Happy International Women’s Day! Join us for our March meeting and hear from Kyra Bond from Womankind, our nominated charity for 2021
Belinda Kirk from Explorers Connect joined us at our meeting to talk about skippering the first women to Row Around The UK.
Belinda is the leading voice promoting the benefits of adventure on wellbeing and the founding campaigner of the #AdventureRevolution “I believe adventure is a necessity of the human spirit. The modern world has become too easy, too averse to challenge. This is having a negative effect on our physical and mental health. We need a revolution, to learn how to live adventurously” Her new book Adventure Revolution is coming out with Little, Brown later this year
An Explorer in her own right, Belinda has walked across Nicaragua, searched for camels in China’s Desert of Death, discovered ancient rock paintings in Lesotho, pioneered inclusive expeditions for people with disabilities, lead dozens of youth development expeditions around the world and gained a Guinness World Record for rowing unsupported around Britain. An expert expedition leade rand Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society, Belinda has managed remote trips for, amongst others Ray Mears, Chris Ryan & Bear Grylls.
Belinda launched Explorers Connect, a non-profit organisation connecting people to adventures in 2009. Over 10 years she has encouraged over 30,000 ordinary people to discover a world of outdoor challenges and established Britain’s National Night of Adventure #wildnightout2020
Belinda talked about skippering the first women to Row Around The UK. To date no other women have achieved this and only 11 people on the planet. Its now evolved into the toughest rowing race in the world. The theme of her talk was about the importance of risking failure and pushing yourself outside of your comfort zone.
Belinda’s new book is now widely available
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Adventure-Revolution-case-living-boldly/dp/0349428239
https://www.waterstones.com/book/adventure-revolution/belinda-kirk/9780349428239
Belinda Kirk from Explorers Connect will join us at our next meeting to talk about skippering the first women to Row Around The UK. To date no other women have achieved this and only 11 people on the planet. Its now evolved into the toughest rowing race in the world. The theme of her talk will be about the importance of risking failure and pushing yourself outside of your comfort zone.
Belinda launched Explorers Connect, a non-profit organisation connecting people to adventures in 2009. Over 10 years she has encouraged over 30,000 ordinary people to discover a world of outdoor challenges and established Britain’s National Night of Adventure #wildnightout2020
Aromatherapy for Winter Wellbeing with Anne Polet of AromaWizards – @AromaWizardsnorthdevon on Facebook
Anne trained as an aroma therapist 30y ago. She gave a fascinating talk about a whole array of different essential oils. We learnt about how oils are distilled from plant materials (e.g. it takes 1.5kg lavender makes 15ml oil), how they can have many different effects and how they can help minor ailments e.g. dry skin, Seasonal Affected Disorder, stress to name a few. Whilst they are natural products they should always be handled with care. They are powerful chemicals and shouldn’t be used orally (in large amounts they can damage liver and kidneys note: in the food and drinks industry they are used in very diluted quantities i.e. as 1 drop per 6litres) or neat on your skin. They also don’t last forever so buying small quantities is important.Inhalation is particularly helpful for mental wellbeing. Lemon can be really uplifting in the winter months and other oils can calm your mind and move you from a stressful state to a physiologically calm state. There are published research articles on the effects of lavender and other oils too. Burners and diffusers can be great but remember to use them to only use them for 30-45mins at a time to have maximum effect.
Feel free to contact Anne for more information
Kate from May The Folds Be With You gave us a demo of Book Folding.
Book Folding turns pre-loved books into art by cutting or folding individual pages.
We joined Erin Gates from California State Parks PORTS for a stroll through Humboldt Redwoods State Park
For October’s meeting, following our very brief AGM where we welcomed our new committee, we travelled across the globe for a virtual guided tour to Humboldt Redwoods State Park, California! We joined Erin Gates from California State Parks PORTS for a stroll through Humboldt Redwoods State Park, home to the largest stand of old growth redwood forest remaining in the world.
These giants, the tallest living things on earth, historically covered much of the Pacific Northwest of the United States, but logging in the early and mid 20th Century cut down 96% of old growth Redwoods, with only 4% remaining today.
We walked virtually among these magnificent trees with Erin as she shares the stories they have to tell – about resilience, adaptations, and the history of their preservation which began with a women’s garden group in the early 20th century.
