10 Ways to Connect with Nature

October Sustainability Month

We’re constantly hearing that we need to be more sustainable or the world’s going to end… For humans at least, as nature always finds a way of bouncing back! It makes us think that as individuals we have to make grand lifestyle changes if we want to make any difference, but that’s not true, as the small choices that we make can collectively make a difference. 

Sustainability isn't only about recycling, reducing energy use or buying less. It can also be about developing a stronger connection with nature, and using that connection to inspire more thoughtful choices.

October is used by a range of organisations to encourage people to learn about sustainability and take practical action. Sustainability Month programmes commonly combine education, community activities, challenges and practical projects. At Knot Waste, we think sustainability can be a creative pursuit and not just another chore on our to-do lists.

Litter-picking in a UK woods.

What is Sustainability Month?

There isn't one single global Sustainability Month with one official programme, but organisations, businesses, universities and communities usually use October as a month to focus on sustainability. The idea is to turn awareness into practical action, so it’s typical to see activities like litter-picks being arranged. 

Rather than thinking about sustainability as a list of things we shouldn't do, why not use October to explore things we can do?

7 Sustainable Nature Activities to Try This October

1. Go on a litter-picking walk

Autumn walks are nice but why not mix nature connection with direct environmental action, and turn your stroll into a mini litter-pick. Let us explain how to go litter-picking on your doorstep. You don’t have to be a show-off with a fancy litterpicker, you can stuff a pair or reusable gloves and a bin bag in your pocket ready to whip out when you start passing litter. It is safer to do with a litter-picker but if you really don’t have one, just avoid picking up anything too dodgy like broken glass or syringes. And only giving 20-30 minutes makes a nice little difference in any urban area.

Visit Knot Waste Galleries: Litter in Nature, and Urban Litter

2. Try ‘Nature Noticing’ Walks

You can just get out and have a walk for exercise but you can also give the stroll a purpose. Whilst wandering look out for things like fungi, fallen leaves, seed heads, insects, birds, moss, interesting textures, or signs of seasonal change. Paying closer attention can make an ordinary urban walk feel very different, and all the more so if you stop to snap a photo or have a doodle.

Lichen patterns from our Iceland Seyðisfjörður gallery.

3. Make something from fallen natural materials

Celebrate the season with a dedicated craft. Use something that nature has already discarded like a fallen leaf, rather than picking something that’s still growing. We have a Nature Crafts and DIY Pinterest board with loads of Nature Craft ideas that we’ve found; from botanical dyeing and turning fallen leaves into jewellery boxes, to making paints from earth pigments.

Vist the Knot Waste Nature Crafts and DIY Pinterest board

4. Try sustainable embroidery

The process of stitching can improve wellbeing and lower your stress levels. Stitching embroideries that reflect nature with things like plants, wildlife or even pets, landscapes, seasonal outdoor textures and colours, is also a great way to up your nature connectedness in an urban setting. 

We’ve got loads of photos from our urban nature strolls and holidays that we often sketch and turn into embroidery patterns. It keeps us anchored in the moment and is also a great way to live out past holidays for longer. Embroidery as nature connection works well for us!

Want to turn your nature connection into a creative project?
Explore the downloadable nature-inspired embroidery patterns in the Knot Waste Etsy shop, designed around urban nature, wildlife and environmental issues.

Visit: KnotWasteShop on Etsy.

5. Explore the Story behind plastic pollution

Sustainability isn't only about what we do with our own rubbish. It's also about understanding the bigger picture of waste and plastic pollution. Having a proper understanding of something deepens empathy, and when you care about something, you can take more effective actions. That’s where days like Plastic Overshoot Day can help to raise awareness 

What is Plastic Overshoot Day? 

“Plastic Overshoot Day 2026 fell on 6 September, marking the point when global plastic waste generated exceeded the world's capacity to manage it safely. Around 31.6% of plastic waste is projected to be mismanaged in 2026,” - Plastic Overshoot Day.

Rather than being led by fear and focusing on the day as some kind of impending doom, it’s a day that serves as a reminder that things still need to be done. Most importantly, it’s also an opportunity to celebrate the solutions and the many people and communities working towards creating a more sustainable future for both the planet and people.

There are solutions that also show us that sustainability can be both creative and inspiring, like Vienna’s Spittelau Incinerator designed by the Artist  Friedensreich Hundertwasser. Not only does it look like a piece of art but it is also generating district heating and electricity for thousands of homes while helping Vienna reduce landfill. We were so inspired that we created our Spitelau Pattern Pack.  

Explore the Spittelau Pattern Pack

6. Make a sustainability-inspired embroidery from waste fabric

Sustainable crafting doesn't necessarily mean buying lots of new “eco” craft supplies, try upcycling what you have. One of the best places to turn to is your wardrobe. From old denim jeans and cotton dresses that you no longer wear to worn-out pillowcases they make great embroidery canvases. Fabric scraps or even plastic waste from netted vegetable bags can be turned into thread. 

An old T-Shirt being used as embroidery thread.

7. Download the free Spaniel in Urban Litter embroidery pattern

Want to try nature-inspired embroidery without buying a pattern? Knot Waste also has a free Spaniel in Urban Litter embroidery pattern, available to download when you sign up. We’ve created it to draw awareness to how litter affects climate change, and focus on actionable everyday solutions that we can all take to help minimise it. Seeing litter normalises overconsumption and throwaway habits and contributes to long-term environmental damage. Plastic doesn’t just break down and disappear, it turns into smaller pieces that lingers around harming the environment, wildlife, and even your pets for years to come. 

Download the free Spaniel in Urban Litter embroidery pattern.

Make Sustainability a Habit, Not Just a Month

October can be the starting point, rather than the finish line. Choose one small activity to repeat throughout the year; monthly litter pick, weekly nature walk, mending one item each month, buying less and reusing more, creating with reclaimed materials, or spending 20 minutes noticing nature.

The more connected we feel to the places around us, the easier it can become to care about what happens to them.

Connect With Nature Through Creativity

Sustainability doesn't have to feel like another list of rules. It can begin with curiosity: noticing the wildlife around you, discovering litter on a familiar route, learning where our waste goes or turning an old piece of fabric into something new. Creativity gives us another way to explore those connections.

Which sustainable nature activity will you try this October?

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