Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust: Don’t miss out on a wild June

With wildlife now seeming to prosper as a result of the noticeably warmer temperatures and longer days, May is a wonderful time of year to be out and about enjoying wildlife with everything from the dawn chorus to wildflowers reaching a peak. But, for The Wildlife Trusts, it's also become a pivotal month as we prepare for our annual UK-wide nature challenge — 30 Days Wild, writes Erin McDaid of Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust.

2024 marks a decade of ‘Random Acts of Wildness’ and we’re determined 30 Days Wild will be bigger and better than ever. At its heart, this amazing campaign is based on a simple premise, encouraging people to do something wild each day in June, but it has become so much more — making people feel happier and better connected with nature.

I was very much behind the idea from the off. But as we planned for the first 30 Days Wild campaign, I remember being concerned that people might not remain motivated to do something each day for a whole month. I’m delighted that my early concerns proved unfounded. Whilst some folk might miss the odd day here or there, most remain involved throughout June and people seem to come back for more year on year.

Here at Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust, we embrace 30 Days Wild as a wonderful opportunity to reach out to new audiences and to remind our staff, volunteers, and supporters to take the time to connect with and celebrate the nature we are working to protect. Apart from the inherent delights of connecting with nature, I think one of the key reasons for the early and continued success of the campaign has been the suggestions for ‘Random Acts of Wildness’ — the range of wonderful, wistful and even weird ways you can engage with the nature all around us. The fact that The Wildlife Trusts’ UK team and individual Wildlife Trusts across the UK come up with a huge list of different ways to connect means there is always something new to try and plenty of options that fit in around family life and other commitments.

Random Acts of Wildness can be something as simple as enjoying your first brew of the day out in the garden or sat by an open window to enjoy the bird song and feel the breeze, or something more involved such as taking a walk by a river or visiting a local park or wood. Down the years I’ve done too many of these random acts to list — but some of my favourites have included watching the sun come up whilst enjoying a flask of coffee at our Duke’s Wood Nature Reserve and laying down (carefully) in a meadow and watching the grasses and flowers swaying above me whilst listening to the buzzing of bees.

Back when 30 Days Wild began, our suggestion that you might organise a team meeting in a local park or arranging a walking meeting with a client or customer seemed downright weird — but became normalised during our shared experiences in lockdowns. 30 Days Wild serves as a great reminder not to let the connection with nature that many of us enjoyed and benefited from during the pandemic slip.

As 30 Days Wild has developed, we’ve done more to encourage people to do something positive for nature as well as to connect with it. This could be a simple as sowing seeds to attract and support pollinators or something like volunteering at a local greenspace.

Whilst June is close enough for us to be getting excited about 30 Days Wild, there’s still plenty of time to sign up to take part. It is completely free and if you sign up soon you will receive a pack full of inspiration and ideas to help you make the most of a magical month — with special packs available for schools, businesses, and care homes too.

To sign up for your free pack visit nottinghamshirewildlife.org/30-days-wild-1.

We’ll also send you updates throughout the month to ensure you have plenty of options to go a little wild.