Museum Collections Manager Matt Lowe writes: The past 12 months has meant a lot more screen time, especially for a collections manager who has a never ending list of edits for a museum database that seems longer than, well…. a year under lockdown. Ordinarily, to give tired eyes a rest, we would look up from our screens to chat to colleagues, or go and double … Continue reading Five minutes in nature: Ringneck the blackbird
Museum Research Assistant Matt Hayes writes: With many of us currently having to work from home, spending our days sitting and staring at screens, it is important to take breaks, get up and look to the outside world when we can. Since lockdown, the kitchen table has become my new office and I am very lucky to have a small garden, which the kitchen backs … Continue reading Five minutes in nature: Tea break window watching
Dr William Foster, Emeritus Curator of Insects, writes: It is the world of smells that is most cruelly crushed by the cold of winter. Even on the chilliest days our eyes and ears have something to feast on. The bare branches still pattern the sky, the holly berries glow against the glossy leaves, and the blackbirds sing. But for our nostrils the diet of odours … Continue reading Five minutes in nature: The Joy of Winter Fragrance
Museum Volunteer Anne French writes: Cherry Hinton Hall park, a short walk from where I live, is blessed with a chalk stream that used to power a water mill. The chalk stream supports many forms of wildlife such as kingfishers, water voles, sticklebacks, chubb and perch. But recently, I have found myself heading down there to see some birds I thought were terns but it … Continue reading Five minutes in nature: Black-headed gulls at Cherry Hinton Hall
Museum Marketing Assistant Tricia Harnett writes: Since the first lockdown I have discovered a walk right behind my house which I didn’t know was so beautiful. I had walked it many times before. I had hurried round, trying to get my health app to register more km than the day before, thinking about my next task, the weekly shopping, the dinner, work….. I hadn’t really … Continue reading Five minutes in nature: Taking time to ‘stand and stare’
Museum Volunteer Tani Gill writes: Art and classical dance have been the core of my education and passion. In order to explain how art and nature keep me mindful and grateful for the life I have, it is important for me to remind myself of what inspired me in the early years of my life. It is these influential years that form our character and … Continue reading Five Minutes in Nature: A mindful journey through art and nature
Museum Volunteer Charlotte Dufferwiel writes: A short journey from the centre of Durham, the River Wear meanders through the open fields and wooded glades on the outskirts of the city. Walking along the country lane, the stubby green shoots of winter barely tentatively pop through the earth on either side. Skeletons of hogweed act as gateposts along the farmer’s fields and frozen droplets cling to … Continue reading Five minutes in nature: A river near me
Museum PhD student Kate Howlett writes: As we approach having been in lockdown, in some form or other, for almost a year, I’ve come to be incredibly grateful for the gentle giants I can see through the windows of my flat—the trees. There is something comforting in watching the same trees every day for a whole year; watching them change colour through the seasons provides … Continue reading Five minutes in nature: Certainty in trees
Assistant Director Jack Ashby writes: Like many people, since March 2020 I’ve been spending a lot of time in whatever countryside I can find near my home. When the UK government specified in those initial, strict covid lockdown guidelines that we were permitted just one hour of exercise outdoors a day, something psychological was triggered in me that made me eager to make sure I … Continue reading Five minutes in nature: A daily, identical photo
Winter is a tough time of year, with its short days, long nights, and often overcast skies. But there is still wildlife to be enjoyed, and spending time in nature has been shown to improve wellbeing. With these posts, the team at the Museum of Zoology are sharing how they like to spend five minutes in nature and get reacquainted with the wildlife on their … Continue reading Five Minutes in Nature: Starlings
Museum of Zoology Blog 