Mums Matter: Nature, Nurture and New Beginnings

As the leaves turn and the air fills with the scent of autumn, Time to Connect CIC has launched a beautiful new chapter - the Mums Matter - Nature & Wellbeing Programme, a 12-week journey created to nurture connection, confidence, and calm among mothers and their young children.

Following the success of the Dads Matter programme, this new initiative brings the same spirit of nature, mindfulness, and community - but with a special focus on the experiences of motherhood.

A programme designed for mums

The Mums Matter - Nature & Wellbeing Programme is designed to honour the incredible, complex, and sometimes overwhelming journey of being a mother. Whether it’s a first baby or a growing family, the early years bring both beauty and pressure - and this programme offers a gentle space to breathe, reflect, and reconnect.

Each session is held outdoors, led by skilled facilitators from Time to Connect, Forest Frontiers, and local early years specialists. Over 12 weeks, the sessions alternate between two age groups, 0-2 years and 2-4 years, ensuring that activities and discussions are always age-appropriate and meaningful.

• Week 1: 0–2 years

• Week 2: 2–4 years

• Week 3: 0–2 years

• Week 4: 2–4 years - and so on.

  
  

The topics mirror each other week by week, so that the same theme explored with babies is revisited the following week with toddlers and preschoolers - allowing for shared reflection and inclusive learning across the whole community of mums.

Why this matters

Modern motherhood can feel like an endless balancing act - between love and exhaustion, joy and responsibility, instinct and self-doubt. Many mothers describe feeling an invisible pressure to know what to do all the time - to get it right, to juggle everything, to keep smiling through it.

Mums Matter seeks to ease that pressure by creating a space where mums can simply be - surrounded by nature, supported by peers, and reminded that they don’t have to have all the answers.

It’s also a place where maternal relationships are celebrated in all their forms - from new mums finding their feet to grandmothers supporting the next generation. The programme recognises that attachment and belonging stretch beyond the mother–child bond to include wider family connections that shape a child’s early world.

Week One: Our First Under-2s Nature Group

The very first session of Mums Matter focused on connection, mindfulness, and creative play, and welcomed mums and babies aged 0–2 years for a morning in nature that was as calm as it was joyful.

It was a scene of quiet magic - little ones bundled up in layers, leaves rustling underfoot, and a circle of mums gathered beneath the trees, ready to begin a new journey together.

Julie from Time to Connect opened the session with a warm welcome, inviting everyone to take a moment to breathe deeply and notice the sounds of nature around them - the wind in the trees, the crunch of twigs, a distant bird call.

This gentle invitation set the tone for what the session - and the wider programme - aims to offer: a pause in the rush of motherhood, a place where presence matters more than perfection.

Mindfulness through play

The group began with a short mindfulness activity, encouraging mums to focus on simple sensations - the cool air on their skin, the feeling of their child’s weight in their arms, the rustle of leaves nearby.

Then came the playful, sensory heart of the morning - a creative exploration that invited both mums and babies to connect with nature through touch, colour, and imagination.

The activity was simple yet deeply meaningful: making “Cheerio trees.”

Using ring-shaped cereal, mums helped their little ones thread each Cheerio onto a branch, creating tiny decorations that doubled as fine motor play for the babies and tactile mindfulness for the mums.

Laughter filled the air as babies grabbed at the cereal, explored textures, and delighted in the soft jingle of the branches. For the mothers, it was a playful reminder that mindful moments can come from the simplest acts - and that connection often blooms when we let go of control and join our children in curiosity.

Affirmations and leaves of love

The next activity invited reflection and creativity in equal measure. Mums and little ones went on a gentle leaf hunt, looking for leaves that matched the size or shape of their own hands. The children’s giggles echoed through the trees as they stretched out their fingers, holding their tiny leaves up to compare.

Once everyone returned to the base circle, the group used the leaves to create a small display of affirmations - words of encouragement written on or beside the leaves, capturing the values and hopes each mother wanted to hold onto.

Some examples of simple, grounding words might be calm, strength, and patience.

Other heartfelt reminders could be:

“I am enough.”

“I don’t have to know it all.”

“My child feels my love, even on hard days.”

These leaves, arranged together, became a collective symbol of support - a living reminder that motherhood is not about doing everything perfectly, but about growing together, season by season.

The power of community

As the session unfolded, conversations blossomed between mums who had never met before. They shared small stories - about sleepless nights, milestones, the chaos of weaning - and found comfort in knowing they weren’t alone.

The facilitators noticed something subtle but powerful happening: the mums were mirroring the connection and attachment they wanted to nurture in their children - through empathy, laughter, and shared experience.

These early sessions are as much about the wellbeing of mothers as they are about child development. When mums feel calm, supported, and connected, their children thrive - and so do the wider family networks around them.

The role of maternal attachment and grandparents

A unique element of the Mums Matter programme is its inclusive view of family. The sessions not only support the mother–child bond but also explore the important roles played by maternal grandparents and extended family in early attachment.

Future sessions will invite grandparents to join in, celebrating intergenerational relationships and the sense of continuity they bring. Whether it’s a grandmother passing down a lullaby or a mum sharing new mindful parenting practices, these exchanges strengthen the web of care that surrounds every child.

Looking ahead

Over the next 12 weeks, Mums Matter will continue alternating between the two age groups, giving mothers with babies and those with older children equal space to connect and grow.

The themes will echo those from Dads Matter - storytelling, free play, mindfulness, creativity, and outdoor cooking - but with an added focus on affirmation, self-compassion, and easing the pressures of modern motherhood.

Each session will blend play and reflection - from mud kitchens and sensory art to gentle nature walks and mindful breathing. The message running through it all is simple but powerful:

You are doing enough. You are enough.

A final reflection

As the first Mums Matter group packed up their bags, tucked their leaves of affirmation into pockets, and carried sleepy babies back to their cars, there was a shared feeling of calm - the kind that comes from knowing you’re not alone in this journey.

One mum summed it up perfectly as she smiled down at her baby:

“It’s not just about connecting with her - it’s about connecting with myself again.”

And that’s what Mums Matter is all about - slowing down, noticing the beauty in small things, and remembering that in nature, as in motherhood, growth takes time - but it always finds its way.