Go wild this June!
June is the month for 30 Days Wild, the Wildlife Trusts' initiative which encourages all to do 30 wild things in the month of June – time for you to really immerse yourself in the natural world!
There are 46 Wildlife Trusts in the UK within the Wildlife Trust’s movement and they are all independent but share a mission, and working hard to help nature in local regions around the country.
We thought we’d give a round up of 30 ideas from various Wildlife Trusts to help you help nature and to help them help nature! So here they are!
1.Do one thing. Recognising it can be daunting knowing where to start helping nature, the Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust have a Do One Thing project. They've got lots of ideas and tools to help you Do One Thing to help nature, whether it’s building a bug hotel or creating a pond for your garden and there's a playlist on You Tube – just pick one thing and do it!
2. Ulster Wildlife Trust has a “Let Nature In” starter pack to help nature recover – whether you have a garden, ledge or yard. Take a look at it here.
3. Watch a webcam! Many Wildlife Trusts have webcams to enable you to see some of the wildlife you love – there’s a list of them here. They include webcams showing puffins, kittiwakes, badgers seals, swallows, blue tits, barn owls, peregrines, curlews, ospreys, dolphins and red squirrels!
4. Spread the word about appeals. The Cornwall Wildlife Trust has a rewilding appeal to rewild Helman Tor nature reserve – they are raising £100,000. Even if you can’t donate, tell people about the appeal – they may be able to donate and/or spread the word! Many Wildlife Trusts have appeals running to help save nature. The more people who know about these, the better.
5. Sky watch! Spend an hour or so just watching the sky, either in the day or at night. What can you see, and hear and smell? Give yourself some mindfulness moments to take in nature and its wonders.
6. Why not see if you can volunteer for a Wildlife Trust? Just find your local and see what volunteering opportunities they have. Everyone can do something, and there's nothing like being in a group of like-minded people who want to make a difference and do something positive.
7. Increase your knowledge about garden birds. The Wildlife Trusts have lots of information here – can you identify their bird song?
8. Pledge to Take Action for Insects. 41% of insects face extinction. The Birmingham and Black Country Wildlife Trust has more information about the two steps you can take. Spread the word about #ActionforInsects
9. Get Wildlife Updates! Subscribe to news for free from the Wildlife Trusts so that you can get up to date information about how to help wildlife straight into your inbox!
10. Do the Great Big Nature Survey. The Wildlife Trusts are doing a survey to discover what people think about nature and how it should be protected. The results will help hold the government to account over its environmental policies and priorities. Do the survey and find out more about it here.
11. Go for a walk in the countryside or in the nearest green place to you. Listen to the sounds of nature.
12. Have a go at drawing a British wild animal such as an adder, or a red squirrel.
13. Take part in a citizen science project! This means observing and gathering information and sending it off to the Wildlife Trust involved in the project. For instance, Cumbria wants to know if you’ve seen a hedgehog in the county; Hampshire and the Isle of Wight are looking for any sightings of seagrass or marine mammals in the region, and if you spot a reptile in Cheshire, the Trust there would love to know about it! Find out more here
14. Watch Wild LIVE, bringing rainforests back to the British Isles. What’s it all about? Find out here from this You Tube video!
15. Put your nose to work and take in the scent of different sorts of flowers.
16. Take part in a nature photography competition! A number of the Wildlife Trusts are running these including Norfolk Wildlife Trust – (you need to have your photo taken in the area of Norfolk, in this case.) Even if you don’t take part in a competition, why not do some nature and wildlife photography?
17. Injuries: Do you know what you’d do if you found an injured bird? Find out here
18. Help wildlife in your garden. There are lots of guides you can download guides you can download here
19. It’s National Marine Week from 22nd July to 6th August so please make a note in your diary and find out what you can do to help marine life, even if you don’t live near the sea. Find out more
20. Become a member of your local Wildlife Trust – they have different membership fees but most are around £3 a month. It’s a great way to support your local and find out what they are doing and how you can get involved and/or support them. Why not give a nature lover a gift membership as a present?
21. Write poetry about nature! Wiltshire Wildlife Trust are asking budding poets to put pen to paper and create poem to celebrate Wiltshire’s woodlands – entries due in by midnight on 30 June 2023 and T&Cs are here.
22. Support an appeal such as the Herts and Middlesex Wildlife Trust’s Archers Green appeal which is aiming to save acreage that includes extremely rare chalk streams. Every single bit helps! There’s a list of appeals here
23. Put out a water dish for wildlife – don’t forget to fill and clean it regularly and to wash your hands thoroughly afterwards. If it's a large dish or bowl or pond, make sure wildlife can get out.
24. Yorkshire Wildlife Trust has a seal mask has a seal mask the kids can make – great for a holiday or day at the seaside!
25. Check to see what events are running with your local Wildlife Trust – there are all sorts of events for young and old. Some are for members only, some are for the public, but visit your local Wildlife Trust to find out more
26. Discover more about nature! A lot of Wildlife Trusts have courses and workshops to help you boost your knowledge of the natural world. Some are species specific, and some are creative in nature. Dorset Wildlife Trust is an example.
27. Find out where to see wildlife in the UK with the Wildlife Trust’s guide. It covers different times of the year, too.
28. Take a look at the Wildlife Trust’s campaigns and see how you can help. Some are local to a region whilst others are national. Stand up for nature! Go exploring here.
30. You could adopt an animal for yourself or as a gift (the animal doesn’t come to live with you of course – these are adoptions to help and support the work the Wildlife Trust does). Take a look at the animals you can adopt here – they include red squirrels, otters, hedgehogs, seals, pine martens, water voles, badgers, bats, birds, dophins, snarks, dormice, seahorses and beavers!
Whatever you do, please Do One Thing for nature and to help the Wildlife Trusts!