Nes Bear

I am an Eco-Psychotherapist; qualified Mountain Leader, Forest School Practitioner (L3), Yoga Therapist; and a UKCP registered psychotherapist (MSc). I am also an author of the Wild and Wellbeing Card Deck and 8 Keys to Safe Trauma Recovery Workbook. 

I run workshops combining traditional craft, bushcraft, walking, nature reconnection, and wellbeing- spaces to reconnect with body, with other-than-human nature, and regain a sense of belonging, enlivenment, and joy. 

As for basketmaking I tend to make a lot of birdfeeders and birdhouses with willow and hazel as well as hazel frame platters. I share the making of these in the workshops as well as making some for sale now and then.

Basketmaking is something that I find fabulous for my wellbeing, the sense of focus and working out what is just the right amount of challenge for me on that day (so I am not finding it too easy that I think about shopping lists, and not too difficult that I throw it out of the window). Making with my hands is probably one of the most therapeutic things I do for myself and I thoroughly enjoy sharing that with others.  

'When you learn to make things with your hands, you begin to awaken an awareness of the beauty and value of things in your life. Hand-making teaches us about slowness: the antidote to brevity and efficiency. It shows us, through the patience and skillfulness of our own hands, what goes into a thing. When we put those long efforts into bringing beauty into the world, we are honouring that which made us by creating as we have been created.' from Belonging by Toko-Pa Turner.

 I love weaving with materials that I find on walks, and I particularly like the unruly and wild bramble and pairing it with some hazel. Really, I enjoy the process, the connecting with the plants, the creation, the focus, and the creativity. 

• Basketry
• Hedgerow
• Natural Fibres