Wandering Waterways - Online Nature Session

For this online activity, you will need...

To go outside and find a quiet spot near a waterway or pond

A phone or tablet to respond to the survey questions

A camera to record photos or audio

Time to reflect on creative writing and the brainspace to be a bit creative (30-45 minutes)

Find a place in nature where you can sit or rest, whether by a garden pond, park, reed bed, reservoir, towpath or riverbank. It should be somewhere you can be comfortable and undisturbed. Sit in this space for ten minutes quietly without looking at your phone.

Use this time to explore the space with your senses, listening to the water, smelling the air, feeling the wind or sunshine.

Press next when your 10-15 mins in your sit-spot are up, you can spend longer doing this if you want to!

Examine the surface of the water – is the water flowing? Are there ripples or waves? Are living creatures creating movement? What colours can you see reflected in the water and below the surface?

Breaking the Ice 
To break through nature’s glass door was the one. 
That first hit, as the cold embraced your skin 
and made a warm cocoon, was like a sun 
forged from the iciest glaciers. The river ran in 
to drench your every inch, a cold caress 
that flooded you with heat. As midnight tolls 
deep in some distant city, every stress 
within your body ebbs away as shoals 
of bioluminescence flood the waters. 
This is how you will be reborn. The rush 
of those million tiny fireflies, baby swimmers, 
is a return to one’s own origins. The fish 
fill the dark with their glow. Life quickens. Night 
bursts into new possibilities of light. 

By Oliver Tearle, 2022 

Sunset on the River  

The setting sun spreading from the centre, 
Half the river trembling, the other half is red. 
I pity the third night of September, 
Its pearl-like dew, bow-like moon. 

By Bai Juyi, 820 

An extract from The Waste Land | III. The Fire Sermon 
 
The river’s tent is broken: the last fingers of leaf 
Clutch and sink into the wet bank. The wind 
Crosses the brown land, unheard. The nymphs are departed. 
Sweet Thames, run softly, till I end my song. 
The river bears no empty bottles, sandwich papers, 
Silk handkerchiefs, cardboard boxes, cigarette ends 
Or other testimony of summer nights. The nymphs are departed. 
And their friends, the loitering heirs of City directors; 
Departed, have left no addresses. 
By the waters of Leman I sat down and wept . . . 
Sweet Thames, run softly till I end my song, 
Sweet Thames, run softly, for I speak not loud or long. 
But at my back in a cold blast I hear 
The rattle of the bones, and chuckle spread from ear to ear. 

By TS Eliot, 1922 

Tell us three ‘good’ things that you’ve noticed outdoors today – it can be ‘good’ because you like the way it looks, sounds or smells, because it’s surprised you, or because of the way it makes you feel.

We’d love for you share photos or audio clips of the things you’ve just described.  
Any camera is a good camera to capture nature, even on your mobile phone. Take some time to find different angles and lighting. You can take distant shots, for example of the sky, or try close ups.

We hope you enjoyed the activity and would love feedback on it. You can contact us at wastepreventionteam@nlwa.gov.uk with your comments.