Throughout 2022 we’re sharing practical everyday skills inspired by Mrs Smith’s low waste lifestyle and helping us understand seasonal eating, food production, and waste disposal methods to make more sustainable choices.

Have a look at the ‘Be More…’ webpage for more information and see the list below for May’s exciting events!

Coming up in May

We’re open to guests on Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Mondays, 12pm-4pm. Mrs Smith’s door was always open to drop-in visitors, and so are we! Due to the small size of the building we recommend booking your visit in advance to avoid disappointment.

As well as our usual opening, we have these great events coming up in May:

Spring Forage: Saturday 14th May – 10-12pm

We are excited about our first seasonal forage! Join us at Hill Holt Wood for a Spring forage led by Hannah, the District Herbalist. The group will be taking a walk around Hill Holt Wood, identifying and gathering the plant material needed to brew a wonderful tea to share at the end.

A wonderful introduction to foraging, tickets are only £5.

Memory Sharing Day: Friday 20th May – 12-4pm

Do you have any memories of meeting Mrs Smith? We are opening the cottage doors for free for anyone who has memories of Mrs Smith to share with our dedicated volunteer team. We would like to record stories which will help us, and our visitors, to get to know more about Mrs Smith, her everyday life, food, and personality.

Small Space Gardening Talk: Tuesday 31st May – -4pm

The Sage Gardener team will be leading this exciting talk on small space gardening, helping you to make the most of any available growing space. This talk is ideal for beginner gardeners, those with limited growing space, or people who don’t know where to start with their own garden projects.

Tickets are only £5.

Find out more about Sage Gardener on their website: Sage Gardener

Group Workshops and Activities

Did you know that we run workshops and outreach visits for youth groups?

From Victorian wash days to rag rug workshops the Mrs Smith’s Cottage team provides a range of exciting activities – we can bring all the resources to your scouts/guides/beavers/brownies group, or you can book a workshop at the cottage and immerse yourself in history.

Email us [email protected] or click here for more information!

Poetry Competition Winners

Congratulations to the winners of our poetry competition – thank you so much for entering and we hope you enjoy your prizes!

Keep Updated!

Don’t forget to follow us on Facebook- Opens in a new window, Twitter- Opens in a new window and Instagram- Opens in a new window to keep up to date with the latest news and information on upcoming projects!

Date – 22nd April

Season – Spring

Weather – Sunshine and Clouds, with a Breeze

Feels – Warm

It was lovely to get our Early Years group to the cottage to make progress on their garden. They will be growing lots of different veggies and flowers which will be enjoyed in the summer.

Todays Activities:

• Planted carrot, spring onion, radish, and nasturtium seeds.
• Added compost to the corner bed.
• Watered front garden, back garden, and pots.
• Checked on seedlings in the cold frame.
• Made bug hotels from milk bottles and waste paper.
• Went bug hunting using magnifying glasses, spotted ants, bees, woodlice.
• Enjoyed the different textures and smells of herbs in the garden – we all liked the rosemary best.

Earth Hour – Thanks to You

It was great to see so many residents and visitors at our ‘Lights Off Navenby’ event on Saturday, as the village was brought to life with light art, nature and astronomy!

Kicking off with a Bat Walk led by rangers from Hill Holt Wood, the evening continued with astronomical photography with Lincoln Astronomic Society, and painting with light using PixelSticks, enabling visitors to ‘print’ a picture in the air. The world, wildlife and even Mrs Smith herself were transformed into dynamic new images!

A big thank you to all involved in helping to organise and deliver the event, including the Lincoln Astronomical Society, Hill Holt Wood, The Hub, 1^st Wellingore Scout Group, Macy’s Brasserie and Navenby C of E Primary School.

Did you visit during the event? We’d love to see your photos – be sure to tag us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram: @MrsSmithsCottage #LightsOffNavenby

‘Lights Off Navenby’ was funded as part of the Mrs Smith’s Cottage Restoration project, through the National Lottery Heritage Fund and North Kesteven District Council. The National Lottery Heritage Fund ‘Thanks To You’ event enabled anyone with a lottery ticket or scratch card to get a free drink from Macy’s Brasserie.

Be a little bit more Hilda…

Throughout 2022, the team at Mrs Smith’s Cottage will be sharing practical everyday skills inspired by Mrs Smith’s low waste lifestyle and helping us understand seasonal eating, food production, and waste disposal methods to make more sustainable choices.

With a season of workshops, talks, and events at the cottage, online, and around North Kesteven, the programme will culminate in an almanac-style guide giving practical low waste advice inspired by Mrs Smith’s life, interspersed with quotes from Mrs Smith’s diaries.

Have a look at the ‘Be More…’ webpage for more information and a guide to all the events lined up!

Coming up in April

We’re open to guests on Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Mondays, 12pm-4pm. Mrs Smith’s door was always open to drop-in visitors, and so are we! Due to the small size of the building we recommend booking your visit in advance to avoid disappointment.

As well as our usual opening, we have these great events coming up in April:

Throughout the Easter Half Term, have a go at Spring Bingo! A free trail to pick up from the Mrs Smith’s Cottage shop, take it with you on walks and see how long it takes for you to spot the signs of spring!

While you’re there you can also collect a Spring Flowers Craft Pack – This simple kit contains everything you need to create a set of adorable spring flowers.

Thursday 7th April is our Willow Weaving Workshop – create your own beautiful obelisk to add character to your outdoor space! Book your place here.

On Saturday 9th April there will be a Buzz About Bees at the cottage: The Artisan Honey Co. will be joining us in the garden, with observation and demonstration hives, talking about bee keeping and the fascinating world of our favourite pollinators!

On Tuesday 12th we are running a Rag Rug workshop, the ideal opportunity to learn a new skill as a family.

On Thursday 14th we’re having a Teacher’s Open Afternoon – join the education team at Mrs Smith’s Cottage for an exciting opportunity to experience our learning offers first hand. Explore the cottage, have a go at our Wash Day workshop, delve into our Loans Boxes and share your feedback over a cup of tea with our team. No need to book, simply drop in!

On Easter Sunday 17th, 12-4pm we’ll be holding a twist on a traditional Easter Egg Hunt – book your visit to the cottage and bring the little ones for felty family fun!

Poetry Competition Winners

Thank you to those of you who entered our Navenby themed Poetry Competition! The winning poems will be on display at the Cottage and on 11th April we’ll be handing out the prize to the competition winners.

We’re looking forward to a busy March at Mrs Smith’s Cottage…

Here’s a rundown of what we have lined up this month:

• Friday 4th March, 6pm-7:30pm is our Earth Hour taster event at the Venue in Navenby (more details below)
• Monday 7th March you will be able to pick up our Signs of Spring trail, as well as our new Spring Flowers craft pack.
• From Friday 18th-Monday 21st we’ll be displaying the entries for our Poetry Competition. Find details of how you can enter below!
• On Saturday 26th from 7pm-9:30pm we’ll be joining the rest of the world to celebrate Earth Hour with our Lights Off Navenby event. Read on to find out more…

Lights Off Navenby – celebrate Earth Hour with us!

For one hour on the 26^th March 2022, Navenby will join people the world over in celebrating Earth Hour as they switch off their lights and appreciate nature in new ways. Throughout March, a programme of activities will inspire residents, businesses and organisations to create a dark village for one hour, encouraging people to discover and celebrate nature.

Centered around Mrs Smith’s possessions and life story we will invite villagers to reflect, then write and seal their promise in illuminated jars. Bat walks led by Hill Holt Wood and star gazing activities will allow people to safely enjoy elements of nature which otherwise might not be appreciated. Villagers will bring these together on the night to make a series of community light portraits, using the dark night as a canvas.

Lessons from Mrs Smith’s Cottage will help people investigate their own use of resources and help them to ‘be more Hilda’ (#BeMoreHilda). We will be working with local schools and groups to share this and inspire people with the example of Mrs Smith’s sustainable lifestyle.

On Friday 4^th March (6pm-7:30pm) The Lights Off team will be holding a drop-in taster session at the Venue in Navenby where you can have a go using pixel sticks and long exposure photography to paint with light. Bring a jam jar and create a promise jar lantern ahead of the main event on Saturday 26^th March! This weekend also happens to be Discover Lincolnshire Weekend – another great reason to visit us!

#BeMoreHilda #NavenbyLightsOff #ActOnClimate

Families and Education at the Cottage

Have you heard about our Early Years group, the NavenBees? Join our Facebook group to find out more and book onto one of our sessions. We’ve also introduced a gardening group for those little green fingers!

We also have some great offers for schools – as well as school trips we can provide loans boxes, outreach visits and classroom resources. You can find out more here.

The best way to keep up-to-date with our education offer is to sign up to our regular email updates, which you can do by emailing your details to [email protected].

And later this year…

We can’t wait to share the events programme for our #BeMoreHilda project, running from April through to October. So far we’ve planned vegetable dye workshops, seasonal forages, pantry talks, edible flower workshops and much more.

Follow us on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook for all the latest details!