Mind-flew-ness

Earthwatch invited GoodGym to a unique task during the Biodiversity Week. This time no muscle or sweating during a mulching half-marathon was required. The GoodGymers were going to be the brains instead! Scientists. Citizen scientists to be precise. They were sent to their local Tiny Forest in Southall to count pollinators and ground dwellers to help Earthwatch understand how Tiny Forests support the wildlife in towns and cities.

Imagine a group of Star Trek scientists beaming down to an unexplored planet's surface to search for signs of life with tricorders - that's us! Or maybe we looked like a jaded bunch staring at their phones instead of connecting with nature. But that couldn't be further from the truth. We needed our devices to run the surveys and upload the results on the Tiny Forest website. Otherwise, we kept all our senses in the highest state of awareness to not miss any butterfly, ant, bee or spider in sight. It was a meditative experience.

Anuj: "I've been told counting butterflies is good for your mental health."
Kash: "But there are no butterflies here."
Anuj: "Exactly"

Maybe we tried too hard to attain nirvana and see the butterflies, and that's why they didn't come. Ijo was close, being blessed by the presence of a honey bee and a ladybug, but no butterflies. She must have practised her meditation techniques before the mission - or maybe she tactically chose the best spot in the Tiny Forest, with a large flowering plant. Beata worked the hardest on her zen but didn't get much luck with butterflies. Steph Ducat decided to connect directly with the other side by lifting paving slabs in the forest and summoning the demons from the underworld: spiders, slugs, woodlice and centipedes.

Although we hoped to find more wildlife in the Tiny Forest, we suspected that the lack of flowers on the site might not have been in our favour. Hopefully, with more good deeds to keep the Southall Tiny Forest weed-free and sufficiently watered, we will accumulate enough good karma to make it a flourishing home for butterflies in the future. Nonetheless, it was an excellent contemplation exercise for connecting with nature and our innermost selves.

Anuj: "I managed to do 15 minutes of calmness at a time, the next time I can go up for 30 minutes!"