Perfect month to go wild in a bid to connect with nature
THIS month sees the Wildlife Trusts’ annual nature challenge ‘30 Days Wild’, supported by the People’s Postcode Lottery, Postcode Planet Trust and BIRDA.
Anybody can take part in this unique event, from the youngest to the oldest, the super-fit to the more restricted, in town or country, on a remote moorland or in a tiny garden.
You just have to do one wild thing each day in June.
Any time of day will be suitable, in fact the opportunities to connect with nature vary from early in the morning to late evening.
The things you do are entirely your choice.
They can be as simple as sitting in a park or garden listening to birdsong for half an hour, planting some pollinator-friendly plants, spotting bats flitting around your neighbourhood at dusk, or having a walk in your local nature reserve.
Some days you could be more ambitious, perhaps doing a day’s birdwatching, or an afternoon looking for butterflies or watching the bees in your garden or local park. If you are housebound you can just open a window to listen to the sounds of nature, or catch up on some of the many online live webcams.
Helping as well as enjoying wildlife brings more possibilities.
You could do some conservation volunteering, write to your MP
about a current issue, such as the proposed relaxation of rules about using neonicitinoids (agricultural chemicals) which are lethal to bees, add your name to one of the many petitions about protecting wildlife,
or join a nature conservation organisation.
Committing to do one wild thing a day will bring you closer to nature. That connection is known to be good for both your physical and mental health, reducing stress and lowering blood pressure.
There is plenty to see, in the four days of the recent global City Nature Challenge over 1200 species were recorded in Birmingham and the |Black Country.
That made us third in the UK, behind Brighton and Bristol, and eleventh in the whole of Europe. So, lots for you to see.
If you sign up with the Wildlife Trust for Birmingham and the Black Country they will send you a free pack with further information and lots of inspirational ideas.
They also have resource packs for schools and youth groups, businesses and care homes.
■ Go to www.wildlifetrusts. org/30dayswild So far nearly 22,000 people have signed up, why not join them?