Nature Framing

An important part of forest exploration is remembering to see the trees and not just the wood. The wide view of the world that we see when we look out from the top of a tree or stare off at the distant landscape allows one to see everything and also nothing.

This type of view can create calm and a sense of well-being, but shouldn’t be done at the expense of investigating the smallest corners of the woods.

If you happen to have a piece of string in your pocket, lay it out in a circle on the ground. You can create a similar effect by placing four twigs in a square. Then lie down so that you’re looking directly into the circle/ square from a distance of about 15cm. This is your nature frame, and your job is to study the contents of your frame in more and more minute detail until you are quite sure you haven’t missed a single thing.

Observe the living creatures you didn’t know were there. Notice how there are so many more colours than just the brown or green you were expecting. Watch the way the wind makes small changes within your frame. Getting lost staring into a nature frame changes your focus and gives you a greater understanding of a hidden world that is so often and so easily trodden upon without thought. It’s also more interesting than TV, so enjoy.

This text is extracted from my forthcoming book, 100 Things to do in the Forest. Full details of the book can be found on Laurence King’s website. The text remains copyright of Jennifer Davis and Laurence King and may not be reprinted without permission. The hand drawn images are copyright Eleanor Taylor and Laurence King and may not be reused without permission. Pre-orders of the book are available on Amazon UK and Amazon in the USA.