Walking Meeting in Newington Cemetery

 Post lockdown, when many people were still wary of crowds and confined spaces, the idea of walking meetings became popular. Rather than sitting in a stuffy meeting room, why not meet outdoors and walk while talking? 

It's not only ecologists who talk about the benefits of walking meetings, business people do to, for example this article on seven benefits of taking your meeting for a walk. 

Personally I love being outside and definitely find that ideas can flow better when walking in nature. It's also of course a nice way to fit a bit of exercise into your day, as well as seeing more nature. Yesterday's walking meeting took place in Edinburgh's Newington Cemetery. This is one of the city's cemeteries that is specifically managed with nature in mind and now features a tree trail, new since I last visited. Guides to the tree trail are available in a neat little leaflet dispenser near the entrance to the cemetery, though unfortunately the leaflet dispenser is currently being used as a bin... 

Before the tree trail was officially set up as a trail (with numbers on the notable trees) the cemetery already had information boards about its trees. You can find out more here on their website. 

The upper part of the cemetery is particularly rich in trees and shrubs

The crocuses are out at the moment, adding some lovely colour to the cemetery

There were plenty of birds in the cemetery and at one point a flock of around fifty Jackdaws flew over and round about.