We’re pretty much half way through The Wildlife Trust’s #30DaysWild for June (30 random acts of wildness for 30 days). I did intend on writing this at the beginning of the month but, as ever, life got in the way (and my blog broke for a while…thankfully we’re back up and running!). So, here’s what we’ve done so far and some ideas for the rest of the month.
Our random acts of wildness so far:
- cycles and walks in our local Forestry Commission Scotland woods
- pond dipping (we’re tracking the tadpoles, which now have legs)
- made butterfly feeders (one of the activities in this month’s Mud and Bloom box)
- planted flower and vegetable seeds
- collected wild flowers and used ‘A Little Guide to Wild Flowers’ by Charlotte Voake to identify them
- pressed wild flowers
- listened to birdsong
- played hide and seek in the woods
- went on a minibeast hunt
- drew flowers outdoors
- drew birds
- hugged some trees
- went on a GoFindIt scavenger hunt
- made a rain gauge
- spent a morning at forest school
- did some gardening
- made daisy chains
- nature printing – we collected leaves, feathers, pine cones and fallen bits of pine growth (on a very blustery day) and used them to print with paint (Flora’s variation on the painting with flowers activity in this month’s Mud and Bloom box)
- went to the woods with Flora’s nursery
- read a beautiful wildlife book called The Lost Words by Robert Macfarlane and Jackie Morris
On our list for the rest of #30dayswild:
- make wild pictures in the woods using natural materials
- make a nature mask or crown
- make a mini nature reserve (as detailed in this post)
- make nature potions
- hammered leaf pictures (I’ve seen this shared a lot on Facebook at the moment)
- write a nature poem together
- go to the beach
- do a litter pick up
- visit a nature reserve (see below)
- eat/drink a wild ingredient (we were thinking nettle soup or goose grass juice!)
- make mud faces in the trees
- do leaf or bark rubbings
- identify summer leaves
- make flower fairies
- brew plant food ourselves (nettles or comfrey)
- make a weather vane
- lie on the ground in the woods and look up at the trees
Wild places to visit:
The Scottish Wildlife Trust Reserves
We’re planning to visit our local Scottish Wildlife Trust owned nature reserve this weekend as part of the Scottish Wildlife Trust’s Big Wild Weekend. We’re going to Montrose Basin Wildlife Reserve for their pond-dipping event.
Murton Trust Nature Reserve
The Nature Reserve at Murton Farm is a great place to visit during 30 Days Wild, or at any time of year. We love exploring the huge reserve and back in April we were invited to do a Rucksack Ramble around the reserve, which we all loved.
The rucksack was packed with everything you need to get up close to nature and explore the reserve – books for identifying birds, trees and wildflowers; magnifying glasses; a gadget for catching and then inspecting insects; a nifty container with a magnifying glass in the lid for inspecting those mini beasts; some lovely nature postcards and poem cards; a wipeable board for noting down what you’ve spotted; a picnic blanket and a book to read together.
We stopped regularly to hunt for mini beasts and wildlife, and enjoyed a picnic near one of the lochs.
It’s free to explore the reserve and if you want to take one of their rucksacks with you on a wild adventure it costs £5. You need to book in advance.
I’d love to hear what your plans are for the rest of #30dayswild! Leave a comment below.