New Year Nature challenges for improved wellbeing

Plast Off! litter pick - Radnorshire Wildlife Trust volunteers

It can be easy at this time of year to retreat into a cosy home or bury ourselves in work. Living through some of the shortest days of the year in challenging weather conditions can seem relentless sometimes (though - fingers crossed - we are promised a drier spell is on the cards for the rest of January 2024!) And winter weather conditions can definitely impact on our mental health. So, what can we do to renew, refresh and generally feel better about life at the start of 2024?

For some people, after the excesses of the festive season, it’s time to take on a new challenge

This could be changing or adapting our diet with a dip into Veganuary “for a greener planet, lower food bills, better health and kindness to animals”.

Giving up alcohol for January is also a popular option with Dry January encouraging growing numbers to go sober to start the new year “for a body and mind reset”. Others determined to improve both their physical health and emotional wellbeing opt for new exercise routines - perhaps they join a gym, try a new sport or sign up for online classes or the local weekly Parkrun.

Yet another option, and one we want to explore more here, is getting outdoors to appreciate and do our bit for Nature in this, our wonderful county of Powys!

Here are some activities, (along with details of helpful organisations), that can encourage just that, with the added benefit of social interaction in most cases for those that want to make new friends (or just meet up with family and friends to take part). Litter picking, bird watching and wildlife walking are all suitable too for those needing some space, perhaps time for themselves to recharge their batteries, after a busy or draining festive time - many people have to work through the winter break after all!

Plast Off! litter pick - Radnorshire Wildlife Trust - 13 January

Kick-start your New Year with a litter pick and do something positive for local wildlife! Join Radnorshire Wildlife Trust and the Lakeside Boathouse on Saturday 13th January in Llandrindod Wells anytime between 10am until 1pm. Free hot drinks will be provided for those taking part!

Plast Off! is a Wales wide event, organised by Stand for Nature Wales youth groups around the country. The aim is to remove plastic and other litter from the environment that could cause harm to our wildlife.

There is no need to book this event, just turn up! This event is in association with the Lakeside Boathouse.

More information HERE.

Big Garden Birdwatch from the RSPB - 26 - 28 January

Join the world’s largest garden wildlife survey!

Every year, hundreds of thousands of nature lovers take part, helping to build a picture of how garden birds are faring.

All you have to do is spend an hour watching the birds in your patch, between 26 and 28 January, and record the birds that land (so not those which just fly by). Then you can record your sightings on the RSPB website.

Last year half a million people took part in the Big Garden Birdwatch recording an amazing 9.1 million birds! House sparrow took the top spot. Which birds will you spot on your patch this year…?

More information HERE.

Wildlife walking - Winter Bird Walk in Builth Wells with South & West Wales Wildlife Trust - 10 February

A four hour walk from Builth Wells to spot resident and visiting winter birds with the County Recorder for Brecknock, Andrew King. With a mixture of habitats including the River Wye, woodland, and farmland there is a chance to see a wide variety of birds.

Please bring your own binoculars and wear warm wet weather gear and appropriate footwear. Also bring some snacks or lunch and a drink. Please note that dogs are not allowed on this walk.

More information and booking online (essential) HERE.

Nature reserve maintenance - local wildlife trusts, ongoing

Our local wildlife trusts are always on the lookout for keen volunteers to help look after the many and varied reserves in the county. What better way to keep fit, meet like-minded people and see some of the stunning wildlife we share this beautiful county of Powys with?

If you are interested then contact your nearest wildlife trust:

North Powys - Montgomeryshire Wildlife Trust

Mid Powys - Radnorshire Wildlife Trust

South Powys - Wildlife Trust of South & West Wales

Spring Clean Cymru with Keep Wales Tidy - 15 - 3 March

Spring Clean Cymru is part of the Great British Spring Clean, the nation’s biggest mass-action environmental campaign.

7,000 “litter heroes” collected more than 4,000 bags of litter and recycling last year!

“Keep Wales Tidy believe that everyone deserves to live in a community they can be proud of but according to UK figures, less than half of UK adults (43%) currently agree that they feel proud of their community.”

Litter picking is a simple action that anyone can do to make an immediate and visible difference to their area.

If you want to be one of the first to pledge your support, you can register your interest HERE. More information coming in February 2024!

These wonderful voluntary organisations have contributed a huge amount of energy and enthusiasm into organising these events - so let’s support them, wildlife and the environment, whilst at the same time boosting our own positive mental health. Whilst all these events are free, donations are welcomed.

Finally Happy New Year 2024 from everyone at PAVO’s mental health team! 

We’d love to hear more if you have ideas about getting outdoors in Nature, 

to help the local environment and boost your wellbeing. 

Let us know in the comments below.

Our Alternative Christmas

For the last few years our December team meeting has morphed into a pre-Christmas mini-binge – turkey and nut roast sandwiches, warmed mince pies, mulled grape juice…. And Havin’ a Laugh.

This year – in the spirit of recognising that Christmas isn’t always an easy time for some of us – we decided to try something completely different.

We thought about surfing at Borth… climbing to the source of the Severn… exploring the sculpture park at Lake Vyrnwy… or kayaking the rapids of the River Wye… In the end we went to Rock Park in Llandrindod Wells (home to a former spa centre established in the Victorian era) and spent 2 hours litter picking and leaf collecting. It was wet. A bit muddy. But also exhilarating. We laughed a lot. We learnt stuff. It was genuinely team building. And the best December team meeting ever.

Amongst other things, we discovered that the leaves of the park’s ginkgo tree contain ginkgolides, which could improve blood circulation to the brain …. And that a lithium well was discovered at Rock Park in 1906 by Mr Heighway… (it's housed in the shed in the photograph).

Afterwards over lunch we exchanged more ideas about how to go about creating the Christmas Festival Fringe at home on the Big Day itself…

Anne: wishing for a festival of light!

For me, Christmas is a trigger for feelings of anxiety, which starts several weeks before with worrying about buying presents that people will like. As a result, I tend to put it off, leaving it to the last minute, which then creates more stress. It’s hard not to get caught up in the commercialisation and put pressure on myself, which doesn’t come from family and friends. So I suppose my fantasy Christmas would have less emphasis on giving and receiving material gifts. Or I’d employ a personal shopper!

I’ve often considered creating spiritual rituals that are meaningful to me at this time of year. My fantasy Christmas might include being outside in nature (weather permitting!), making the most of the light in the day and a bonfire in the evening. One year, I went to Stonehenge at dawn on the Winter Solstice, and then to Avebury Stone Circle, as it felt important to mark the shortest day. I like the idea of a festival of light to counteract the long, dark, winter evenings; something that has a big impact on my mood at this time of year. If money was no object then I would go away somewhere warm and sunny in the winter to top up on vitamin D until the days start getting longer again.

Carla’s No Cooking Christmas!

In our family, we did away with slaving over a hot stove for days on end and have exchanged turkey and trimmings for deli platters and paper plates. Essentially, this means that shopping for Christmas food doesn’t involve battling crowds in the supermarket but does involve spending a leisurely afternoon browsing small independent shops or jamming a queue at a deli counter somewhere. The kids and I pick salamis and cold meats, sample different cheeses before buying, choose which items to splash out on for the special ‘treat’ items (stuffed baby peppers are my favourite) and only have to pop to a big store to buy the fancy paper plates and crackers. I set a budget before we go shopping and when it’s gone - it’s gone.

On Christmas day, everything is put out on the table on throw-away foil platters from the pound aisle, the oven goes on to heat the ‘bake at home’ bread and paper plates are handed out to whoever the guests are - this can change at any point throughout the day as people drift by to say Happy Christmas and have a drink or two!

We eat, we snooze, we drink, we eat again and then all plates are put in the bin, leftovers stuck in the fridge and the next day we can get back to ‘normal’ - or just do it all over again with new plates! No stress, no fuss, no waste, no turkey sandwiches/curry/soup and buying the food can suit even the tiniest of budgets. One year, I bought everything we wanted from our local supermarket on Christmas Eve and it came to about £20.

Christmas doesn’t have to be a chore nor does it have to be the same every year - this year our family are NOT ‘magicing’ our Christmas tree and may have to resort to more conventional methods - but that’s another blog post . . .

Jackie: Digging Christmas!

Ever since moving to our house in the Upper Severn Valley 20 years ago I have been a bit of a mad keen gardener… and tradition now has it that every Christmas Day involves gardening in some form or other. Depending on the weather this could be chipping parsnips out of frozen compost in a style not dissimilar to that used on an archaeological dig… rescuing a willow bean tripod from the top of an ash tree in a gale… or scraping snow off the polytunnel before the metal hoops crumple under the weight….

But the highlight of all Christmas Gardening Days past was the one where I found an old Victorian sixpence dated 1875 in the ground whilst digging out self-seeded holly trees. I would have rushed off to order a metal detector there and then (well in the Boxing Day sales anyway) except the ground all around was found to be full not of treasure but buried refuse – not exactly the Staffordshire Hoard – rather the site of some 1950s fly-tipping…half-bricks galore.

Christmas in our house is a time for planning the gardening season ahead. Full of hope. Anticipation. And some concerns… Will the heritage seed beetroots finally plump up…? The spring frosts stay at bay…? The million hungry rodents be herded up and dispatched by resident cats …? The recycled tin baths moisture retentive and slug-proof for carrots to thrive…? The elusive horse manure finally appear magically at the end of our drive…?

Whatever 2017 brings in the world outside my valley… I can’t wait to get my hands dirty again in the confines of my garden oasis. (If you fancy gardening and don’t have a patch of your own, there are community gardens all around Powys).

Jane: Fantasy Christmas meets Reality!

My fantasy Christmas would be one where I had actually got my act together and was well prepared! Each year I stubbornly refuse to even think about Christmas until December - and then I am surprised by how quickly it seems to arrive! We would book an enormous house so that all the extended family could come, everyone would get on well, there would be harmonious sharing of chores and all the various traditions would miraculously work together so that everyone felt that they had had a part in such a wonderful shared time - so that should show what a general fantasist I am!

I’ve never done anything that out of the ordinary at Christmas myself - last year I was proud of my daughter and husband who took a car-load of donations to the refugee camp in Calais and volunteered there for a few days in between Christmas and New Year.

On balance I think that having a time of coming together and sharing food, gifts and conviviality at the darkest point of the year is a good thing - and if you are a Christian then it’s a good thing to celebrate the birth of Christ too. There isn’t any easy way to balance that with the fact that for a lot of people it is also a very difficult time - I am inclined to think that the gross (to my mind) level of consumerism, the overcomplicating of it all and the relentless emphasis on the fun, party side of Christmas with no mainstream, non-religious acknowledgement of the importance of reflection and quiet thought as a component of the rest of the festive season adds to the sense of isolation and loneliness that some people feel at Christmas.

And finally...

These ideas and approaches may or may not work for you. But perhaps they could kickstart a different way of thinking about the traditional Christmas. And if you opt for the alternative approach, we would love to hear from you in the comments box below.

Most important of all, do something that makes you happy. And if you need extra help over the festive season – it’s out there. Wellness and Recovery Learning Centres around Powys are open at some point over Christmas and the New Year and would welcome your visit. Check their opening times on websites, details here. You can link to national helplines here.

If you need help urgently find information here.

Happy Christmas, whether Traditional or Alternative suits you best. And see you in 2017.

Photos feature Newtown's Christmas-themed town centre in December 2016

Top 10 Tips to Survive Christmas

The mental health team here at PAVO would like to wish you all the best for Christmas and New Year 2014. However, we understand that it can be a difficult time for some people, and between us the team have come up with ten (hopefully useful) tips for surviving Christmas. If you have ideas of your own we would really like to hear from you - just add them in the comments box at the end.

1 Get together with other people

If you haven’t got anything planned for Christmas and are worried about being on your own, why not contact someone who may be in a similar situation, and arrange to do something together.

2 Prepare in case of a crisis
Before Christmas make a list of people and places who could support you in a crisis. Make sure you have phone numbers to hand, opening times of places that are important to you, that you have renewed your prescription if you have medication, and have emergency cash if possible for taxis if you really need to get somewhere. If you self-injure and think this is likely over Christmas make sure you have what you need to be safe. (See links below for further support and help).

3 Remember lost loved ones
Christmas can be a difficult time if you have just lost someone. If you have lost someone close maybe acknowledge this and light a candle for them. You might like to give something to an appropriate charity in their memory.

4 Be a Christmas volunteer
What about actually volunteering to do something with a local group or charity? Many organisations would like to hear from you if you have time to help, but contact them in plenty of time so that your offer can be incorporated into the group's plans.

5 Just treat yourself!
Do something nurturing for yourself - get yourself a treat - plan to go to your favourite place or go on your favourite walk, or listen to music that you really like.

6 Celebrate in your own way
If the commercialisation or the religious aspects of Christmas are not for you celebrate the mid winter in your own ways - think of the mid winter as a time for reflection and quiet, a time for beginning to nurture new growth….think of all the things in nature which begin life in a period of dark and quiet - roots start to grow, trees rest before the new leaves of spring, sheep are in lamb ready for spring …...sow some seeds of change for yourself - what can you begin when the days start to get longer again?

7 Have a laugh!
Promise yourself a laugh on Christmas Day - even if you don’t really feel like it. Look at some funny DVDs or ring someone who makes you laugh - find a funny YouTube clip - even if you feel false doing it laughing can definitely help to lift negative feelings.

8 Take the time to be useful
Use the time to do something practical. You may get a sense of achievement for having accomplished something. Perhaps you have been waiting all year to find time to sort out that untidy room or make a new garden bed. Dive in and start now!

9 Create, create, create
Be creative - paint a picture, knit a scarf, design your garden ready for the new season, write a poem, make a fun mask, go for a walk and take some photographs, sing a song.... Perhaps it is an opportunity to try something new. There are lots of groups out there encouraging creative activity, such as Arts Alive in Crickhowell. Or you can search the internet for websites packed full of ideas, like this one.

10 Be a friend to someone else this Christmas
Think about what your neighbours might be doing, and if any of them might need some support, help or companionship at this time. Often helping someone else - even just small gestures such as collecting a newspaper for them from the local shop -  can take your mind off your own struggles and can be a very rewarding way to spend time over the Christmas period.

Wellness and Recovery Learning Centres around Powys are open at some point over Christmas and the New Year and would welcome your visit. Visit their websites to check their opening times, details here. You can link to national helplines here.

If you need help urgently find information here.

We look forward to hearing from you in 2015.