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February 12, 2025Healing in Nature: A Guide for Families
Mindful Outdoor Activities to Support Bonding and Connection
Introduction
This guide is designed for families who are navigating challenging times. It's full of simple, no-cost activities that can be done outdoors, ideally in natural spaces, but many can be adapted to local parks, gardens, or even just a walk around the block. Each activity is grounded in play, movement, and mindfulness, which are powerful tools to support healing, communication, and emotional regulation. These ideas are trauma-sensitive, adaptable for all ages, and focus on reconnecting through shared experience.
Supporting Families with Care and Compassion
Before offering these activities, here are a few reminders for staff, teachers, or anyone sharing this resource:
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Always offer, never enforce: Give families choice and let them decide what feels right.
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Normalise difficulty: It’s okay if connection feels awkward or hard at first.
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Emphasise presence over perfection: Just showing up and doing something together is often enough.
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Encourage gentle reflection: Even a simple "What did you enjoy most today?" can open up connection.
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Flexible groupings: These ideas work one-on-one or with whole families.
1. The Listening Walk (All Ages)
What it is: A quiet walk where you listen for as many different sounds as possible.
Why it helps: Shifts focus from worry to presence; builds awareness and curiosity.
How to do it: Walk together and name the sounds you hear. Birds, leaves, footsteps, traffic. Take turns pointing them out or guessing the source.
Tips: Turn it into a game for younger children ("How many bird sounds before the next lamppost?"). For teens, use headphones and nature recordings if access to green space is limited.
2. Nature Treasure Hunt (Ages 3–12)
What it is: A scavenger hunt using textures, colours, and shapes (e.g., something soft, something yellow, something round).
Why it helps: Encourages sensory exploration and cooperative play.
How to do it: Create a list or draw pictures of items to find. Collect them if appropriate, or take photos.
Tips: Let the child lead. Use a bag or a small box, or make it photo-based if in a public space.
3. Nature Sit Spot (Ages 7+)
What it is: A 5–10 minute sit in one place to notice everything around you.
Why it helps: Calms the nervous system, builds tolerance for stillness, promotes grounding.
How to do it: Sit quietly and notice 5 things you can see, 4 you can hear, 3 you can feel, 2 you can smell, and 1 you can imagine.
Tips: Even a few minutes can shift energy. Don't force silence.
4. Family Gratitude Tree (All Ages)
What it is: A creative activity where everyone shares things they are grateful for.
Why it helps: Encourages positivity, shared values, and appreciation.
How to do it: Find a branch or stick. Tie on pieces of paper or leaves with written or drawn gratitude messages.
Tips: Indoors? Use a paper tree. Ask gentle prompts like "What made you smile today?"
5. Shadow Tag or Stick Obstacle Course (Ages 4–12)
What it is: Movement games using only natural elements or body movement.
Why it helps: Builds body awareness, cooperation, and joy.
How to do it: Use shadows as "safe spots" or create a mini agility course from sticks and stones.
Tips: Let children make the rules.
6. Mindful Movement Walk (Older Children and Teens)
What it is: A slow, intentional walk focused on body awareness and breathing.
Why it helps: Supports emotional regulation and attention.
How to do it: Walk slowly. Feel the feet. Match breath to step. Allowing the mind to wander as it will, gently returning attention to walking again and again.
Tips: End with a reflection like "What felt different about that walk?"
7. Cloud Watching & Storytelling (All Ages)
What it is: Lie down and make up stories about cloud shapes.
Why it helps: Sparks imagination and encourages rest and slowing down.
How to do it: Find a soft spot or bring a blanket. Take turns naming clouds and imagining stories.
Tips: Ideal for quiet moments or transitions.
8. The Kindness Pebble (All Ages)
What it is: A shared circle activity using a pebble and kind words.
Why it helps: Builds empathy and safety.
How to do it: Each person chooses or passes a pebble and says something kind to another. Silent holding is okay too.
Tips: No pressure to speak. Modelling helps.
Final Thoughts
These simple, nature-based practices won’t fix everything, but they offer gentle invitations into presence, play, and connection. They remind us that healing doesn't always look like talking, it often looks like laughing, moving, noticing, and simply being together.
If you or the families, staff or teams you work with would like more structured support, Wittering Wellbeing offers guided sessions, nature retreats, and mindfulness-based courses for both children and adults.