WYLD MOTHERS FIRE | WHITEHAWK x MAMMA’S SCRAPBOOK

Wyld Mothers Fire is set to return in 2025 with an exciting partnership project with Mycelia Network.

Mamma’s Scrapbook is a nature-led sensory storytelling project, creating space for mothers and young children to explore creativity, community, and wellbeing through gentle craft, reflection and shared stories.

Whitehawk RACEHILL Community Orchard

This is an open, drop in group for any mother who would benefit from peer support and nature based creative practice during pregnancy and with children up to 5 years. Facilitated by experienced forest school and fire circle leaders.

In partnership with Mycelia Network:

• One weekly drop-in group running for 6 weeks in 2025, then another 6 weeks in 2026

• Fridays 10:00 – 12:00
  Starting 11th November 2025

• Location: Whitehawk Community Orchard, Brighton

A weekly nature connection support group designed for mothers and their new babies.

Our focus is on fostering a sense of community among mothers and offering support during the precious early months with a new baby. Our weekly meetings feature a variety of special guests, bringing diverse perspectives and insights to inspire mothers on their journey.

As you relax in nature, enjoy a warm cup of tea around the fire and you'll find a space where meaningful connections are forged, and the highs and lows of motherhood are celebrated.

Created by Mothers, for Mothers

Wyld Mothers Fire is a space created by mothers, for mothers. The group started 5 years ago when Poppie had her son & couldn’t afford NCT or any postnatal groups. With a decrease in her mental health, Poppie needed to meet new mums who were going through the same, but found most groups were focussed on babies, Wyld Mothers Fire focuses on mums. We meet around a fire, connecting with other mums in our community. We advocate for mothers rights and signpost mothers to resources. We bridge the gap in knowledge between NHS services and mothers in need.

The Why

The perinatal period is a time of enormous change and transition. Having existing or past mental health problems can increase the risk of becoming unwell, particularly after giving birth. New problems may also develop for the first time. The impact of poor mental health during the perinatal period, particularly if left untreated, can lead to long-term effects on women and their families. 

Wyld Mothers Fire addresses the need for perinatal support by creating a community for mothers. This contributes to better mental health and wellbeing for mothers, having a long-term effect on their own, and their children’s, mental health, wellbeing, development and sense of community belonging. 

NHS England’s independent Mental Health Taskforce suggests there should be significant investment in perinatal mental health services in the community. We directly support this by providing a space that creates access to resources, a hub for information, a direct link to local services new mothers can benefit from, referrals & a place to come & build peer support networks. Depression & anxiety affect 15-20% of women in the first year after childbirth, but about half of all cases of perinatal depression & anxiety go undetected.

The How

We collaborate with local partners to effectively signpost and refer mothers to support services, acknowledging the critical role of such initiatives in enhancing overall wellbeing. Suicide is the leading cause of maternal death in the first postnatal year. (Saving Lives, Improving Mothers’ Care 2021 report). We create a space for mothers to connect, reducing isolation and the risk of postpartum depression, thereby contributing to the mental health improvement of this vulnerable demographic.

Wyld Mothers Fire serves as a platform for connecting individuals and fostering positive actions, addressing the impact of issues such as suicide within the community. We use our space to communicate affirming messages about positive mental health, reinforcing the notion that it's okay not to be okay and that help is always available.

Training Mothers

Wyld Mothers Fire's initiative to train mothers to run our Fires aligns with schemes promoting employability and education. We invest in skills development, providing transferable skills for employment. By empowering mothers to feel comfortable and confident in their parenting choices, we indirectly boost self-esteem and inspire confidence.

As our organisation has grown, we have employed three mothers who have all attended our groups as new mothers themselves. They now assist and facilitate our fires. Caroline and Candy are undertaking Forest school Level 1 training, funded by Wyld Mothers Fire, in order to run our sessions, but also funding them to have a skill and qualification to use outside of our group.

How We’re Funded

Wyld Mothers Fire has been awarded funding from:

• National Lottery Awards for All

• Chalk Cliff Trust

• Brighton & Hove Resilience Fund for our Brighton group 

• Enjoolata Foundation

Between 2021 - 2023 we formed a partnership with local arts organisation Murmuration Arts to deliver Wyld Mothers Fire projects in new locations. During this partnership we have:

• Been awarded funding from Arts Council England to set up a fire in Crawley

• Been awarded a further Arts Council Grant to continue services in Crawley as well as Whitehawk

In 2023, during this partnership, we ran 3 Wyld Mothers Fire groups in 3 separate locations, with funding received through this partnership we funded 4 local mothers from each of these groups to receive their own Forest School qualification.