Exploring My TFE Walk This Winter

You might have noticed that my guided walks are on pause this winter — but that doesn’t mean the work of Mist Connections has stopped. Right now, my main focus is preparing my TFE walk (Travail de Fin d’Études), a special project that brings together everything I’ve been learning about nature guiding, observation, and interpretation.

The TFE walk is both a learning experience for me and a kind of field experiment in eco-interpretation. My goal is to help participants notice patterns in the landscape, understand ecological relationships, and reconnect with the natural world in a way that is intuitive, hands-on, and reflective. It’s less about memorizing species names and more about seeing, wondering, and asking questions — the kind of engagement that stays with you long after the walk ends.

This winter, preparing the TFE walk takes most of my energy. I’m mapping sites, refining routes, observing seasonal changes, and thinking carefully about how each element of the walk contributes to learning and delight. On top of that, I’m also working on the written French documentation that underpins the project. For a non-native French speaker, this is a huge undertaking: translating concepts, structuring the arguments, and making sure the text communicates clearly to the intended audience. Every sentence requires thought and care, and it’s teaching me as much about language as it is about guiding.

About the Walk

The TFE walk I’m preparing is called “Au fil de l’eau — à pied et à vélo”, and it follows the gentle curves of local rivers, streams, and ponds, moving through both forested and open landscapes. Participants are invited to observe closely: noticing plant communities, bird behavior, water flow, and the subtle signs of seasonal change. Whether walking or cycling, the route is designed to balance movement and reflection, offering opportunities to pause, ask questions, and connect with the natural environment.

The walk also incorporates eco-interpretation elements. We explore how water shapes the landscape, how ecosystems interact, and how small observations can reveal bigger patterns in nature. My goal is to make each participant feel empowered to notice, interpret, and wonder — taking away skills and insights that can be applied in any natural setting.

If you’re curious or want to explore this walk with me, you can find more details on the Village du Saule website here. For anyone living in Belgium, I also warmly welcome the chance to share the site with you while I refine both the walk and the accompanying documentation. Your perspectives are invaluable during this preparatory phase.

Even though the public walks will resume in spring, this winter pause is rich with discovery. I’m reading, observing, experimenting, writing, and reflecting — and I can’t wait to bring these insights to the walks you’ll eventually join.