Mystery animal story

Share a personal story about an animal that once captivated you but that you could not identify at first, and how your curiosity led you to learn more.

Connects you to

Awaken your mind's eye
Web of the Wild: Heritage species
1+ people
Ages 8+

Planning details

Age guidance: Suggested 8+; adults suitable
Who takes part: Listener and storyteller or original recording; shared audience optional
Time: About 25–40 minutes, plus setup, travel and waiting time.
Where: Meadow / open ground
When: No season specified; check local availability

Also in the collections: Wild Sparks

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 Sharing Nature with Children II, p. 85. All sources →

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

Includes printables: Mystery animal cue cards.

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 Awaken your mind's eye Wilding activity guides →

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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