Vicky Bowskill (Inklusive Nature CIC) and Geeta Ludhra (Dadima’s CIC)
A few months ago, Geeta and I developed an intriguing idea over a Dadima’s festive fire gathering at Road Farm, masala chai brewing and community stories connecting people. Geeta invited me to participate at this Dadima’s event with a story of joy and I agreed to share my experiences of ‘wolfing’ – working with socialised wolves at the UK Wolf Conservation Trust. At the end of the event, there was great interest and we continued simmering our reflections through themes of the ‘wild side’ of wolves and women, wild women, and how exciting it would be to have an extended event solely dedicated to this theme. We wanted to bring people in Dadima’s community together in a different way with the intention to explore our ‘wild side’ through a feminine lens. A wolf shaped lens.
This wildness has long been locked up, culturally and socially. But Wolf was ready to speak up and howl. And what better day to do it than Beltane, the old Celtic festival of fertility, growth and feminine power that sits midway between the spring equinox and the summer solstice.
A dozen of us, ranging from babes in arms to grandparents, gathered at the OneClimate Centre, a hidden gem deep in the Chilterns. After a slightly fraught drive through the morning traffic, turning into the bluebell-lined driveway instantly felt like coming home.
OneClimate founders, Anuradha Vittachi and Peter Armstrong, greeted us with such a gentle welcome to their woodland space. We began with an inspiring short film about their groundbreaking work.
We then decamped to their woodland amphitheatre – a sunken space under the beech trees with a small pavilion and tiered seating. The Genius loci, or ‘spirit of place’, was palpable, completely removed from the ordinary world. It really was a place to hold something special.
We framed the day with wolf stories, weaving my experiences of working with socialised wolves with readings by Geeta from the book Women Who Run with the Wolves, by Clarissa Pinkola Estés.
Left: Vicky and UKWCT wolf Tundra (2015), Middle: Geeta’s copy of Women Who Run with the Wolves, Right: Geeta and Vicky sharing stories of women and wolves.
This laid the ground for a shared unfolding of personal stories, reflections and kindness, cupped in this leafy space. We talked about the similarities between wolf families and human families, social roles and cultural ways of being and living together. Thinking about ways of knowing and understanding, we explored what wolf means to us at an individual and group level – spirit animal or keystone predator – and how wolf can be both and neither. We discussed historical and popular discourses around wolves, and how wolves are often perceived. In today’s frenetic world, dominated by ‘doing’ and ‘busyness’, there is a yearning to reconnect with older, deeper ways of knowing:
“The modern woman is a blur of activity. She is pressured to be all things to all people. The old knowing is long overdue.” (Clarissa Pinkola Estés)
Deeply knitted into our culture and mythology, Wolf speaks to us of our own wildness. Or perhaps a symbol of what is not quite acceptable. As Estés says, we are friendly, but we are not quite tame.
Inspiration abounded with personal stories, readings of poetry and creative writing. We crafted ‘gratitude leaves’, colouring in paper leaves with crayons, felt tips – and even moss! These leaves were made of paper containing oxeye daisy seeds, so by writing on them something we are grateful for, we could take them back into our own worlds and plant them to let our gratitude bloom.
Rounding off the day, it was only right that we participated in a group howl and then relaxed in the sunshine with tea and scones. None of us quite wanted to leave this magical woodland bubble, and stories of female activism and courage unfolded further over tea. Everyone present connected effortlessly – many started as strangers, but left feeling so connected. The energy felt calm and spiritual.
We are so grateful to Anuradha and Peter for generously hosting us, and to everyone who took the day to come and join us – some travelling quite a distance to be there. A day like this is a true co-creation, blending wisdoms and experiences from across generations, cultures and species. From just 5 months young, to over 80, we all had something to say, or howl, about.
🐺 We are stronger and wiser together 🐺
We hope that this pilot event will be the inspiration for similar ones in the future. There was a lot of interest shown and we intentionally kept our first one small so that we could trial ideas and develop our collaboration energy across Inklusive Nature and Dadima’s.
Find out more:
Dadima’s CIC https://www.chilterns.org.uk/news/new-film-celebrates-the-spirit-of-dadimas/
Inklusive Nature: https://inklusivenature.com/
OneClimate: https://oneclimate.org/about-one-climate/
Mycelium Map: working for climate justice in the Chilterns: https://oneclimate.org/working-for-climate-justice-in-the-chilterns/
The Chilterns National Landscape: https://www.chilterns.org.uk/
UK Wolf Conservation Trust: https://ukwct.org.uk/
Women Who Run with the Wolves: Myths and Stories of the Wild Woman Archetype, Clarissa Pinkola Estés
The Wisdom of Wolves: Lessons From the Sawtooth Pack, Jim and Jamie Dutcher
Inklusive Nature 