Nature & Wellbeing Activities

The Rowan Prince – Written and Told by Danny English This enchanting story begins in a beautiful English forest many years ago. From the heart of a majestic Rowan tree, a sweet baby boy is born and soon discovered by a loving Queen. She and the King raise the child as their own, with the Queen nur

Storytelling: Three Green Ladies - A Folk Tale from Derbyshire In the heart of Derbyshire, England, there lies a beautiful hill crowned by three majestic ash trees known as the "Three Green Ladies." These trees stand on the land of a responsible farmer who cherishes and respects the earth he farms

In this short film we head out onto the hills on a beautiful late spring day in search or wildflowers. We find a whole range but many of them aren't in our 'seek and search book'. If you'd like to learn more about wildflowers, their names and some interesting facts then I'm sure you'll enjoy joini

This is a fun English folk tale that can be traced back hundreds of years to various parts of the British Isles. In this silly tale a farming family have the most bizarre experience in the cellar of their farmhouse. The farmers neighbouring son see's the silliness in the whole experience and speedi

The dark nights have been drawing in, the stars are twinkle up in the sky and we're once again waiting for the full moon to arrive. The Moon Goddess is a folk tale from China that should be told on the night of the full moon. In this tale a wicked king taxes his citizens beyond what is fair and ju

In this folk tale from Scotland a lonely fisherman spends each night looking at the moon, asking for a miracle. One night a white moth arrives, tapping on the window trying to get the attention of the fisherman. When he opens the window he doesn't really understand how his life will change from t

Recently Danny worked with the Yorkshire Dales Millenium Trust to write and tell some new tales for the Yorkshire Dales. This story was written to help us understand some of the Yorkshire Dales Landscapes such as the 3 peaks and the great Gordale Scar. Have you ever wondered why there arent many t

The Boy who stole from the Huldra is folktale from Finland that is told all across Scandinavia .A Huldra is a woman of the Forest, a mystical creature that carries much magic. A young boy goes in search for her and her treasures without fully understanding the power of the Huldra and finds hims

Have you ever wanted to try something new but been held back by fear? I have and everybody I know has too. Fear is an emotion that has helped us evolve to where we are today but it can also stop us doing the things that our heart desires. In this story a young woman leaves her home in search of

This folk tale is reportedly from Greece, but you can find variations across Europe. It is a tale that also goes by the name 'Strawberries in the snow', but we know the story as 'The Twelve Months'. In this tale about kindness and gratitude, two sisters visit twelve elderly ladies who are settled a

In this story from the Dominican Republic, a mighty king has everything he could ever desire—except one thing: he longs to touch the sky and reach the moon. Obsessed with his dream, he commands the royal carpenter to build a tower tall enough to reach the heavens so he can finally climb and touch th

The Birch Tree Lady is a Folk Tale from the former Czechoslovakia. In this story a young girl and her mother live in an old broken farmhouse and try to eke out a living on a farm with very poor soil. They manage to grow flax which they make into thread and weave into cloth. However, when the gir

In this old English Folk Tale a man is out walking when he comes across a big beautiful Beech Tree. He marvels at its size and strength, then the following day he returns carrying a huge axe with the intention of cutting down the tree to sell the wood! Little does he understand that the tree is ho

This is an old English folk tale that can be traced back to Norfolk. In this tale a humble man who lives in a simple cottage is visited by the same recurring dream. For many months he ignores it until a friend encourages him to 'follow the dream'- little does he know that off in London somebody is

This story can be found in the excellent book 'Dancing with Trees- Eco Tales form the British Isles. Often Halloween stories are full of fear and gloom, but no this fun folk tale from Scotland! Archie is tired of being treated badly by his lazy brother so when he meets a 'tinker' who makes brooms

This is a story that has been told for many years by the Irish Traveller Community and has been shared through the excellent book 'Why the moon travels' by Oein DeBharduin. In this story a hardworking goes from door-to-door looking for work to help feed himself and his family. Upon knocking at the

When tracing back the origin of this folktale it leads us to the wonderful Welsh countryside where it is believed to be told as far back as the early 1800's. This is a tale from a time when animals could walk and talk just like humans do today. Three unusual friends worked hard to make their fortu

This very simple folk tale originates in the UK. This is a tale from a long time ago when you were much much younger! During this time none of the birds were friends, they would argue and bicker and fight! Everyday they would boast about themselves and put down the other birds! However, that all

This story is an old Germanic folk tale that can be traced back beyond the early 1700's. Two weary travellers stumble over a beautiful town in the mountains. They knock on a door sure they will be greeted well and offered food. However, when they begin to meet the locals it becomes clear that thi

This folk tale from Taiwan teaches a very important lesson about treating others fairly. An elderly man visits a bustling market daily carrying a basket of pies to sell, but he always leaves with no pies or money. As the locals take advantage of him, a small boy watches from the shadows, then final

Too Much Sky - A Nigerian Folktale A long time ago, the people of the world didn’t need to hunt, farm, or buy their food. The sky came all the way down to the ground, and people would simply take what they needed to eat. Life was simple and plentiful. But over time, jealousy and greed crept into

This is an old folk tale from China. In this tale the Emperor is getting older, he never married and never had any children so doesn't have a natural heir to his empire. He has an idea to set a challenge for all of the children, the one who succeeds will become the new emperor. He gathers the ch

In this old Folk Tale from Germany a Little Fir Tree lives in a large mixed woodland. One summers day the tree spots the golden light illuminating the leaves and calls out, "oh how I wish I could have golden leaves too", little does he know that their is magic abound in these woods! The Little Fir

In this story a hungry vixen calls on her dog fox to venture out to the river and bring her home a fish supper. The loving and dedicated fox wants to help but doesn't like water, nevertheless he heads to the river bank where he finds two squabbling otters with a fish, find out what happens and if

During autumn many people around the world celebrate Halloween in many different ways, the most common being carving pumpkins. This old folk tale from Ireland tells one of the oldest tales about why we carry lanterns on the night of halloween. Although not necessarily a nature story this old fol

In this folk tale from the borders of England and Scotland two brothers take very similar journeys to 'make their fortune', however their paths end at very different destinations. This old folk tale teaches us that listening to the lessons within nature and moving through the world with a kind hea

In this fun little folktale from Wales a loving couple live in a small slate cottage surrounded by a slate garden wall. Every night they would cook delicious soup and fill the slop bucket with food waste, then the elderly man would head out to tip the slops over the wall. One night when tipping

It was an early winter evening, an elderly man and his dog were hurrying home through the forest to avoid the oncoming storm. As he stopped to tie his bootlace he left behind one of his mittens. It wasn't long before the mitten was found and soon became the scene for a wonderful little story abou

In this folk tale from Haiti a young girl called Topeka lives in a small cottage with her mother,; a mean woman who doesn't treat Topeka well at all. When her mother has to barter with a local woodsman she offers Topeka in exchange for firewood- Topeka nervously calls on her friends for help n

We recently teamed up with our friends at Woodlands TV to create this short film. Using a pruning saw, palm drill, elder and hazel we show you all how to make a simple toy car out of natural materials found in the woods.