Wild Moment: Jessie Paterson
"There are wild places everywhere - even in the middle of our towns - we just need to notice them." Jessie shares her joy of finding wild moments during her daily city park walk.
I have been exceedingly lucky over the years to have spent a lot of time in the outdoors and in nature. However, while I took in the big picture of what was around me, I rarely spotted the details that make wild places so special.
For me, wild moments are now spotting those small things that make up the wildness that is all around us. Recently, I have started to photograph the trees in our local park every month. What started as something interesting to do, has spiralled into a real awakening of just how special and unique trees are (and from this, nature in its totality).
It feels like a daily wild moment as I spot yet another change happening. Even just the different light or weather brings special unique ways of viewing. From the tentative steps of not even knowing what kind of tree I was looking at, I started to learn each tree species' unique characteristics (its life cycle of bud, leaves, flowers, fruit etc), to now being thrilled to see each small change happening in front of me.
My favourite species are Scots pine and oak. I always enjoyed being among Scots pine, but now I lookout for the male and female flowers, “baby” cones, new growth and the continual green in winter when the world can feel dark. I see my special oak tree most days, enjoying everything from those precious moments of the buds starting to burst, to more new growth appearing as the season passes.
It is only when I stop and look at the detail that I really get to appreciate these special wild moments. I feel so fortunate that I have stumbled across what I was missing, as I easily could have carried on appreciating wildness on one level - but missing so much.
Now wild moments are not rare occasions, but rather an almost daily occurrence.
