A special morning in South Sligo

I had the most magical morning in South Sligo, I spent some time with Martina, who runs Nature Inspires. I’d been following the Nature Inspires Facebook page for sometime and I love the adventures of Archie the Pig and Dipsy the Duck and I really wanted to meet them, and was thrilled to get the chance.

Dipsy the Duck was born in November, he was an orphan and he was lonely. Martina was given Archie the Pig for Christmas and to cut a long story short the pair have become best buddies. It’s the most unlikely friendship but it shows that friendship can come in many forms. Archie and Dipsy share living quarters and go on walks together, the videos are just the cutest that I’ve seen. Check out the Facebook page here: https://www.facebook.com/natureisbestflorist.blogspot.ie

I got the chance to walk alongside them and it was just the most amazing experience. I also got to feed them, Archie is so clever that he realised that when Lucy and Scotty, the dogs, get fed when they sit, so he also sits and awaits his food. I love how kind and caring Tina is with the animals, the walk was very much on their terms, if they didn’t want to go it was up to them. I’m very grateful that they did want to walk along with us.

Tina showed me some of the different areas on her land where she hosts workshops and summer camps. She promotes the benefits of engaging with nature and offers tailor made workshops/courses for schools, individual groups/ organisations. The workshops can include foraging, creativity experiences, relaxation, exploring nature, walking and more. The most recent workshop Tina hosted a nature retreat day, where a group spent the day exploring fields, bogs and forests. They spent time discovering the nature around them and seeking connection to the wild animals and imagining plants and animals of present time and past. The group also made flower crowns at the end of their workshop. Tina is also a very talented florist I was thrilled when she gave me the most beautiful hand tied flower arrangement.

Martina is a wonderful advocate for the great outdoors, in fact she has a degree in Outdoor Education, she’s also a Leave No Trace Ireland Trainer. You can find out more about Martina and her wonderful work here: https://www.leavenotraceireland.org/people/martina/

Thanks so much to Tina, Archie, Dipsy, Scotty and Lucy for their wonderful company, the homemade rhubarb cake was delicious too. It was a really lovely morning.