Calm Under the Canopy – Mindful Walking Meets Forest Bathing
How time in nature helps build calm, connection and resilience
Feeling stretched thin by the week? On Friday afternoons at Wandlebury Country Park, a small group gathers beneath the trees to slow down, breathe deeply, and reconnect, with nature, and with themselves.
It’s a curious sight: people walking slowly, quietly, sometimes pausing to gaze at nothing in particular. This is Calm under the Canopy, a mindful walking experience led by our resident Mindful Green coach, David, who combines mindfulness meditation with gentle-paced walking and moments of reflection beneath the tree canopy.
Research shows that spending time in green spaces can lower blood pressure, reduce stress hormones and boost the immune system, a natural antidote to busy schedules, caring responsibilities and city life. And the more we attune to nature’s rhythms, the more we understand our own. Many participants find that noticing the resilience of the natural world inspires a deeper sense of care for it, and for each other.
David has been teaching Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR), one of the NHS’s gold-standard approaches to stress management, for over ten years. His work brings together the therapeutic power of mindfulness and the restorative energy of nature. Over time, he noticed how immersing himself in nature’s cycles, germination, growth, decay and renewal, naturally nurtured mindfulness. He also discovered how group sharing deepens that sense of connection, helping people learn from one another’s experiences of challenge and renewal.
Today, Calm under the Canopy brings these insights to life through a monthly gathering of like-minded souls. Participants move quietly through the woods, tuning into the details of birdsong, breeze and light, before ending the walk with tea, cake and conversation at the pop-up café.
David often reminds his groups that mindfulness isn’t about escaping what’s hard, it’s about meeting life as it is, with a little more kindness and space to breathe. Whether you come to ease stress, rebuild energy after illness, or simply find steadier ground in a changing world, this quiet time in nature offers a way to begin.
🌿 When: Friday afternoons, monthly at 3pm.
🌳 Where: Wandlebury Country Park
☕ Booking: Here
You’ll be in gentle company, among people learning, in their own ways, how to be calm under the canopy.
Remember CambridgePPF members get free parking at Wandlebury.
