It’s almost that time again! Time to reconnect with nature and try 30 Days Wild #30DaysWild. This is a great initiative to encourage everyone to get outside a bit more than normal (if you can) and engage with nature in some different ways. We did this last year as a family and love the opportunity to try even more nature themed activities together.
So what is 30 days wild exactly? It’s an initiative organised by the Wildlife Trust @wildlifetrusts / Scottish Wildlife Trust @ScotWildlife to do one ‘wild’ thing a day for 30 days (the whole of June).
For more information and to sign up and receive a digital pack with loads of ideas and resources to print out, go to the website:
https://scottishwildlifetrust.org.uk/things-to-do/30-days-wild/
So what are the benefits of being outdoors and doing ‘wild’ activities ? Well where do I start! Being outdoors is proven to be good for your mental and physical well-being. This blog from the Advanced Neurotherapy website, explains nicely how being outdoors actually improves your brains functioning and your concentration, it increases your Vitamin D synthesis and reduces stress.
https://www.advancedneurotherapy.com/blog/2015/09/10/walking-outside-brain
Another great benefit of spending more time with nature is that you become more likely to care more about the environment, and change your habits to help protect the planet (which it really needs). The great David Attenborough said:
‘No one will protect what they don’t care about; and no one will care about what they have never experienced.”
So, if you can, get out there and experience it. If you can’t get out, open a window, get some fresh air in, get some plants for your indoor space – anything to get closer to nature. If you can appreciate the beauty of the nature on your doorstep, your ‘happy-place’ is always close to hand.
Also, if you can’t get outdoors this June there are still loads of ‘wild’ things you can do inside. Nature crafts, wildlife adoptions, learning more about UK species and donating to wildlife charities. You can even watch live (or recorded) nature talks online or enjoy any of the numerous web-cams keeping an eye on a vast range of birds and animals around the UK.
https://www.wildlifetrusts.org/webcams
https://scottishwildlifetrust.org.uk/things-to-do/watch-wildlife-online/
There will also be a ‘ big wild’ quiz, so you can test the nature knowledge that you’ve picked-up during June.
In the learning zone you can also search for activities, indoor or outdoor and filter by age.
https://scottishwildlifetrust.org.uk/things-to-do/learn/
There are loads of activities here that look really good, we will certainly be trying out some of them out (along with Diane’s bee watering station) https://blogs.ed.ac.uk/sustainable-wellness/wp-admin/post.php?post=1469&action=edit
I’ll let you know how we get on in the comments section, and would love to hear what anyone else gets up to. The main thing is to enjoy nature, have fun, and make 30 Days Wild your own.
30 days wild starts with a big wild breakfast on the 1st June. https://www.wildlifetrusts.org/big-wild-breakfast This is a Tuesday, so I think we will have to save our big wild breakfast for Saturday (5th), when we can be a bit more leisurely about taking our breakfast outside. Then we can relax and see what wildlife we can spot while we eat.
Let’s hope its not pouring with rain!!
Week 1: Home for a frog made with an old plant pot.
Day 1: Made a home for a frog, got a book about snails from the library and watched a flock of starlings in the garden.
That sounds great, Tammy. You’ve done a lot already!
I had a lovely walk along the coastal path on Sunday, and saw lots of wildflowers. The wild poppies are out now, which are always lovely.
I finally plucked up the courage to go for a swim in our village’s tidal pool on Sunday. That felt pretty wild!
I have been planting/tending veggies and fruit in the garden – peas, shallots, strawberries, raspberries, potatoes, garlic and herbs. I have a garden-full of snails, so feel free to take some away if you want to continue your research! I am trying out organic ways of redirecting their interest away from my veg patch. So far, I have tried copper tape around the planters and egg shells and coffee grains around the plants. Other suggestions welcome, as I have a big battle on my hands!
What does a home for a frog look like?
Marie, you have been busy too. Wow a wild swim, that would be amazing! We have got some wild poppies in our garden too and they look great don’t they. Well, Dylan just loves snails, so he would happily take them :@) I am trying to grow some peas in our garden but our snails have munched them up pretty successfully! So if you find an effective, organic way to keep them off the veggies please let me know, I also tried egg-shells with no effect.
Our home for a frog was very simple. An old ceramic plant pot half buried in the soil and then finished with some damp leaves inside. I’ll try and upload a photo.
This week we have made a bee watering station like Diane mentioned in her blog and yesterday we found a bee lying on the ground looking dead. We got a twig and moved it to the bee watering station and next we looked it had flown away! So that was great. We have bees that have made a nest in our brown garden waste bin that was full and waiting to get taken to the recycling centre, so plenty of bees about.
We have also been following the progress of the tadpole in Vogrie Country Park and while watching these have spotted newts and newt-poles (not sure what a baby newt is called) which is so cool.
More wild adventures to follow.
Marie, I added a photo of our frog house to the post.