Wild Guide: printable card set
A sample of 4 cards. The full set of 6 comes with the collection. Back
Wilding mentoringPractising ‘Be’

Step by step

  1. Be is about embodying curiosity, care and the practices yourself, so that the way you move, speak and pay attention becomes the teaching.
  2. Before you spend time with a learner, spend 10 minutes outside on your own.
  3. Settle your breathing, open your senses and let yourself become curious about whatever is there.
  4. When you are with the learner, do the things you hope they will do.
  5. Get down on your knees to look at something small.
  6. Go quiet when a bird alarms.
  7. Walk softly.
  8. Show delight when you find something.
  9. Say thank you.
  10. Do not explain what you are doing or ask them to copy you.
  11. Simply carry on, and notice what they pick up.
The full Wilding activity guide (what you need, safety, variations and questions to wonder about): re-wild.co.uk/g/practicing-be/
Wild Guide · re-wild.co.uk
Create cultureThe red fox mentoring compass: Practising ‘be’

Step by step

  1. The red fox mentoring compass has four points, Be, Notice, Wonder and Invite.
  2. They are reminders, not a fixed sequence.
  3. Draw a compass in your journal and write one word at each point.
  4. Under Be, write how you want to show up, living the curiosity, care and practices you hope to pass on.
  5. Under Notice, write what you will listen and look for, such as what the learner is drawn to and what the place is offering.
  6. Under Wonder, write a few open questions you could ask, exploring together without rushing to the answer.
  7. Under Invite, write some things you could offer, such as a game, an errand, a challenge, a story or a return visit, which the learner is free to accept, change or decline.
  8. Take your compass out with a learner, and afterwards note which points you used.
The full Wilding activity guide (what you need, safety, variations and questions to wonder about): re-wild.co.uk/g/the-red-fox-mentoring-compass/
Wild Guide · re-wild.co.uk
Wilding mentoringPractising ‘Wonder’

Step by step

  1. Wonder is about asking, imagining and investigating together, without rushing to the answer.
  2. When a learner finds something, or asks you what it is, resist the urge to tell them.
  3. Instead, wonder out loud alongside them, with questions such as I wonder who made this, what do you notice about it, or what do you think happened here.
  4. Follow their answers with another question that takes them one step further, and no more.
  5. If they are stuck, offer a small clue or a way of finding out, such as looking closer, comparing it with something else or checking a field guide together.
  6. Be content to leave a mystery unsolved, to be picked up another day.
The full Wilding activity guide (what you need, safety, variations and questions to wonder about): re-wild.co.uk/g/practicing-wonder/
Wild Guide · re-wild.co.uk
Wilding mentoringPractising ‘Notice’

Step by step

  1. Notice is about listening and observing, both what the learner is drawn to and what the place is offering.
  2. During your next session, set yourself the task of watching before you speak.
  3. Notice where the learner's eyes go, what they pick up, where they linger and where they lose interest.
  4. Notice their energy, their mood and what their body is telling you.
  5. Notice the place too, such as the weather, the birds, a fresh track, or anything that has changed since last time.
  6. Hold back from pointing things out.
  7. Afterwards, write down three things the learner was drawn to and three things the place offered, and think about where the two might meet next time.
The full Wilding activity guide (what you need, safety, variations and questions to wonder about): re-wild.co.uk/g/practicing-notice/
Wild Guide · re-wild.co.uk