Case Study: Half Day Nature Connection Away Day at Wick Wood

Last week we had the privilege of guiding fifty employees from North London Waste Authority through Wick Wood in Hackney on one of our half day Nature Connection sessions - and the timing couldn't have been more perfect.

We're experiencing what ecologists call a 'mast year' - a fascinating natural phenomenon where trees synchronise to produce an exceptional harvest of nuts, berries and fruits. This only happens once every four or five years, when environmental conditions align and trees have accumulated sufficient energy reserves.

Autumn in Wick Wood

As we gathered beneath the canopy, acorns literally carpeted the woodland floor. The abundance was extraordinary - exactly what the National Trust has been reporting across UK landscapes this autumn, with some locations experiencing "the largest ever seen" volumes of acorns.

Wick Wood itself holds a special kind of hope. Planted between 1996 and 2000 on what was once Wick Field marshland, this community woodland emerged as ecological compensation for the M11 link road. Around 30,000 trees were planted - a promise that even in our urban landscape, nature can reclaim space. Today, its mix of established trees, saplings, and shrubs creates an informal green space at the southern edge of Hackney Marshes.

Starting in Silence

We began our session with something that never fails to surprise people: a silent walk through the woodland. In our perpetually connected world, silence has become almost revolutionary.

As the group moved along Wick Wood's meandering paths, we watched the shift happen. The initial restlessness settled. Shoulders dropped. Breathing deepened. This is what we founded Nature in Mind for - these moments when busy professionals remember what it feels like to simply be present.

The feedback afterwards spoke volumes. Participants told us the session took them "out of their comfort zone into a more mindful state" - which is exactly what's needed. When we're constantly talking, planning, problem-solving, we miss the extraordinary richness of the world around us.

Using our Senses

Following our mindful walk, we explored the woodland through solo and group activities designed to awaken all the senses. Not just looking, but really touching bark, really listening to the subtle sounds of the forest, really noticing the earthy scent of autumn leaves transforming into next spring's soil.

During our mast year sessions, there's such richness to explore. The rough texture of acorn cups. The surprising weight of conkers in their spiky casings. The delicate structure of beech leaves turning gold.

This multi-sensory engagement isn't arbitrary - it's what the research shows us deepens nature connection most effectively.

When we slow down enough to truly notice through all our senses, we remember something essential: we're not separate from nature. We're part of it.

Team Building: The Mandala Circle

Then came what we find consistently moves people most - and what proved particularly powerful for team building: creating mandalas from found natural materials.

Small groups worked together, selecting acorns, leaves, twigs, seed pods, arranging them into circular patterns on the woodland floor. The mandala - that ancient symbol of wholeness and interconnection - offered a perfect metaphor for interconnectivity, for how each element contributes to the whole.

But it was more than a metaphor. As we watched the groups collaborate, something beautiful unfolded. People who might not normally work together closely were negotiating design choices, sharing materials, building something beautiful as a collective. The mandala creation became a genuine team-building exercise - one where hierarchy dissolved and everyone's contribution mattered equally.

As the mandalas took shape, the groups transitioned into gentle sharing. This is where authentic connection happens - not in formal meeting rooms, but on the woodland floor, with hands still dusty from arranging natural materials, voices still quiet from the mindful walk. The team building that occurred was organic, meaningful, and surprisingly profound.

What the Experience Offered

Throughout our two-and-a-half hours together, we wove in moments of meditation and reflection. Participants told us afterwards how "calming and relaxing" they found it, how they'd had time for reflection they don't normally get in their daily work lives.

The feedback that moved us most was about our facilitation approach - described as "organised, calm and relaxed." That's exactly the tone we work to hold. Not rigid or overly structured, but creating enough container for people to feel safe exploring something new.

Because that's what this work is about, really. Creating the conditions for people to step out of habitual patterns and into presence.

A Half Day Experience 

What made this session particularly meaningful was how North London Waste Authority structured their entire day. They started their day at the Hackney Food Bank, where they helped out to support their local community, before taking part in our half-day team nature connection experience.

This integration of environmental connection, social responsibility, and team building is exactly what we need more of. When we experience first-hand our interdependence with the natural world, sustainability stops being abstract policy and becomes lived value.

Nature's Patient Wisdom

As we concluded the session, with mast year abundance still carpeting the woodland floor around us, we found ourselves thinking about timing. Nature doesn't rush. Trees don't produce this extraordinary harvest every year - they wait for the right conditions, accumulate the necessary resources, then offer their abundance.

There's profound wisdom here for how we structure our working lives. What if we honoured natural cycles of intensity and rest? What if we recognised that sustainable productivity requires periods of renewal?

These aren't abstract philosophical questions. They're practical invitations to build workplace cultures that support human flourishing alongside environmental sustainability.

Carrying Nature Forward

Wick Wood will continue its quiet work of growth and transformation, offering its gifts to whoever pauses long enough to receive them. The acorns will feed jays and squirrels through winter. The saplings will stretch towards light. The ecosystem will continue its patient, interconnected dance.

And we know that those fifty people who walked those paths this autumn morning will carry something of the woodland back with them - a remembered stillness, a felt sense of belonging to something larger than quarterly targets and email inboxes.

That's why we do this work. Because when we keep nature in mind, we live healthier lives, build healthier organisations, and protect the health of our planet.

That's not just our mission. It's nature's invitation to all of us.

Interested in bringing a nature connection experience to your team? Our half-day and full-day team building, nature-connection and employee wellbeing experiences in London's woodlands offer transformative pathways to reconnection - supporting wellbeing, team cohesion, and your organisation's sustainability goals. Get in touch to explore what's possible.