‘I’ll record birdsong and listen to it later to lift me up’

Actor Alison Steadman finds solace in nature and putting on Zoom shows for her three-year-old grandson

Ever since I was a child, I’ve been a lover of wildlife.

I grew up in a city, but had a nice garden and my family, my grandparents and aunts, encouraged me to respect and love wildlife. Some of my happiest childhood memories are of rummaging around in the garden under the rhubarb leaves, looking for caterpillars. My grandparents would constantly point out creatures and birds, which encouraged my interest, and it was lovely. It’s important for me to hand that knowledge and curiosity down to my grandson, Freddie.

The beauty of birds and birdsong always puts a smile on my face.

I was filming a couple of years ago and I was picked up at 5am. Suddenly, the dawn chorus started – it was glorious. If you can just stop and listen to a bird sing for 10 minutes, it lifts your spirits.

Very often, if I’m on a walk and I hear a blackbird or a robin,

I get my phone out and record it. Then when I come home, I can play it a few times and it’s just lovely. Those things remind you that, yes, we’re important, but all creatures on this planet are.

I love looking for fungi. If I see fungi I don’t recognise, I take a photograph of it and check it out. To me, it’s such an important, and vital, part of life. I’m more and more aware that we’re losing so much nature and wildlife. I live in an area that’s quite green – we have a huge shared garden and woods right next to us, and yet I have only seen a hedgehog once in 24 years. That makes me really sad. If we don’t do something to look after our wild spaces, what’s going to happen? That’s why The Wildlife Trusts, which I’m working with, is so good at creating awareness and getting people involved.

I really enjoy crafting, if I have the time.

I love making things. During the first lockdown, I made a puppet from papier-mâché, using only the things I had in the house. I had a rummage around and found old toilet rolls, some newspaper, some flour in the cupboard and some Plasticine that I hadn’t used for a while. It was great fun! I did Zoom calls with my son and grandson and brought it along.

Being able to balance life and work has felt good.

I know I’ve been lucky to have been doing some work but I’ve also found time to do other things, including making home-made chutney. I got the recipe from a lovely lady I know and it’s delicious. I had most of the ingredients in the cupboard and I’d saved marmalade jars, which

I washed out and sterilised, and labelled them up. It felt really satisfying to do that.

 Alison Steadman is Ambassador for The Wildlife Trusts, a federation of 46 conservation charities, and supports its #30by30 appeal to bring nature back into our lives. To discover more, visit wildlifetrusts.org

I’ve found time to make home-made chutney