A DEVONSIDE mum has taken inspiration from the Amazon jungle in the hope of teaching locals how to forage for food and craft.
Lucy O'Higgins runs Wild Seasonal Workshops - there's an event this Saturday - and adopted some of the lessons learned from meeting indigenous people in South America.
She explained: "As a child I always dreamed of visiting the Amazon jungle, and that dream finally came true when my husband Dave and I travelled to Peru on our honeymoon.
"Seeing how indigenous communities lived using what the jungle provided for food, homes and tools was incredibly inspiring.
"It made me start wondering what plants and natural materials we had growing locally in Scotland that could also be useful for things like rope, glue, weaving or shelter."
Lucy, 44, continued: "After Peru, I became fascinated by foraging and traditional skills.
"I started learning to identify plants and their uses for food, medicine and craft.
"I experimented with making glue from pine sap and beeswax, and even using mushrooms to make paper.
"A lot of my workshops now come from that curiosity and sense of discovery - helping people reconnect with the natural world in practical and creative ways."
The first Wild Seasonal Workshops were run in partnership with the Tillicoultry, Coalsnaughton and Devonside Community Council.
Together they developed a 'Grow and Grab Grub!' initiative which encouraged people to connect with food growing, foraging and outdoor skills.
Lucy, who completed a woodland activity leader training course and also holds an outdoor first aid certificate, said: "More than anything, I hope people leave feeling more connected - to nature, to creativity and to themselves.
"A lot of us spend our lives indoors or disconnected from where materials and food come from.
"I want people to rediscover how much inspiration and wellbeing can come from slowing down and engaging with the natural world."
Originally from Dublin, Lucy said that love of the great outdoors just grew when she came here to live.
She said: "When I moved to Scotland and Clackmannanshire, I became really inspired by the idea of the right to roam.
"I started spending more time outdoors with my young family, going day camping and exploring local woodlands."
Always a crafty person, she had studied jewellery design at university in Dublin and worked as a jewellery maker for several years, before completing a masters in environmental science.
She added: "Creativity and nature have always gone hand in hand for me."
However she stepped back from jewellery making a decade ago and explained: "I still loved the process itself, but I realised I didn’t have much interest in fashion, and I became uncomfortable with how disconnected I was from the materials I was using.
"The silver I worked with might come from a mine in South Africa, and I wanted to feel more connected to the origins of what I was creating.
"I decided I wanted to work only with recycled materials or things I could forage for locally."
Next up is a 'Weaving Tales' workshop on Saturday with Menstrie-based storyteller, Tania Dron, which will involve weaving swallows from foraged rush, firelighting with flint and steel and entertaining tales from Tania.
It's at The Field at Rackmill Glen in Dollar from 10am to 12.30pm.
Tickets are available via this website: www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/weaving-tales-tickets-1987814385337?aff=oddtdtcreator
You can find out more about Wild Seasonal Workshops on Lucy's Facebook and Instagram pages.
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