How to identify a tree by its leaves

Prepare or gather a set of leaf shape cards, such as heart shaped, round, triangular, long and narrow, maple like, compound, needle like and oval, adding the tree name for each shape if you know it.

Connects you to

Dive into field guides
Web of the Wild: Plants, Trees
1+ people
Ages 8+

Planning details

Age guidance: Suggested 8+; shape matching 5+; adults suitable unless method held
Who takes part: On your own; helpers, companions or shared roles where appropriate; group variants optional
Time: About 20–30 minutes, plus setup, travel and any return visits.
Where: Woodland / woody habitat; Garden / school grounds; Meadow / open ground
When: No season specified; check local availability

Also in the collections: Wild Wise

Inside this Wilding activity guide

At a glance
Step by step
Questions to wonder about
Tip
Variations
Resources
Learning
Practising over time
Safety notes

Inspired by Coyote’s Guide to Connecting with Nature, p. 436. All sources →

A printable PDF, with any templates or charts it needs.

Includes printables: Leaf shape cards and checklist.

Coming soon. Jay is giving the Wilding activity guides a final proofread before they go on sale as downloads. Ask to be told when they’re ready.

Safety first. Outdoor activities carry real risks. Each Wilding activity guide has safety notes, but you are responsible for yourself and anyone in your care. Supervise children, get permission, never eat anything you cannot identify with certainty, and only light fires where it is allowed and safe.

More Dive into field guides Wilding activity guides →

How to identify a tree Looking for plant patterns

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Safety, and where the Wilding activity guides come from

Look after yourself and others. Outdoor activities carry real risks: fire, tools, water, weather, heights, plants, fungi, animals and getting lost. Every Wilding activity guide includes safety notes, but you are responsible for your own safety and for anyone in your care. Supervise children closely, get the landowner's permission, follow the Countryside Code, never eat anything you cannot identify with complete certainty, and only light fires where it is allowed and safe. If in doubt, leave it out.

With gratitude to the lineage. Wilding and its Practice Keys are inspired by the work of Jon Young and colleagues: the core routines of nature connection in the 8 Shields approach, also known as Coyote Mentoring, shared in Coyote's Guide to Connecting with Nature (Young, Haas & McGown). Many of the Wilding activity guides grew from those routines.

These ways of noticing and belonging are far older than any book. They grow from the knowledge of Indigenous and land-based peoples around the world, who have lived in close relationship with the land for thousands of years and have kept that knowledge alive, often in the face of great loss. Jon Young describes 8 Shields as built on patterns of nature connection he found in Indigenous cultures around the world, and on what his mentors taught him, including the teachings passed down through Tom Brown Jr. from Grandfather Stalking Wolf. Our own ancestors in these islands once knew the land in this way too.

I offer Wilding with deep respect and thanks to all of them. It does not claim or copy any culture's ceremonies or sacred practices. It is a UK way of carrying forward simple, shared human ways of paying attention, giving thanks and belonging to a place. — Jay

How to identify a tree by its leaves

Connects you to

Inside this Wilding activity guide

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