Ecotherapy Activities

Plot to Plate – Mondays 10:00am-12:00pm year-round at the Holgate Allotment site.   

Help to manage the St Nicks allotments and learn practical skills. The site has raised beds, fruit trees, a variety of vegetables and a wildflower area that runs alongside a beck. This group is peer led. It is a quiet and spacious site, there is room to work on your own project in one area of the allotment or work together with the other volunteers. There is often healthy produce to take home!

Bearing Fruit – Mondays 1:00-3:00pm year-round at St Nicks. Full for now.

Be a part of our community orchard at St Nicks Local Nature Reserve; managing existing wildlife habitats and creating new ones. Help us look after our established fruit trees, soft-fruit sites and Yorkshire heritage apple trees. Learn conservation skills such as scything, pruning and hedge laying from our experienced tutors. A friendly and welcoming group where novices or those with more experience can learn at their own pace.

Slow Floristry - Monday 3:00-5:00 at St Nicks. Starting in Spring 2025

This group will take you on a slow, seasonal journey through the cut flower garden. Participants will have the opportunity to sow, plant and look after flowers, foliage, edibles and vegetables - this will be in collaboration with the Wellies and Wheelbarrows group. 

The group will take time to look at the shape, form and parts of the flowers. We will mindfully select some cut flowers and foliage that speak to us, arranging them and recording the ‘flower recipe’ we have used in our journals, with drawings or photos.

No previous experience is necessary and you will be able to take home your arrangements to enjoy.

Discover Nature - Tuesdays 10:00am-12:00pm term-time at St Nicks. Full for now.

Join a safe and nurturing environment in which you can learn much more about the natural world. Sessions are seasonally themed and led by an expert tutor. Each week focuses on a different species or habitat with the opportunity to participate in wildlife-based activities, animal surveys and field trips planned around the migration of birds and animals throughout the year. The group usually takes an accessible walk and enjoys hot drinks and refreshments upon returning to the centre. We also arrange talks from local experts. There’s always something new to discover.

Discover Nature 'Closer Look' - Tuesdays 12:30-2:30pm term-time at St Nicks. 

An opportunity to learn about local wildlife in a friendly environment. Each session starts with a discussion about our chosen topic. We then head out onto the reserve for hands-on activities to record and learn about local species e.g. bumblebee surveys, bird territory mapping, and wildflower identification workshops. Participants will be provided with notebooks/journals to record key sightings, seasonal changes, and their response to nature. We aim to provide you with the skills and experience to become volunteer surveyors, adding to the pool of citizen scientists helping monitor the UK’s natural world. 

Willow Weaving - Tuesdays 3:00-5:00pm, running in blocks at St Nicks. 

The Willow workshop will focus on basic willow weaving skills, which will then be practised and repeated to develop confidence and expertise. There will be blocks of courses throughout the year, each focusing on a different project such as baskets, bird feeders, obelisks, dragonflies or giant flowers. This will be demonstrated and supported by tutor Gemma. There will also be opportunities to be involved in the design process, choosing of the willow and grading where possible.

No experience is necessary, all tools and materials are provided. Sessions will be outside, weather permitting.

Art-based Creative Writing - Wednesdays 10:00am-12:00pm term-time at St Nicks. 

These sessions are an exciting way to develop creativity whilst making new discoveries about nature through observation. This group starts with the introduction of a theme for the morning’s writing or art followed by a short walk around the nature reserve or a peaceful sit. Taking in the sights and scents of the reserve for inspiration the group then gather to discuss their ideas. The tutor offers tasks and guidance for participants to contemplate whilst creating and making based upon their experience in nature.

Making Tracks – Wednesday 10:00am-12:00pm at St Nicks. Starting in Spring 2025

This group helps to support the conservation work of St Nicks in York, whilst improving participants’ mental and physical wellbeing. Participants will have the opportunity to learn new skills, meet others, build confidence and improve our local wildlife habitats. Tasks will include seasonal conservation skills such as coppicing, scything, planting and seed sowing in 6-week blocks. The group will also learn about the theory behind the heritage skills and the habitats they benefit.

The sessions are flexible and no previous experience is necessary. There will be a break halfway through the session to enjoy tea and biscuits. 

Words from the Wild - Thursdays 10:00am-12:00pm year-round at St Nicks and ‘on location’. 

Words from the Wild offers friendly social sessions for those interested in books, ideas and imagery with a link to the natural world. The sessions are run by Eco Book Club tutor William Davidson. There is no pressure to read the book independently, the experienced tutor picks passages for the group to enjoy as a shared reading experience each week. This is followed by a nature inspired writing task which the group discuss and then consider as they explore the reserve with the writing still fresh in their minds. Hot tea and biscuits are enjoyed by all at the end!

Wellies and Wheelbarrows - Thursdays 2:00pm-4:00pm at St Nicks. Restarting in Spring 2025.

In this group you will learn gardening, DIY and woodworking skills. Learn how to garden creatively using a variety of means including the use of container planting and making the most of smaller spaces. Growing activities include natural pest control, feeding, plant care, repotting, vegetable growing, herb gardening, and seed sowing and collecting. 

Or learn handicraft and woodworking skills to repair, improve and decorate areas of the garden and the Eco-chalet or build nesting boxes for birds, hedgehogs and insects. There are activities that can be done with others from the group or tasks that can be done individually if you prefer to work alone. A tea break is enjoyed by everybody with time to socialise or explore the gardens. We have a seated area with tasks that can be done sitting down if you prefer.