Unplugged – June 2018

In our modern digital world, many of us spend hours of every day gazing at screens. Many of the services made available by our phones, tablets and computers provide ready access to information, inspiration and communication, but by relying on them as much as we do, we can easily end up removed from nature, our worlds permeated by artificial light, plastics, electromagnetic fields and, well, stress. So we thought, as the weather begins to cheer up and the days become longer, June should be a time when we encourage you to venture out into nature, to turn off our devices for a while and reconnect with the trees, rivers, beaches and wildlife on which we truly depend. They, too, can be a source of information and inspiration. And, since much of our communication is non-verbal, spending more time face-to-face with other humans, rather than electronic devices, can enhance human communication, too.

So, what are you waiting for? See below for some ideas of how you might get out and about this month (but not only this month!).

It's always a good time to 'unplug' and get out into nature, or to meet with people, but here are a few reasons why you might want to do that in June ...

June is '30 Days Wild' month. The Wildlife Trusts of Great Britain have loads of ideas for 'Random acts of Wildness' that you can consider this month. Check out this link for more details: http://www.mywildlife.org.uk/30DaysWild/

The Malvern Walking Festival: 26th May to Sunday 3^th June. Early in the months enjoy nine days of themed walks on or around the Malvern Hills. Find out more at www.malvernwalking.uk – but again, any time is a good time for walking in the Malvern Hills.

And, for combining 'getting outside' with 'meeting people face-to-face', why not consider becoming one of our volunteers. The Duckworth Worcestershire Trust's 149 volunteers do a wide range of important jobs in and around Worcester, and they include 81 litter wardens, who keep the streets of Worcester clean. To find out more, e-mail volunteer@dwt.org.uk or visit www.volunteersweek.org.