Nature Collectors

Nature Craft Activities

Green circular badge with a white outline drawing of a tree, mushroom, squirrel, and snail, and the words "THE RECYCLANT EXPLORERS" in white handwritten font.

Does your little one love collecting Nature out on a walk?

This has been a classic walking distraction for the kids (and me) for many a year! Yes, we are the proud owner of what could be the world’s LARGEST conker, pine cone, cool rock, pretty shells, amazing fossils, river glass, stick and leaf collection EVER. Carefully curated over many years.

But what happens to your entire collection of nature’s treasure? Well if the answer is, shove it in a pile by the back door (as we all do) then I have some ideas for you! For never again will your pile of unloved pine cones lay abandoned in a drawer, never again will your car’s glove compartment overflow with super cool rocks that can’t be left behind, no more will you have a pot of ‘really good sticks’ by the back gate that are never used again…

Because here are the NATURE CRAFTS.

Not only will your entire nature stash find a useful purpose in life, but you will feel about as blummin’ wholesome as you can as a parent.

Oh but we don’t stop there! Because of course we are ALL about the family walks in the Yorkshire Dales!

For every activity there is an excellent Yorkshire Dales family walk pairing too!

Read on my friends…

A wooden tray holds a small jar of chopped parsley, a small jar of garlic and herbs, and a wooden bowl of chopped greens. Scrabble tiles spell out 'WILD GARLIC' on the tray.
A wooden tray holds a small jar of chopped parsley, a small jar of garlic and herbs, and a wooden bowl of chopped greens. Scrabble tiles spell out 'WILD GARLIC' on the tray.

Wild Garlic Foraging

There is NOTHING that screams Spring more than walking into woodland and being smacked in the face by a gigantic waft of wild garlic!

Not only tasty, but a great walking incentive too!

We have a few ideas of what you can do with your collected wild garlic, so check out our recipes below!

We know a wild garlic walk…

If you want to go on a walk to find loads of wild garlic, we can recommend Ben Rhydding Nature Reserve near Ilkley which has a HUGE crop every year. Headed Wensleydale way? Then try Shaw Gill Woods and Hardraw Force you will be bowled over by how much you can find in Skipton Castle Woods or if you’re over in Nidderdale, head to Fishpond Woods . Westmorland Dales? Check out Flintergill in Dent!

All your Yorkshire Dales wild garlic desires, met!

Tap here to head to Wild Garlic page
A box containing fresh knotgrass and fluxweed, with a note labeled 'knotgrass + fluxweed'. Nearby, there are jars with yellow lids filled with green liquid, and glass test tubes filled with colorful glitters and liquids, some with cork stoppers, all tied with string or twine.
A box containing fresh knotgrass and fluxweed, with a note labeled 'knotgrass + fluxweed'. Nearby, there are jars with yellow lids filled with green liquid, and glass test tubes filled with colorful glitters and liquids, some with cork stoppers, all tied with string or twine.

Potion Making

This is such a classic messy play idea! Grab a foraging bag and collect as many ingredients for your magic potion as possible! Then you can head out in the garden to create some messy muddy magic potion.

But have you ever thought of upscaling your potion? We foraged our own ingredients for a Harry Potter style Polyjuice Potion!

You can find out all of the ingredients you need to make a foaming bubbling polyjuice potion, by checking out the page!

Remember not to uproot any plants and take only a little. Some wildflowers and protected species should not be picked. There’s some useful information here on the Woodland Trust’s website.

The perfect potion making walk pairing

Heber’s Ghyll in Ilkley is in a stunning woodland offering up plenty of options for potion gathering (and a little bit of dino spotting along the way!)

Tap here to find out how to make polyjuice potion
Nature Ice Bauble
Nature Ice Bauble

Nature Ice Baubles

This is a cool craft idea for those icy winter months!

Simply collect all your treasure (the brighter the better) and then pop them in a muffin tray. Top it up with water and either freeze it outside, or freeze it in the freezer!

Why not try…

We created an Easter twist on this activity by filling egg moulds with blossom and spring flowers then freezing them! It made for an egg-cellent (pun intended) game of icy egg and spoon racing!

The perfect place to find some spring blossom?

Check out the beautiful walk to Oxenber Woods from Austwick where you’ll find stunning blossom in the village or on our Burnsall to Hebden walk. Perfect for April and May.

Ice Egg and spoon race
Ice Egg and spoon race
Summer leaf painting
Summer leaf painting

Leafy Crafts

Whether they be Summer or Autumn leaves, there is so much you can do with a leaf collection! We have had a lot of fun over the years coming up with loads of different ways to use them when they make it back home!

Why not try these with your collected leaves…

Younger Kids

Paint them Like you can see pictured.. The kids picked out the lines in the leaves and made patterns with paint pens.

Make an autumn leaf lion mask Stick vibrantly coloured leaves around a lion mask made from card and decorate.

Make leaf paperweights Simply paint stones and use PVA glue to stick and seal the leaves - just remember to press them first)

Make leaf shadow puppets You can cut them or arrange them into animal shapes, then attach them to lolly sticks)

Older Kids

Decorate a nature pumpkin with pressed autumn leaves

Make leaf paperweights Simply paint stones and use PVA glue to stick and seal the leaves - just remember to press them first)

Make leaf print tiles Press them into air dry clay and paint them (or you can do this with seed pods too)

Preserve them by cleaning, pressing and then dipping in melted beeswax to create an autumn leaf garland.

The perfect walk for leaf collecting

There aren’t too many woodland walks in the Yorkshire Dales, but why not try Grass Woods in Grassington, or Shaw Gill Woods in Wensleydale. Flintergill in Dent is a super little woodland, Stenkrith Park in Kirkby Stephen or Middleton Woods in Ilkley.

Decorative arrangement of white stones and autumn leaves on a wooden tray.
Decorative arrangement of white stones and autumn leaves on a wooden tray.
Stick walking sticks decorated with fairy lights
Stick walking sticks decorated with fairy lights

Stick Collector Crafts

I’ve been there. In fact…. I’M STILL THERE! I have a HOUSE FULL of bloomin’ sticks! Just a whole massive bunch of ‘really good sticks’. *Sigh. Apparently they never grow out of this one.

But we have had a lot of fun with them…

Why not try one of these ideas with your own stick collection?

Make epic walking sticks (like the ones pictured). We cleaned and painted the sticks using acrylic paint, taped on stripes using paper tape, then added fairy lights! Super cool right and these have now lasted for so many Christmases that the kids have outgrown the sticks before they gave up!

Make a stick nature wand. Wind ribbon around your stick, tie on pieces of collected nature and hey presto, a magician is made!

Make stick worry dolls. This one we did for a Children’s Mental Health activity. The dolls were made out of thick sticks and wound with brightly coloured wool. We added eyes, and drew on a mouth. You can tell your new stick friend all your worries!

Make a stick dream catcher Make a shape with your sticks, then tie them together with string (you can also use glue to reinforce the joints) thread wool across to make a criss cross pattern then hang feathers and beads off the bottom.

Make stick Christmas Trees This is a cool one for Christmas. You just need several sticks in the ever decreasing lengths. You can glue them onto felt or you can try to glue them together. Glue a stick at the bottom, a star at the top and tie on some twine - perfect.

Make a reusable journey stick You might have heard of a journey stick, this is an ancient navigational method to recall a route well before maps were made. This version of the stick is cleaned, sanded and waxed then at the top add string (or we used leather cord to last for a long time) using extra spare so you can tie your walking treasure onto the stick as you go. Think feathers, pine cones, excellent seed pods (we’ve even had bleached animal bones!)

We know a walk!

Stick collecting when you’re dealing with a connoisseur is a very important business but we think the BEST wood for crafting is driftwood and LOADS can be found at Swinsty and Fewston Reservoirs.

Close-up of homemade bird scarers made from sticks, leaves, feathers, ribbons, and decorative objects on a wooden surface.
Close-up of homemade bird scarers made from sticks, leaves, feathers, ribbons, and decorative objects on a wooden surface.
Colorful balls of yarn in various colors, with small stick figures made of sticks with googly eyes and feathers attached, wrapped with ribbons.
Colorful balls of yarn in various colors, with small stick figures made of sticks with googly eyes and feathers attached, wrapped with ribbons.
A foraged Christmas Wreath
A foraged Christmas Wreath

Forage a Wreath

We love to do this at Christmas, but it can be done for all seasons if you wish!

First and foremost, the important thing to remember when foraging foliage is to not take away too much, not to damage or uproot a plant, or to pick protected wildflowers. Oh and don’t go and trespass to do so!

You can either buy or create your own wreath frame, then tie twine around it to add your foliage and build it up from there! Pinecones, teasels and holly make a great addition to a winter wreath! Or, you can buy some amazing wreath making kits from Catkin and Co. who will also send you some foliage recognition cards to so you can see what you are collecting!

We know a walk…

The wreath pictured was foraged on the open access land of Ilkley Moor, why not check out our Ilkley Moor walk.

Rock painting
Rock painting

Rock painting

Yes, the classic kids activity of painting a rock, then hiding a rock is just great. If it ain’t broke don’t fix it says I!

But this one will give you two walks worth of fun! First walk, find the perfect rocks, second, find the perfect hiding spot! Simples! During covid we used to paint rocks with positive messages to keep everybody’s spirits up!

Just be aware that within the National Parks there are leave no trace rules which do apply to leaving painted rocks. This is to protect the space for nature.

Why not also try?

Creating paperweights (you can see our Autumn leaf ones above)

Making Pebble Noughts and Crosses. Collect 12 small-ish pebbles. Paint them, then paint a nought or cross on the top!

We know a walk

Having regard to the Leave No Trace rules, we would recommend a walk in a more urban setting like the Ilkley Three Bridges walk (which is also pushchair friendly) the Kirkby Lonsdale riverside route , Stenkrith Park in Kirkby Stephen or Sedbergh Riverside Walk.

Two pine cone bird crafts with googly eyes, orange beak, and leaf wings held up by two children.
Two pine cone bird crafts with googly eyes, orange beak, and leaf wings held up by two children.

Pine Cone Crafts

I will admit that I bloomin’ LOVE pine cones! So really it’s me who drives the pine cone collecting! Because that are just so darn pretty!

There is SO much you can do with a pine cone…. so batten down the hatches, because I’m hurling these ideas right at’ch’ya!

Why not try?

Pinecone printing You can dip these beauties in paint and roll them all over wrapping paper to create a unique homemade wrapping paper! Best bit? You can use the painted pinecones as present toppers too!

Pine Cone Chicks Got a pinecone that’s a bit knackered? Snip off the remaining pine-y bits and create a filled circular pattern on card. Paint them, add eyes and a beak and there you go! Pinecone chicks!

Pinecone decorations You can either dip the cones in eco-glitter and tie string around the top, or you can glue some pom poms into the gaps to make decorations! These last for years! I have so many on my Christmas tree!

PInecone bird feeders Fill the gaps with peanut butter and bird seed, hang them on a thread and hang them outside. Got a nut allergy (like us!) You can use lard to replace the peanut butter.

Create a pinecone wreath Simply attach them to a circle of cardboard using a glue gun (if you’re using indoors - if outside you could use wire, or a wreath base from places like Hobbycraft)

We know a great pinecone walk

You’re not going to be looking far before you find yourself a great pine cone walk! We’d recommend Fishpond Woods , Thruscross Reservoir or the Chevin in Otley.

A Christmas gift wrapped in beige paper with pink and blue paint splatters, decorated with a dark blue ribbon with light blue polka dots, a shiny gold bell, and a pink
A Christmas gift wrapped in beige paper with pink and blue paint splatters, decorated with a dark blue ribbon with light blue polka dots, a shiny gold bell, and a pink
Blackberry ice cream
Blackberry ice cream

Blackberry Picking

One of the greatest things to do in the late Summer in my opinion!

Stained fingers, juicy ripe blackberries, blackberry ice cream……

This is a top way to get rid of the walking whinge! Simply take a tub with you and off you go!

We know a walk…

Here are some great blackberry picking walks! The moor below White Wells is quite simply heaving with blackberries come late Summer, or why not try Brimham Rocks? Swinsty Reservoir and our circular walk to Cauldron Waterfalls has ace blackberries too as does our Norber Erratics walk.

A wooden table with scattered pink, white, and yellow flowers, a white ceramic pitcher, and a blue egg carton holding brown eggs.
A wooden table with scattered pink, white, and yellow flowers, a white ceramic pitcher, and a blue egg carton holding brown eggs.

Wildflower Crafts

We’re talking daisies, buttercups and dandelions and the beautiful world of wildflowers now!

Nothing is more beautiful than a bouquet of blooms clutched in a muddy hand! So what can you do with the flowers you find?

(Don’t pick protected wildflowers - such as native bluebells - stick to the whole range of the other fabulous flowers there are to see in the wild and never uproot any - find out more information about how you can responsibly pick wildflowers in the Botanical Society’s Code of Conduct Page.

What can you do?

Press them! It’s the first stop for all your wildflower crafting needs!

Wildflower candle holder Grab your PVA glue and glue them to the outside of a glass jar.

Wildflower kaleidoscope Press your flowers and pop them between two large circular clear sheets of plastic. Put a butterfly (split) pin through the middle. You could use the film from food packaging for this or a laminating pouch if you have one. Get some mirrored card and fold it to create a triangular tube with the mirror side facing inside. Grab some circular card slightly larger than the tube and draw around the triangle of the tube, then cut out the inner triangle. Slide the triangle hole around the tube and tape. Fix the butterfly pin to that and then turn your kaleidoscope. It’s a more tricky craft, but totally worth it!

Hapa Zome The art of bashing stuff! (Technical term there!) This Japanese craft will get you bashing flowers or foliage to create a naturally dyed pattern on fabric!

We know a wildflower walk!

There are so many stunning wildflower meadows in the Yorkshire Dales that we have included them all on their very own Wildflower Walks page! Obviously wildflowers are seasonal, so don’t be expecting to find them in the midst of January! The best time to spot them is any time between April and June.

Collection of various colorful fall leaves, a sunflower, and a pink flower arranged on a white cloth.
Collection of various colorful fall leaves, a sunflower, and a pink flower arranged on a white cloth.
Top-down view of a wooden table with a green grass mat, green and yellow flowers, a glass vase with yellow-tipped flower buds, a yellow wooden piece, and a circular transparent dish with small colorful flowers.
Top-down view of a wooden table with a green grass mat, green and yellow flowers, a glass vase with yellow-tipped flower buds, a yellow wooden piece, and a circular transparent dish with small colorful flowers.

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Leave No Trace

The Yorkshire Dales is our home, and the home of so many others who care deeply about this beautiful space.

Should you visit, make sure to:

Take home anything you bring, leave no rubbish behind.

Make the world a better place by picking up any rubbish you see, even if it isn’t yours.

Leave everything else as you found it.

Help us to protect our wild spaces.