Flourishing Females is a place for women to gently unfurl — finding strength, connection, and creativity in the company of others and the natural world.

Flourishing Females

Wild at heart but feeling worn down? Sometimes a spark - and the right people - is all you need.
Flourishing Females is a free, funded wellbeing space for women who are feeling isolated, overwhelmed, or navigating difficult circumstances. If you’re craving community, calm, or gentle wildness like woodland fires, nature dips, or creative outdoor sessions, you’ll find a warm welcome here.

Project Days

Thursdays 12–2:30 pm at Hunlocke Community Gardens

We begin with a warm bowl of homemade vegetarian food, then settle into a gentle activity - natural dye‑making, felted soap, bushcraft, forest bathing, or whatever the season inspires.

We’re outdoors whenever we can be, and on wild‑weather days we cosy up in the portacabin with the log burner glowing.

We also tend a small allotment space where we grow vegetables and plants for natural dyes. It’s a quiet corner of the gardens that anyone in the group can visit in their own time - a safe, soothing place to water, potter, and take a breather whenever you need it.

Funded with thanks to National Lottery Awards For All.

  • Experimenting with Natural Dyes

  • Pressing Flowers

  • Spotting Wildlife

  • Delicious Japenese Ramen Soup

  • Making Bushcraft Stools

  • Yarns dyed with Flowers

  • Autumn Altar

  • Starting Little Fires

  • Climbing Trees

  • Growing Produce

  • Wildlife Camera Capture

  • Indian Cook Off Christmas Doo

  • Tumeric Printing

  • Land Art

  • Gilding our flaws in Gold

  • Fire Cooking

  • Willow Weaving

  • Wreath Making

  • Forest Bathing

  • Delicious Homemade Soup

Seasonal Adventures in The Peak

When the weather plays along, we take little trips — river and lake dips (for those who fancy it), mindful walks, stone circles and picnics.

  • We want Flourishing Females to feel safe, comfortable, and accessible.
    Here’s our simple PEA guide — People, Environment and Activity — to help you understand what to expect and what support is available.

    People

    A friendly, gentle group of women with staff on hand to support you. Many of the women who join us come through social prescribers, OTs, and other professionals, and often arrive with support for their first few sessions until they feel settled. You’re also welcome to self‑refer or come recommended by a friend — whatever feels right for you. We also have an optional WhatsApp group for updates and connection.

    Environment

    We’re mostly outdoors at Hunlocke Community Gardens, with access to seating, shelter, toilets, and a cosy portacabin with a log burner for bad‑weather days. There’s also a small allotment space for gentle pottering, dye plants, and quiet moments when you need a breather.

    Activity

    Nature walks, creative play, crafting, firelight sessions, foraging, dye plants, bushcraft, simple adventures, and optional cold‑water dips. Everything is supported, optional, and taken at a gentle pace - you choose what feels right for you.

    You can also explore our full PEA criteria here:

  • Getting involved is simple, gentle, and supported — no pressure, no expectations.

    1. Send us a message to say you’re interested
    You can self‑refer, come recommended by a friend, or be referred by a social prescriber, OT, or another professional. Any route is fine.

    2. We’ll arrange a friendly chat
    A short, informal conversation so we can understand what you need, answer any questions, and make sure the group feels like the right fit for you.

    3. We’ll send you a short sign‑up form
    After the chat, we’ll send a simple form asking for basic information — things like your name, address, emergency contact, allergies, mobility considerations, and anything else we need to keep you safe and comfortable. It’s very straightforward and helps us prepare properly before you come.

    4. We’ll meet you before your first session
    So you don’t have to walk into a full group, we’ll meet you a little earlier, show you around Hunlocke Community Gardens, introduce you to the space, and help you settle in before everyone arrives.
    If you’d like someone to come with you for your first visit (family member, support worker, link worker), that’s absolutely okay.

    5. Join us at your own pace
    Everything we do is optional and supported. You’re welcome to ease in gently, watch first, or take part slowly. There’s no pressure to do anything you’re not comfortable with.

    If we’re full when you contact us, we’ll stay in touch and let you know as soon as a space opens.

Practical Info, Facilities & Accessibility (PEA Guide)

Thanks to support from Derbyshire Mind, we’re writing a book together — the Flourishing Females Guide to Wellness. It’s a collaborative project shaped by the women in the group, gathering our shared wisdom, creativity, and the things that help us feel grounded and well.

The book will include recipes, nature practices, crafts, reflections, dye plant ideas, wellbeing tools, and all the small sparks that have supported us along the way. Through this project we will design, write, paint, photograph and create the pieces that will fill its pages.

It’s gentle, creative, and entirely co‑designed and co-led, a real celebration of women supporting women.

Flourishing Females Wild Woodland Retreat

Thirteen women. Two days in the woods. One community strengthened.

Thanks to funding from the Derbyshire Voluntary Action Health & Wellbeing Grant, thirteen women from our Flourishing Females programme spent two days together at Shining Cliff Woods, stepping away from the pressures of everyday life and into nature, community and reflection. To find out more about the impact of this adventure please Click Here

Ely Stained Glass Museum Trip

As part of our work on the Dronfield Stained Glass Project for St John the Baptist Church, Dronfield - commissioned by East Peak CIC - the Flourishing Females took part in a very special learning visit to the Ely Stained Glass Museum in Cambridgeshire.

For many of the women, travelling by train and spending a whole day away from home was a big step. It was a real adventure, and everyone embraced it with courage, curiosity, and that wild little spark that runs through everything we do.

We were welcomed by the museum’s curator for a fascinating tour of the collection and an introduction to the history of stained glass, from medieval craft to contemporary design. Afterwards we took part in an adult‑learning fused‑glass workshop, creating our own pieces to take home — a thoughtful, creative, and challenging experience that brought so much pride and joy. Read our blog here.

This trip was one small part of a much bigger heritage lottery funded project.

If you’d like to explore the full story of the Dronfield Stained Glass Project, you can find out more here:

Dronfield Stained Glass Project

  • Beauty Tricks 2017 - Pinkie Maclure

  • Beauty Tricks 2017 - Pinkie Maclure

  • Beauty Tricks 2017 - Pinkie Maclure

  • Beauty Tricks 2017 - Pinkie Maclure

  • Beauty Tricks 2017 - Pinkie Maclure

  • Beauty Tricks 2017 - Pinkie Maclure

  • Saint Adelaide 2014 - Kehinde Wiley

  • The Prodigal Son 1930 - Moira Forsyth

  • Bust of a King - 12th Century

  • Hope 1956 - Wilhelmina Geddes

  • Fused Glass Workshop - Before KIln

    Fused Glass Workshop - Before Kiln

  • Fused Glass Workshop

  • Fused Glass Workshop

  • Fused Glass Workshop

  • Ely Cathedral

Flourishing Females

and Me

by Cathryn Hardwick

We’re proud to share a short film made by one of our Flourishing Females participants - an extraordinary wildlife photographer whose images appear throughout our website.

In this video she talks honestly about what Flourishing Females has meant to her, and her words say more about the impact of this project than we ever could.

Her wildlife photography is breathtaking, and we are honoured to showcase her work here with her permission.

If her work speaks to you and you’d like to know more, just get in touch with us -we’re happy to help connect you with her and support enquiries in the way that suits her best.

Curious to find out more? We’d love to hear from you.

This project has been made possible thanks to funding by