Don’t just visit nature. Learn to belong to it.
The Wilding Rucksack is an online resource that helps adults, families and groups get to know nature, live a little wilder and pass it on. Inside are the Wilding books, over 800 printable activity guides, templates and audio, all built on Wilding, our way of connecting with nature. In-person courses are coming too.
“I would like to invite you to get to know nature and learn ways that will support you to live a little wilder.” Jay
Everything you need for the journey, in one place.
The Wilding Rucksack is a growing digital collection of everything that supports your wilding: the Wilding book, 800+ activity guides, threshold books, cards, a field guide, templates and audio. Pick what you need, pack it into your own Rucksack and add to it over time.
Four ways to start
Ebooks and activity guides will be available to download soon, and course venues and dates will follow. Ask Jay to hear first.
Not sure where to begin? See where to start →
Watch the 3-minute film
Know nature, live wilder, pass it on: the whole idea, set to the song Wilding.
A way of knowing nature, living wilder and passing it on.
It begins with a simple intention: to get to know the nature around us. Not just the names of plants, trees and wildlife, but their lives, behaviours, relationships and the landscapes we share.
Know nature
Through regular encounters we learn to notice more, ask questions, follow our curiosity and recognise the stories unfolding around us.
Live wilder
As the relationship deepens we may begin to live differently: more time outdoors, practical skills, natural materials used respectfully, and nature woven into everyday life.
Pass it on
We share discoveries, stories and skills, nurture curiosity in children, friends and communities, and care for the places we share.
These journeys are not rigid stages. Wilding is a UK-centred interpretation of the 8 Shields model of nature connection developed by Jon Young and colleagues, reworked for British landscapes, species, seasons and culture.
I want to…
Choose a journey, then whether it is for you and the people close to you, or for a group you lead.
It is a lifelong journey of relationship, discovery, learning and reciprocity.
Wilding: Wisdom for a Wilder LifeLearn it outside, together.
Each course follows one of the threshold books, so you go home with the book, its activity guides and templates to keep going afterwards.
One and two-day in-person courses for adults, groups and teams, from bushcraft and tracking to foraging, crafts and nature connection. Venues and dates are coming soon.
Live, learn and play naturally.
Today I find it easier to put down my phone, and I am happier and healthier, living more in tune with the seasons and the rhythm of the day.
I make time to relax around the campfire, sometimes baking bread for supper or carving wood. I support nature, grow and gather wild plants, and enjoy the challenge of finding local wildlife to photograph or learn about. Without meaning to, I have also become more self-sufficient, whether on a walk or paddling my canoe, near home or far away.
Are you curious about…
- What living a little wilder in a modern world looks like?
- How getting closer to wildlife can help you focus at work?
- How baking bread on a campfire can teach you about trees?
- Where buzzards hang out when they are not soaring?
- Which plants can go in an omelette, be used as soap or make good string?
- How to put up a simple shelter in a sudden downpour?
- What the birds are talking about, and how they help you live in the moment?
- How to light and tend fires in all weathers?
- How to help a child disconnect from the virtual world and get outside?
Wild with Jay.
Follow rewildwithjay on Facebook and Instagram for news from the woods, new activity guides and course dates.
“Remember you belong to nature, not it to you.”Grey Owl
“Of all the paths you take in life, make sure a few of them are dirt.”John Muir
“The joy is in the journey. Live, learn and play naturally every day.”Jay Witts