The Wild Times with...Celeste Hartley
by Jenny Clark · Wed 19 Nov 2025
Celeste is a UK based artist and poet, joining us again for a second time to co-host and lead a creative workshop. Her work focuses on bringing to life the small and intricate moments of life that reminds us we are all alive, connected and part of a magic we cannot define. She swapped a busy city London life for a slow existence by the coast and you’ll normally find her by the sea doing her little blue drawings or in her studio
1) Why do you love being outside?
Being outside quietens my mind, there’s something very humbling about the vastness of nature and how the natural world works in such harmony (especially when our world feels like the total opposite) it reminds me that we are all connected in ways we don’t even realise. I love it because it's a never ending playground of inspiration, sound and colour and nature surprises me every time!
2) Favourite nature fact?
When a tree dies, the forest grieves.
In connected forests, nearby trees sense when one is cut or dying and send extra carbon to its roots, almost like a final goodbye gift.
3) Favourite wild place?
We go to Wales every year as a family and it holds such a special place in my heart. We walk across the estuary to a derelict island and each time we go it has stayed exactly the same. In the chaos of life every year it has been so peaceful to go back there and have it as a consistent, untouched haven.
4) What would you like your legacy to be?
I love this question. I think I would just like to give people the space to feel safe to be themselves, and to leave every environment I am part of a little bit better than I found it.
5) Describe your perfect day.
Wake up naturally, have a green tea and do some writing before going for a long run. Have breakfast, meet a friend for a coffee or spend some time writing in a coffee shop. For me the perfect day normally doesn’t have much in it other than that, I like to be able to move slowly through the day and leave things open for the day to unfold before me. I like to spend some time outside, I travel a lot so my life looks very different a lot of the time but when I’m at home I’ll spend time on the beach. My perfect day would normally end pretty early, having dinner at home with my flatmate before getting into bed and reading.
6) What would be your one tip for someone who wants to reconnect to nature/spend more time in the wild?
Remove any expectation of how it should be, you don’t need to go to the wilderness to reconnect with nature/the wild. Find a beautiful flower on your way home, sit on a park bench, take in the shape of clouds. Nature is always there for us to connect to, you just have to be open to finding it.
7) How do you ground yourself?
I actually have a few practical things that keep me grounded wherever I go. Running, green tea, my little blue journal and flaxseeds..which might sound like a weird combination but I’ve slowed down a lot over the last few years and now I feel very in-tune with what my body needs. Running makes me feel good, I feel naked leaving the house without my little blue book, green tea in the morning is a consistent thing and I always carry flaxseeds for digestion! I know that to be grounded I need to spend some time alone, and take time to pause (even if its for 2 minutes) throughout the day. That can look like choosing to stare into space while the kettle is boiling vs going on my phone, or taking some deep breaths before opening my email inbox. If I get the chance I will always go for a walk outside, without listening to music or distracting myself. But if I need a very quick grounding method, I stare up at the sky and think about how small we really are.
8) Favourite campfire food?
marshmallows
9) One thing you’re grateful for today:
I’m grateful for my body (I just finished a marathon and I can’t quite believe what it is capable of) but I’m equally grateful for all the pain afterwards where my body is telling me to rest.
10) What does ‘rewilding’ mean to you?
Rewilding to me is about reconnecting ourselves with the ecosystem that we have strayed so far away from. It’s about reminding ourselves that everything we needed was already here and that if we take the time, all answers lie in nature. If we (humans) can get back to a system of mutual esteem, gratitude and grounding ourselves in the world around us then I think the world would become a much better place!