Nature Walk through Crossness Nature Reserve

Hello and welcome! 🙂

Join us for a guided bird and nature walk to explore the local wildlife of Crossness Nature Reserve!

Key points

• Guided bird / nature walk through Crossness Nature Reserve
• Learn about wildlife to improve your mindfullness on your walks
• Meet new people and make friends
• Develop a new healthy hobby
• Get some exercise
• Bring suitable footwear for wet and muddy paths eg walking boots or wellies.

Agenda

• Meet at 11am at the footpath off Norman Road leading to Crossness Nature Reserve. The footpath is Opposite Morgan Pub, Belvedere, DA17, 6BG
• Begin walk at 11:10am
• Walk will end around 13:00pm back at the Footpath off Norman Road, opposite Morgan Pub

About the organiser - Dr Matt Milton

I’m a doctor in A&E and a lifelong nature lover. I grew up in rural Devon and spent thousands of hours immersed in nature, putting up bird boxes and reading about wildlife. Now it's always exciting to introduce this hobby to other people!

More details:
Crossness Nature Reserve has a diverse mix of habitats including reedbeds, lakes, mudlflats of the river thames, rough grazing and scrubland hosting many different birds, mammals and insects.

As a group, we’ll go for a gentle stroll, spending time observing the birds and learning about their lives. Spring is an exciting time to see the birds pairing up, building their nests and raising their young. _There’ll be opportunities to use binoculars and a telescope to see the birds up _close. We’ll also take plenty of time to sit, listen and appreciate common bird calls and songs. Hopefully you’ll soon learn to identify them yourself.

The more knowledge you gain of the wildlife you come across, the more you’ll be able to appreciate the natural world around you on your walks. Being more actively engaged with nature will help you to focus on the present moment and your surroundings, be more mindful and pay less attention to everyday thoughts and worries. This can all help you gain more mental health benefits than walks ever have before.

It’s only relatively recently that I realised I was practising mindfulness all these years and that connecting with nature is essential for my wellbeing and productivity. My aim is to introduce lots more people to the benefits of getting out into the nature around us, even in cities.

See you soon!

Matt Milton