30 Days Wild 1: Observing Nature

What will you do this month to connect with nature?

30 Days Wild, an annual event from The Wildlife Trusts challenges us to take on wild activities throughout June. Participants are encouraged to try out different activities to connect with nature. If you sign up, you’ll be sent free goodies in the post and a daily email full of inspiring ideas and fascinating facts. Though there’s nothing to stop you taking on the challenge without formally signing up.

This month, my weekly posts will focus on different ways you can choose to engage with nature in your local area.

The first thing to do is to just enjoy nature, observe the plants and wildlife around you. The more time you spend in nature, you more you observe, the more you want to conserve what is around you. And you can enjoy nature without knowing the names of everything you see (though most people probably find that curiosity leads to them soon wanting to know the names of at least the most common species they see).

Last Saturday, we walked around Edinburgh’s Arthur’s Seat and Holyrood Park which is one of Edinburgh’s most famous green-spaces and a wonderful place for wildlife.

We made sure to look upwards to see three Ravens near their nest site on the cliffs, though we could only get one in the frame

A Raven

We also made sure to look closely at things, and we found this small beetle, I’m not sure what species it is (though I think it’s a Green Dock Beetle) but it’s beautiful isn’t it?

A beautiful beetle

We also made sure we didn’t forget to admire the beauty of the very common species we saw, such as this pretty Feral Pigeon

The prettiest Feral Pigeon in Holyrood Park

It’s also breeding season for birds, so keep your eyes open for young birds! The weekend before last, we were in Edinburgh’s Royal Botanic Garden and were delighted to find ourselves surrounded by a family of Long Tailed Tits. There must have been ten fledglings and we enjoyed watching them fly around and pester their parents for food. One even posed for the camera:

A recently fledged Long Tailed Tit

So, how are you going to enjoy nature this month? Here are some ideas:

• Explore the greenspaces in your local area;

• Make sure you always look above to see what’s flying around;

• Look closely at nature around you, you never know what you might find;

• Don’t forget to admire the beauty of common animals and plants;

• See how many species of birds you can see from your living room window;

• Keep your eyes open for young birds;

• Sit in your garden and enjoy the natural world around you.

Over the next few weeks, inspired by 30 Days Wild, my posts will focus on:

Learning about Nature; Helping Nature and Creative Responses to Nature.

You can sign up for 30 Days Wild here.

More Nature Projects For June

No Mow May is now over, but Plantlife, the UK charity for plant conservation, are asking people to join in with Let it Bloom June. Find out more here.

Great Big Green Week (7 - 15 June) is the UK’s biggest celebration of community action to tackle climate change and protect nature.

I’ve been Published

I have two haiku in the latest issue of Blithe Spirit, the member’s journal of the British Haiku Society. Find out more about the journal and read sample haiku here. Find out how to join the Society here.