Challenge 1: Stop, look, and listen

Points available: 1

About the challenge

We are always rushing around going from one thing to the next, often too busy to notice the natural world around us. This challenge is all about making the time to stop and look at the world around you.

Find a wild spot on the moor, in your garden or backyard and sit down for ten minutes. Let the natural world wash over you. To help you focus on the sounds around you, close your eyes and put your hands over your ears for 10 seconds. Then slowly open your eyes and take your hands off your ears.

Listen to the sounds of nature all around you. What can you hear? The buzz of the bees, the singing of the birds or the rustle in the hedgerows and bushes.

Look at the small life around your feet; the tiny insects, worms and flies, then look further afield. Notice the colours of the plants around you, the differences between them and where they are growing.

When your ten minutes are up, quietly get up and make a list of the things you noticed or draw sketches of what you saw. Did anything surprise you?

Helpful tips

If ten minutes is too long to keep still for, shorten the time. Try three minutes, then five and work your way up to ten.

You could try to record the sounds you hear by drawing marks and patterns on a piece of card to represent the sounds.

For this challenge don’t try to name the things you see- its all about what you see and hear.

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