Experience the Wild Beauty of the Wakefield District with our New Scheme "Guided by Gissing"!
We are thrilled to announce “Guided by Gissing”, Empath Action CIC’s latest project that aims to get you out and about in West Yorkshire spotting flowers and getting in those steps!
Thomas Waller Gissing, father of the acclaimed novelist George Gissing and resident of Wakefield, created two books about the flora and fauna of Wakefield. These books are incredible records because they tell us where and when the specimens were found–so we thought, wouldn’t it be ace if, inspired by Thomas, we could all go flower and plant spotting in Wakefield and beyond, boost our mood, and get in some exercise!
This project is being delivered with the support of West Yorkshire Combined Authority’s CityConnect programme, which is aimed at enabling more people to travel by bike and on foot. The CityConnect Community Grants programme supports not-for-profit organisations across West Yorkshire with funding of up to £5,000 to encourage people in their communities to walk and cycle more.
Guided by Gissing is a project that is really personal to us, so having the Combined Authority’s support has been incredible:
“Every member of the Empath facilitator team has a love for walking in nature and has found it so powerful for our mental health, and we know there are many others just like us,” said Steven Busfield, Co-Director of Empath.
“When we were immersing ourselves in all things Gissing for our wider projects and we found Thomas Waller Gissing’s books on the plants and flowers he and his family and friends were seeing in Wakefield in the 19th Century, it felt like a wonderful opportunity to combine walking, history, and love of nature!
“So we are calling all budding flower and plant enthusiasts to get out into nature and show us what you can see by sharing your pictures with us at @EmpathAction across all social media. You can also use the hashtag #GuidedByGissing. We would also love to hear details of your walks so we can encourage others to get out and about in the District and West Yorkshire and leave no flower unspotted! Afterall, Wakefield has some absolutely incredible nature reserves and gardens, and we can’t wait to explore them with you.”
Are there any locations you think we must see that have an abundance of flowers or plants? Please don’t hesitate to get in touch with us at hi@empathaction.org today! As part of our scheme we will also be launching a fun, child-friendly pamphlet to help you spot flowers and plants, as well as a series of videos to help you as you get walking and get spotting!
Been on a walk in the Wakefield District recently? We'd love to see your beautiful pictures!
To help you with your flower spotting, here are our Gissing flower spotting guides separated by months! If you would like sheets to download, please just click the link that says Download PDF. If you would like them in a different format, please just email us at hi@empathaction.org
Below is also our pamphlet containing ideas of places to walk. You can pick up your copy from Wakefield One and other select libraries and cafes.
Earth Day 2024 Competition Time!
Empath Action CIC is thrilled to announce the launch of its Junior Botanists Challenge! Using the character of brilliant Wakefield botanist Thomas Gissing, who was the real-life father of famous Wakefield-born novelist George Gissing, to engage young people, this challenge invites young people and their parents and guardians in the Wakefield District to get outdoors and help catalogue the flowers and plants we find around us, igniting a passion for outdoor exercise and environmental mindfulness in the run-up to Earth Day (Monday April 22).
The challenge is simple: go out for a walk at a local park or nature reserve, snap pictures of flowers and plants, and then send them to the company. These submissions will contribute to the creation of a vibrant community Gissing Gallery on Empath’s website, showcasing the rich diversity of flora found in our district and, just as importantly, the walks and outdoor routes we can go on to find these fantastic flowers. Plus, five lucky Junior Botanists will be randomly selected to win an arts and crafts Gissing Goodybag.
“We believe that getting outdoors to exercise and having a connection with nature from a young age can be vital for building long-term mental and physical health,” said Steven Busfield, Co-Director of Empath Action CIC. “Through our Junior Botanists Challenge, we aim to inspire children to appreciate the beauty and importance of plants while also getting in those all-important steps.”
The Details
The competition runs from 28/03/2024 – 23/04/2024. Entries submitted after 23/04/2024 will not be valid.
Details requested with your entry include details of the people who took the photo your name/child’s name, the location of where you took the photo, and if it was as part of a planned walk or if you went out hunting solely for this activity. Entries without these details may not be valid.
Entries should be sent to hi@empathaction.org or can be sent to us via social media using the hashtag #guidedbygissing
By sending us a picture you are allowing us the right to use that picture as part of our Gissing Gallery with a credit. If the picture contains a person or people, we will respond with a permission form for a responsible parent/guardian to sign. Photos do not have to contain people in them to be valid entries, we are focussing mainly on the flowers and your walk.
Only Junior Botanists are eligible to win a Gissing Goodybag. For the purposes of this competition, Junior is defined as persons under the age of 18. Only one Goodybag per person.
