Urban Wild : Noticing Nature on Southampton Common

Join author Yarrow Townsend for a relaxed introduction to Nature Writing. Suitable for all abilities (including absolute beginners). We'll take a short walk through some of the Common's most inspiring habitats, noticing nature and taking inspiration from even the smallest of creatures to kick-start your creativity. Spaces are limited, so please sign up in advance. This event is aimed at adults but is suitable for keen writers of all ages.

Dress for the weather - we'll have to cancel if it's very wet (hard to write in the rain!). This is an LGBTQIA+ & Neurodivergent and disability-inclusive space. The aim is to explore some wilder portions of the Common where the ground may be uneven - if this would be a barrier to you, please get in touch and we can adjust the route.

This is part of Southampton National Park City's Urban Wild Festival - find out more here

Yarrow Townsend is an author and poet whose published work focusses primarily on environmental issues in natural landscapes. Her first novel for young people, The Map of Leaves (Chicken House, 2022) was Sunday Times’ Children’s Book of the Week in 2022 and was shortlisted for the Branford Boase Award in 2023. Described by judges as ‘mesmerising’, the story centres on river pollution and the importance of weeds and has been translated into Turkish, Czech, German, Spanish, Chinese and Japanese. Her second novel A Ship in the Dark (Chicken House, 2024) looks at the impact of light pollution on seabird migration. Yarrow is currently the New Forest National Park’s first ever Writer in Residence. From 2024-2025 she will be based at the Countryside Education Trust in Beaulieu, working in the woods and writing poetry about the trees and the farm.