Get Your Vitamin D

It is reported that at least 1 in 5 of us in the UK is deficient in Vitamin D. We need the sun’s rays to make this vital vitamin and this can be hard to achieve when the days are short. The NHS advises that we all take a supplement during the winter months and have offered free supplements to those vulnerable to the worst effects of Coronavirus. One simple way of getting your daily dose of vitamin D is a 20 minute daylight walk in the Forest each day. Can you head out at lunchtime? If you are still working from home how about ‘fake’ commuting in the Forest before and after work? Make time each day to get this key ingredient for good health.

Create Small Habits

January is the time for setting goals and ambitions for the year ahead. Many of you will have the familiar experience of setting goals to lose weight, get that job, start that course, call your parents regularly or to give up a particular vice, only to have lapsed back into old habits by the end of the month. That is because habits, once engrained, are more powerful than willpower and the best way to stick to your goals is to keep them small and attach them to an existing habit.

Stanford Professor of Human Behaviour and author of Tiny Habits, Dr B.J. Fogg, suggests attaching a baby step to a habit that is completely natural to you like brushing your teeth in the morning or making a cup of coffee. Over time that baby step will become natural to you and take you one step closer to achieving your ultimate goals. What will you attach to your visit to the Forest?

Winter Running

Whether you are a seasoned runner or have never got much further than the end of your road, the winter is the perfect time to get outside and get moving. Invest in gloves, a warm hat and windproof jacket and brave the cold. That chill on your face and refreshing cold air in your lungs, not to mention that sense of achievement for getting out in all weathers and the warm shower on your return, make it all worth it.

If you are new to running, apps like Couch to 5k will help you on your way. For the more experienced runner, why not set up a competition with your friends, join them on run tracking apps such as Strava, and challenge each other to clock up as many miles as possible in the Forest during January. This is also a great way to connect with friends you cannot physically see at the moment.

Focus on New Life

The Forest can be beautifully bleak and sparse in the winter months. There is a beauty in its stillness and the anticipation of the coming new life in spring. On your walks in the Forest, look out for signs of life beginning to stir already and consider what new things might enter your life this year. It can be really reassuring to see that nature is cyclical and life will return. Look out for delicate snowdrops emerging at the base of tree trunks, braving the cold temperatures and wet weather, and early violets bringing colour to the Forest scene.

Foraging

Imminent archaeologist, Dr Bill Schindler, says that wild food – the foods that our ancestors would have eaten, can have huge benefits for our immune system and digestion. In the Forest at this time of year you might find beechnuts, chestnuts, hawthorn berries and rosehips. Remember, only eat things that you are 100% sure can be eaten and to leave enough for our resident wildlife.