sres_centres@sandwell.gov.uk 
Many of you who have been to Plas Gwynant have either done the John Muir Award or seen our displays around the centre. It’s a brilliant award that gets young people out into wild places to explore and discover the great outdoors. 
 
Here’s a little John Muir recipe you can try that might cook up a bit of ‘you’ time right there at home. Let us know how you get on! 

INGREDIENTS 

You can find these in the car park of most supermarkets, so if you need to just pick them up when your family gets the food shopping.  
 
One plant pot big enough to hold a few plants. See if you have an old one to re-use.  
One bag of peat-free multi-purpose compost 
A selection of plants from the racks. Look for colour, shape and variety. Not too many - they need space to grow. Just like you. 

 METHOD 

 
1. Make sure there are holes in the base of the pot for drainage. Sometimes the plastic ones have holes that need to be drilled so get an adult to help. 
2. Pop a few stones around and over the holes to prevent the compost clogging them up. 
3. Fill your pot close to the top with compost. 
4. Plan the layout of the plants in your pot. 
5. Make a hole in the compost that is roughly the same size as the root ball for one of your plants. 
6. Gently ease the plant from its container and place in the hole. 
7. Press down carefully but firmly on the top of the roots and bed more loose compost around if necessary. 
8. Repeat until you have filled your pot. You may need to put a bit more compost in around the plants if the roots aren’t covered. 
9. Water generously and put in your back garden, yard or on the window sill. 
 

  HOW YOUR LITTLE SLICE OF WILDERNESS CAN HELP YOU  

 
Mindfulness – Taking care of your mind 
 
This is a technique that helps people to feel good about themselves by de-cluttering the brain. If you can concentrate on the here and now, by focussing your mind, then it can help to free us of unhelpful worrying thoughts. 
 
Set aside 5 minutes to take a break from whatever it is you are doing. Turn your phone off and tell the rest of the family to leave you alone. 
Concentrate on the plants in your little slice of wilderness. Focus on individual leaves or flowers. Try to pick out the patterns. Rub the leaves gently between your fingers and feel the textures. Is there any smell? Try drawing parts of plants or the whole pot. Don’t worry if you don’t think you’re any good at drawing; the point is that you are focussing on the thing in front of you. 
 
"When we try to pick out anything by itself,  
we find it hitched to everything else in the universe." 
John Muir 
If you'd like to download this as a Word document, you can find it below, and please do visit our friends at The John Muir Trust: 
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