The Wildlife Trusts’ annual 30 Days Wild challenge was more popular than ever this year – 400,000 people carried out well over 10 million Random Acts of Wildness over the 30 days of June.
30 Days Wild challenge reaches new record!
Over 400,000 people went wild every day in June across the UK with over 1,700 in Nottinghamshire alone.
The Bread and Bitter pub grew this hanging basket of flowers.
Throughout June, The Wildlife Trusts’ challenge participants to do something wild and enjoy nature every single day. In response, people have been sharing their heart-warming stories and colourful photos and videos across social media channels. As well as the 50,000 individual households who signed up for their free packs of ideas, wall chart, stickers and wildflower seeds, over 9,000 schools, 1,300 businesses and 570 care homes also took part. In Nottinghamshire there were 13 care homes taking part, 37 people requesting a corporate pack, 181 people requesting a schools pack and 1544 taking part at home. This could relate to well over 11,000 people getting close to nature in Nottinghamshire.
Lizzie's getting over her butterfly fears! Credit: Emma Osbourne
The Wildlife Trusts’ Head of Communications, Joanna Richards says:
“It’s been an extraordinarily wild month! We’ve loved seeing the creative and inventive activities of people taking part right across the UK - getting up close to bugs, butterflies and birds, rewilding a garden or making a daisy chain. You don’t need to go far to appreciate wildlife and often the simplest interactions can bring us the most joy.”
Dr Amir Khan from Ch 5’s GPs Behind Closed Doors is an ambassador for The Wildlife Trusts and took part in the challenge for the first time this year. He says:
“It’s been fantastic! I’ve loved the small, sometimes unexpected random acts that have inspired and will continue to inspire me every day – I’ve fed and watched the birds in the garden, I’ve noticed more nature while out running and taken breaks at lunchtime just to appreciate the world outside. I’ve truly felt the benefit to my physical and mental wellbeing and I think our wildlife has too.”
The staff at Langwith Lodge Residental Home taking part in conservation volunteering at Meden Trail. Credit: Jim Voce
Louise Baker, Marketing Assistant at Your Health Group helped to create the new Care Home pack this year with The Wildlife Trusts and was there to witness the benefits at Langwith Lodge Residential Home, north of Mansfield.
Rachel Rutherford
Louise stated, “We’ve remained wild since our participation in 30 Days Wild last year, but there’s nothing like the 1st June to inspire us with new activities and a renewed sense of community. This June our residents at Langwith Lodge have enjoyed adding plants to our butterfly garden, bird watching and caring for their chickens, as well as looking out for an identifying new species that have come to visit our grounds. These random acts of wild engage our residents more completely than other activities they enjoy; they love spending time outdoors, and reminiscing about wild childhoods or tending to their own gardens before they came to live with us. 30 Days Wild invokes memories, inspires truly interesting conversations and improves mental wellbeing for staff and residents. We’re thrilled so many other care homes have taken part this year, and hope they’ve had a wonderful time too. Don’t forget to keep it up!”
The kids of the Rushcliffe Wildlife Watch doing some pond dipping. Credit: Ellen Bradley
Claire Coalwood, Teaching Assistant, of Abbey Primary School Stuart Avenue Forest Town Mansfield, stated “We have been going wild at Abbey! We are in the process of creating a wild life garden and we have planted wild flower seeds and a new bug hotel has been made by one of our grandparents. The children are loving looking for mini beasts in the hotel and within the garden ground.” Claire went on to say, “We are also going to use the ideas at lunch time in a booklet so the children have a wild time at lunch time. Thank you for an amazing pack thoroughly enjoying it.”
Wildlife gardening in homes, care homes and schools was a popular activity, with people creating small ponds, building homes for bugs, sowing wildflowers, noticing the birds and insects that visited and pledging not to mow their lawns, to encourage more variety of wildlife to flourish.
Other Random Acts of Wildness included:
- Waking up early to hear the dawn chorus at its best
- Organising litter picks
- Noticing a rainbow of flowers and trees growing in towns and countryside
- Creating wild works of art from petals, leaves and feathers.
- Care homes residents and carers have enjoyed planting pollinator-friendly blooms, making leaf art and creating wild playlists, with music inspired by nature.
Every year The Wildlife Trusts carry out a wildness quiz during 30 Days Wild. Previous years’ results show that 30 Days Wild is unique in improving people’s perception of beauty in nature, and that noticing natural beauty makes people happier and want to care for it.