What are you drawn to when it comes to natural resources? Do forest walks leave you reminiscing about your childhood days of discovery and natural experience? What kinds of effects do these beauties of nature afford your wellbeing?

I am always drawn to nature, no matter where I travel to, in this world of abundance around me.

Whether that is pondering over the greatest and mightiest oak in the whole forest or enquiring over the forensic scenes of uprooted trunks left over from storms; each has their place in the feelings evoked from the stories they own.

Wood has consistently played a huge role in my life, having had a Carpenter father who worked tirelessly to get the perfect smoothness or the exact dovetail in the furniture he proudly and cleverly made.



My oldest memories are the gentle falling of wood-shavings being planed across the patch of grass in our cosy backdoor. The smell of those crisp curls and their ability to be transformed into all kinds of heuristic, child-initiated play-props, has lived with me all my days.

If and when I choose to add to the curation of my home surrounds or update my current living space; textures, scents, colours and the memories evoked by them, are largely evident. Equally, I return to the child in me that searches for the seat-giving stump of restful rejuvenation, an old withering log that provides table space for a last-minute picnic or a step bridge across a small river. 

The shady patches offered by the towering canopies above, bring their own exquisite gifts of dancing light.

I need to go to the woods and I need to go often it appears. I need to continue searching for new paths, to feel the undulating ground that keeps my balance intact as I move forward into a different age and stage in life.

Most importantly I need to continue to stand and breathe with these mighty oaks and branch-twined pathways that call to me, 'Come and find your own route. Come and feel rooted.'

Maria Cairnie