It’s a beautiful day in the forest around Monchique. My senses are awakened by a cool breeze lightly brushing my face and the sound of birds in full song and bees gently humming. I am walking slowly, observing the trees and savouring the moment. This is not just a stroll in the woods, I am practising the Japanese art of Shinrin-Yoku which means bathing in the forest atmosphere, or forest bathing, and it’s a practice that appears to be growing in popularity across Europe. Shin

In August 2018 wildfires tore through a large area of the Serra de Monchique region in Southern Portugal where I live. I spent the next eight months recording interviews with people who were directly affected. The aim was to share people’s stories as a way of healing and to help us learn about ways to prevent fires in the future. People talked about their loss of possessions, property, land and in some cases animals. They showed great resilience and a love for this area of na

Honey is a big part of the culture in the Serra De Monchique region with around 1,500 beekeepers. Many are hobbyists and keep bees and produce honey for their own use and for some it is a business. The natural fauna is ideal for the pollinators to forage on with wild lavender, heather, arbutus and pine and eucalyptus trees aplenty. Throughout the year and changing seasons, I have taken great pleasure in walking the hills and valleys seeing beehives dotted around my natural la

It was one of those weeks, you know the ones when nothing seems to be going right? Work wise, I had a couple of frustrating situations with financial ramifications then my car got a puncture so I had to buy two new tyres and to top it off maintenance work needed doing on my flat in London (kerching). So with a niggling mind, I was driving home from the garage when this happened. A huge bird of prey swooped down and flew alongside the car, it was so close, with the window open