, and persistent, and beautiful, and, easy to miss.

Season; 18 – 22 September: The Swallows Leave

They did leave, one seeker said “Think ours have gone 😢” and another “I’ve not seen mine for quite a few days now” and one reported a friend from Whalley had confirmed this “the swallows have left 😥 there must have been 150 on the wires last night. It’s so quiet without them.” Although this felt like a bit of a sad season, it’s important to try and get some balance. Without them leaving would we notice the return as much? And, think of that, 150 gathered on the wires. Like a huge party! 

Season; 23 – 27 September: Thunder Lowers it’s Voice

One of my favourite bits about this season was how our group all support each other – including me, and Cath Ford too. Cath posted on this one “Right, anyone got any thoughts about how I can draw thunder? These sound-based seasons are a challenge.” And we all rallied round, and talked mostly about lightning! Being no help whatsoever as it turned out!

What do you think of the final drawing? I spent a moment looking at it then, and it certainly raised a feeling of being ‘unsettled’. I love it when art provokes a feeling.

Both swan photographs were taken on 26 September. As an aside this season we had a discussion around swans. One seeker explained “The swans on the canal near me had four babies grow all the way up this year. Every time I walked down there it always made me smile to see they still had four. I have been taking pictures of them all year and they have genuinely turned into my lockdown pals!” and another “The Skipton Canal Basin swans have managed 11 cygnets this year. All thriving”

There are no seasons about Swans, as they can’t be easily spotted in everyday life. Obviously that’s different if you live near a canal, but making this project accessible to everyone is a really important part of it.

Season; 28 September – 2 October: Black Elderberries Dance in the Wind

This was our last season of the quarter of the year that mostly relates to Summer. Our 72 seasons don’t easily match the established four, they are much more subtle and ever-changing.

This image of elderberries was taken on 28 September. Another seeker did capture a fantastic video of them dancing in the wind, but I can’t seem to share a video from a closed Facebook group.

29 September (Spider Web Spotting Day) was also time to spot a Poisonous Mushroom.
One seeker explained “May be beautiful – but highly poisonous!!!” and another “Oh dear! From my childhood (and I’m very old!) my parents (who were experts (???) ) told ne not to touch them and if I did and licked my fingers I’d get a very upset stomach. My fungus book (with perhaps 1,000 varieties to choose from) indicates that its a Shaggy Ink Cap (or Lawyers Wig) which seems reasonable. Of course the fact that i’m still here (and do pick and eat wild mushrooms) indicates that they must have got something right!”

I think that’s another important point. When we first started discussing this project, we used to talk about things like how we used to know nature better and modern life has made us a bit too far removed from it. I don’t think I talked about mushrooms with my oldest son? But because of this project, I know I have with my youngest. And, I’m so proud that we have managed to put a group together who have that knowledge and can share it, or learn it.

Autumn next. I shall be writing up that adventure shortly!

 

Please note all photographs have been image described in their captions, to make sure this post is accessible to the widest possible audience.

If you have any questions or thoughts on this blog post, please send me an email at kirsty@theevaluator.co.uk – I’m afraid I had to turn comments of, as it was just getting filled with spam robot stuff which no-one wants to see.

 

18 reasons to love Winter; a creative evaluation of wellbeing

18 reasons to love Winter; a creative evaluation of wellbeing

72 seasons is a year-long research project, designed by Kirsty Rose Parker (founder & director of The Evaluator), to measure how being more connected to nature makes us feel. We do that through working with a team of volunteer seasonal seekers. We have planned a whole year – 2020 – where the seasons change every 4 or 5 days, originally inspired by the ancient natural calendar in Japan.

Our seasonal seekers agree to complete health and wellbeing research surveys and then they start their adventure. Trying to notice the changes in nature, we are building a community around Pendle Hill who look a little bit closer, a little bit more often, even just from their gardens and windows as the world changes. We had never heard of Coronavirus when this project began on 1st January 2020; but despite the changes in our daily lives and massive upheavals in our wellbeing, nature soldiers on, and so do we.

Here we share the results of the nature we have spotted. 180 people began this journey with us, a few have left and a few have since joined. We are a community that ebbs and flows, and people can choose how involved they get.

In 2020, we changed the season ‘Winter’ into 18 smaller seasons and asked our seasonal seekers to go out and about as much as they normally would, and see what they spotted.

The beautiful seasonal illustrations are by local artist, Cath Ford. You can check more of her work out here. Cath lives in Blackburn and she knows the nature we know. She is a very talented artist and we feel very lucky to be working with her.

Season; 1 – 4 January: The Earth is Unyielding 

Season; 5 – 9 January: Bare Branches are Stark


Originally we had planned that this season would be called ‘Frost Adorns Bare Branches’ but this was something our seasonal seekers disagreed with and we chose a new season to replace it, based on what our seekers saw.
This image of a misty Pendle Hill was taken by
Stella Nuttall on 5th January 2020.
This image of bare branches was taken by
 Sam Root on 5th January 2020.

Season; 10 – 14 January: The First Snowdrops Emerge 

This image of snowdrops emerging was taken by
one of our seasonal seekers on 10th January 2020.
This image of a snowdrop was taken by
Sally Lambert on 12th January 2020.

Season; 15 – 19 January: The Robin Calls 

This image of a Robin was taken by
Kirsty Rose Parker on 16th January 2020.
As time went by, our seasonal seekers gained confidence in the project and started to connect more with us as a group. People started feeling able to share images of nature that meant something to them. They started to share what they noticed.
This image was taken by
Anita Vine on 19th January 2020.
This image was taken by
Sally Lambert on 19th January 2020.

Season; 20 – 24 January: Frost Crackles Underfoot 

Season; 25 – 29 January: The Earth hides in Grey Mist

Originally we were going to call this season ‘The Earth is White’ but very little white was found by our seekers. One explorer shared a little tiny bit of white earth, and another spotted some white, but overall there wasn’t much white to be found.

This image was taken by
one of our seasonal seekers on 28th January 2020.
This image was taken by
John Rose Parker on 28th January 2020.

We only keep a season if more than 50% agree with it. Our seasonal seekers complete short surveys throughout the project and we ask them if they have noticed a season or not. We occasionally ask them other questions too.

When we change a season we look for what people are sharing and telling us and then rename it. It was clear people were sharing images of mist.

This image was taken by
one of our seasonal seekers on 19th January 2020.
This image was taken by
one of our seasonal seekers on 21st January 2020.

In the image above, Pendle Hill is hidden by the mist! That is actually quite common around here. If you can’t see Pendle, you know the weather isn’t great. It’s also what the famous book by Robert Neil is named after; ‘Mist over Pendle’ is a dramatic retelling of the events of 1612 which led to the Pendle Witches being tried for witchcraft at Lancaster Castle, culminating in 10 lives lost.

This image was taken by
Jackie Hindle South on 22nd January 2020.

It was about this point where people began to start sharing many more nature images. Kirsty Rose Parker explains, “I was feeling a bit worried about the project as so many of the first seasons seemed wrong. Even though everyone agreed it was a really mild January, it was difficult to trust the process at that time. However, looking back, so many seasons being incorrect right at the start seems to have given our nature seekers confidence to take part more and be more vocal.”

Not just vocal, but visual too! People were really taking time to look around, to notice the finer details in nature and to share those images with a like-minded, local audience.

This image was taken by
Sally Lambert on 22nd January 2020.

People also started to look out for previous seasons and to notice that things were early or late, sometimes missing. Here one of our seasonal seekers had remembered the snowdrop season from earlier in the month.

This image was taken by
Sarah Martin on 26th January 2020.
This image was taken by
Jackie Monk on 26th January 2020.

And another remember the season about Robins and shared an image after spotting one. One person told us, “it has encouraged me to keep my own nature diary of all the things I see”

Season; 30 January – 3 February: Morning Grass Glistens

And, talking of remembering previous seasons, Cathy Dobney spotted some white. we really loved the subtlety of this image!

This image was taken by
Cathy Dobney on 30th January 2020.
This image was taken by
Caroline Porter on 2nd February 2020.
It was about this point, about one month in, when people really began interacting more with each other. Caroline’s picture above of snowdrops created a discussion about what the ‘white thing’ is in the background? Litter, a heron, a goose, a spot on the camera? We just don’t know.
This image was taken by
Sam Root on 2nd February 2020.

We had planned to call this season ‘Spider Webs Glisten’, and Cath Ford had drawn a lovely image. We will try and work this into a future season, in Autumn. Sam’s image above was one of the few webs spotted, so we changed this season too.

Season; 4 – 7 February: Spring Winds Shake Raindrops

This was another change – the mild weather did make for a lot of new seasons! Originally we had planned to call this season ‘Spring Winds Thaw the Ice’ but there wasn’t much ice to thaw. One seasonal seeker did find some ice, but we had to wait quite a few more days for ice to be seen.
This image was taken by
Leanne Duckworth on 4th February 2020.
This image was taken by
Sally Lambert on 11th February 2020.

Season; 8 – 13 February: The Curlew Calls

Season; 14 – 18 February: Spring Is In The Air

Two seasons correct in a row! Whoop!

One of our seasonal seekers noticed a meeting of herons and shared a photograph on St Valentine’s Day; maybe love was in the air? Another seeker told us that she always felt that herons were a good omen, and we found out collectively that a group of herons is a ‘siege’. It was lovely to see the group really starting to bond.

This image was taken by
Stella Nuttall on 14th February 2020.
Stella mentioned they once saw a meeting of 27 herons! Have you ever seen more than one heron at a time?

Season; 19 – 23 February: The Earth Becomes Damp

At this point in the year, Storm Ciara was recent and people across the UK were flooded. Storm Dennis finished on the first day of this mini season. There was so much rain, it was literally torrential. It was a sad time.

But, nature comforts. Here a seasonal seeker shared a photograph, possibly thinking of ‘white’ but another seeker commented, “Oh how pretty that looks. Like a Christmas Card.”

This image was taken by
Anita Vine on 24th February 2020.

Season; 24 – 28 February: Haze First Covers the Sky

Unsurprisingly it proved quite tricky to get photographs of haze. Luckily, one of our plucky seekers managed it.

This image was taken by
Cathy Dobney on 27th February 2020.

Season; 1 – 5 March: Plants Show Their First Buds

We really love this image from Cath. They are all special, but there is something about this one. This season is also where the natural world and the weather seemed to start changing into something more hopeful. Maybe that is why?

This image was taken by
Sarah Martin on 1st March 2020.
These images were taken by
one of our seasonal seekers on 1st March 2020.

Another seasonal seeker took a nice picture of redcurrent buds on the 4th March, as we had shared a blurry version! It really was starting to feel like we are all in this together.

This image was taken by
Sarah Martin on 4th March 2020.

People were starting to share their feelings more about nature. One seasonal seeker told us, “Ooh spring makes me feel so happy!”, as they shared an image of wild garlic emerging in Townley park.

This image was taken by
Linda Spencer on 4th March 2020.

It is nice when a season is correct and everyone spots it. Then there is a feeling, a certainty, that this is right. It’s hard to explain. It is linked to a feel of community. This quote by Alan Bennett helps to explain it…

“The best moments in reading are when you come across something – a thought, a feeling, a way of looking at things – that you’d thought special, particular to you. And here it is, set down by someone else, a person you’ve never met, maybe even someone long dead. And, it’s as if a hand has come out, and taken yours.”

This image was taken by
Sam Root on 5th March 2020.

While organising permissions for these photographs, we noticed how many of our names are plant or nature related – surnames like root, earthup, rose, for example. We wondered if having a natural surname means genetically you are more likely to enjoy nature? Or possibly just more predisposed to notice more nature? Or maybe you are always likely to have this many nature names in any selection of people? We haven’t asked for personal details in this project, so it’s not a tangent we can go and follow!

This image of a “beautiful ice sheet on the pond, looked like cellophane”
was taken by Sue Boardman on 6th March 2020.
This image of frogspawn in the pond
 was taken by Judith Cunliffe on 7th March 2020.
Frogspawn is actually a well known indicator of Spring and nature. You may be wondering why the seasons didn’t include this? It’s actually a core part of the project – we deliberately didn’t choose frogspawn because our seasons need to be open to people who might not have a garden – or might not be able to walk to a remote pond. It doesn’t mean it wasn’t lovely to see these, but our research project is designed to be equal access – regardless of where you live or your abilities. This was to prove crucial towards the end of the month.

Season; 6 – 10 March: Hibernating Creatures Open Their Doors. 

After just explaining how important it was that the project was open widely, this season does seem to require access to a garden. However, although hedgehogs might be quite famous hibernators, bumblebees, some butterflies, ladybirds, bats, and slow worms are all creatures commonly found in the UK that hibernate.

This picture of ‘a mouses house’ was taken by
Suzi Earthup on 20th February 2020.
This was a special photograph to share though, as so few of us ever get to see a mouse’s house.
This image was taken by
Kirsty Rose Parker on 8th March 2020.

We managed to find a bee that did look like it had just woken up. It spent about twenty minutes sat on the dandelion warming up before flying away. Another seasonal seeker explained, “that will be a Bumble Queen. They sometimes sunbathe to warm up before they can fly.”

Season; 11 – 15 March: The Butterbur Flowers.

Butterburs do look quite strange and alien when they flower, and can be seen in wild grounds but particularly near canals and streams. Cath Ford, our artist was thrilled to get to draw a butterbur!

This image was taken by
Sally Lambert on 11th March 2020.
This image was taken by
Sally Lambert on 11th March 2020.

Season; 16 – 20 March: The Magnolia Blooms 

People often have Magnolias in front gardens and they are quite distinctive and easy to spot, regardless of whether you own a magnolia or not. They are scented, so worth sniffing if you see one.

Our seasonal seekers responded well to this one, as Tammie began Magnolia watch on the 18th March. This season is possibly a little early, but the majority of people agreed with it, so we have kept it.

This image was taken by
Tammie Beckett on 18th March 2020.
This image of “mine has less buds than Tammies”
was taken by Stella Nuttall on 18th March 2020.
This image was taken by
Kirsty Rose Parker on 26th March 2020.
This image was taken by
Sue Boardman on 1st April 2020.

At this moment in time, the world began to slow down for Coronavirus, but it was a good time to spot wildlife. Our seasonal seekers shared some really lovely wildlife images.

We also are very pleased that this project can all be done from home, and that it continues to run and to provide solace in difficult times. Many people know that nature continues and provides comfort, but paying attention to the subtle changes we hope will help wellbeing for everyone taking part.

This image was taken by
Pamela Wilkinson on 17th March 2020.
This image of “my first bee” was taken by
Sheila Moss on 19th March 2020.
This image was taken by
Sally Lambert on 19th March 2020.
This image was taken by
Yvonne Carter on 20th March 2020.
This image was taken by
Sheila Moss on 20th March 2020.
This image was taken by
Sarah Martin on 24th March 2020.
This image was taken by
Sarah Martin on 25th March 2020.
This image was taken by
Sue Boardman on 26th March 2020.
This image of “dragonfly larvae” was taken by
Sue Boardman on 27th March 2020.

Season; 21 – 25 March: The Sparrow Builds Her Nest 

This image was taken by
Michelle on 25th March 2020.
Michelle shared this image and then asked, ‘does this count as a nesting sparrow?’ And we have to admit, this season was nigh on impossible to photograph. Thank goodness we have Cath’s beautiful images to accompany the seasons.
This image “although we are now at home, we share each other’s journeys”
was taken by Sue Boardman on 26th March 2020.

It has been such a comfort to have a group to talk to about nature, to share our daily walks with, to keep working for (although here at The Evaluator we can work 100% from home, so we are doing).

When we first planned this project, we had thought it would impact on people’s wellbeing, but had not envisaged just how much it would impact on our own – or how our wellbeing would be collectively challenged during the Covid-19 lockdown.

Season; 26 – 30 March: The First Cherry Blossoms

This image was taken by
Stella Nuttall on 27th March 2020.
This image was taken by
Sam Root on 29th March 2020.
This image was taken by
one of our seasonal seekers on 31st March 2020.

And that brings us to the end of Winter. The 72 seasons continue; they will throughout the whole of 2020. It seems fitting to end on Cherry Blossom, as the Japanese season of
Sakura is famous across the whole world, and it was the ancient natural Japanese calendar which inspired the whole project.

Introducing 72 Seasons

For the latest information on 72 Seasons, please click here. 

 

72 Seasons is a research project all about noticing the seasons change and measuring how it makes people feel when they are more connected to nature.

During 2020 The Evaluator is working with a team of volunteers, ‘Seasonal Seekers’ who agree to fill in some research questionnaires and then seek the changes in nature. During 2020 we no longer have just four seasons around Pendle Hill (Lancashire, England) but 72 and our team of volunteers try and spot the changes in nature every 4 or 5 days. By the end of the year, we will have 72 agreed seasons and a deeper understanding of the ways in which being connected to nature affect health and wellbeing.

Inspired by the ancient Japanese calendar of 72 seasons, but updated and adapted for our climate, 72 Seasons is an active research project which can all be done online and is continuing during the Coronavirus outbreak.

We are working with local artist Cath Ford, who is drawing the seasons for us.

Volunteers are welcome to join at four points during the year, the start of Winter, Spring, Summer and Autumn. Feel free to drop us an email at kirsty@theevaluator.co.uk if you want us to tell you when sign ups open. 

This project is part of the Pendle Hill Landscape Partnership range of projects. You can learn more about all the others here.