--- ---  # Kate Middleton Returns From Maternity Leave to Garden With Kids for a Good Cause  by [Raisa Bruner](https://time.com/author/raisa-bruner/)  ## Raisa Bruner Oct 2, 2018 3:26 PM UTC  Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge during a visit to Sayers Croft Forest School and Wildlife Garden on October 2, 2018 in London, England. Sayers Croft is an activity centre aimed at educating and involving children and the local community in the environment. Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge during a visit to Sayers Croft Forest School and Wildlife Garden on October 2, 2018 in London, England. Sayers Croft is an activity centre aimed at educating and involving children and the local community in the environment.Samir Hussein—WireImage/Getty Images  by [Raisa Bruner](https://time.com/author/raisa-bruner/)  ## Raisa Bruner Oct 2, 2018 3:26 PM UTC She’s back at it — and in the garden. Catherine, [Duchess of Cambridge](http://time.com/5338218/meghan-markle-wimbledon/) is off on an outdoorsy adventure for her first big public solo engagement since giving birth to [Prince Louis](http://time.com/5339739/kate-middleton-prince-louis-christening-photo/) on [April 23](http://time.com/5266913/prince-louis-first-photo/), ending her maternity leave with a day of hanging out with kids in a London field center. Kate Middleton popped by Sayers Croft Forest School and Wildlife Garden on Tuesday, a center where children can go to get involved in the environment. She helped out with some gardening, made leaf crowns and listened to story time with the kids. Seems like a pretty good way to spend a crisp fall day, during which she layered up in appropriately green attire and some sturdy boots for the adventure. The [Sayers Croft Trust](http://www.sayerscrofttrust.org.uk/) is an outdoors education charity that involves locals, particularly children, “in the enjoyment and care of the environment.” As could be expected, the children Middleton hung out with were eager to have her attention, producing some adorable moments — from one girl downing her drink in a surprising fashion, to another assisting her in selecting leaves for an autumnally-appropriate leaf crown. And Middleton proved she’s just fine digging in and getting her hands dirty, joining in what the Kensington Palace Twitter account called a “minibeast hunt” to check out some neat bugs. See: even royals like bugs! > [](https://twitter.com/KensingtonRoyal/status/1047130652657836035) > [](https://twitter.com/KensingtonRoyal/status/1047116861375172610) > [](https://twitter.com/KensingtonRoyal/status/1047126487550386177) > [](https://twitter.com/KensingtonRoyal/status/1047136030262996994) Kate Middleton Returns to Garden for a Good Cause ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5412525/kate-middleton-plants/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5412525/kate-middleton-plants/"},"headline":"Kate Middleton Returns From Maternity Leave to Garden With Kids for a Good Cause","datePublished":"2018-10-02T15:26:00.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T07:55:12.395Z","description":"She's cool with bugs and dirt","url":"https://time.com/5412525/kate-middleton-plants/","keywords":["Newsfeed"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3427017de1b8e6ee/69893b9c096a941a996a3970/kate-middleton-forest-school.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Raisa Bruner","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/raisa-bruner/"}],"articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3427017de1b8e6ee/69893b9c096a941a996a3970/kate-middleton-forest-school.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"The Duchess Of Cambridge Visits Sayers Croft Forest School","caption":"The Duchess Of Cambridge Visits Sayers Croft Forest School","creditText":"Samir Hussein—WireImage/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-section-newsfeed/","name":"Newsfeed"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/5412525/kate-middleton-plants/","name":"Kate Middleton Returns From Maternity Leave to Garden With Kids for a Good Cause"}}]}] ```