Revelling in 30 Days Wild
Times may have changed in the past few months, but that doesn’t mean we can’t revel in nature. Previously developed as more of an outside, communal concept, The Wildlife Trusts 30 Days Wild has become a social media storm. And at a time when many of us are locked inside and unable to venture very far, it has also become a time to take note of the world around us and see what nature has on offer.
As a way to participate, we may not all be able to challenge ourselves to do something wild every day. However, we can try to discover and learn from nature where ever we are! So I’m going to update this page throughout June with what nature means to me, the conservation I’m attempting, the challenges I’ve come across and some fun, weird, cute creatures and plants I discover along the way.
JUNE 1
June is one of the most wonderful times in our wildflower meadow. A time when the oxeye daisies create a sea of white across the entire field. It’s a wonderful feat of nature - a largely lifeless meadow that bursts into vibrancy within a matter of weeks, providing nectar and habitat for abundant wildlife.
JUNE 2
Surely slow worms have to be one of the UK’s most wonderful creatures? I’d never seen one of these lizards until moving into Essex and was absolutely stunned to discover them living in the small garden of my 3-bed terrace! It just goes to show that if you pay attention to what’s living around you and then make efforts to maintain or even extend their habitat, they’ll not only stay, but thrive!
JUNE 3
Honestly, some of nature’s most magnificent are also the smallest. This is the tiny mint moth. Beautiful right? I’m not one to strip caterpillars or bugs off any of my plants, even if they’re nibbling veggies. Instead I like to see what emerges. My apple mint was quite nibbled (but there was enough still for me), and having left along, look what appeared! These moths appear in June and really are a true gem. The wonderful thing with herbs is they’re so simple to grow and you don’t even need a garden, so you can get edibles and nature in one hit. Kew has a great book on growing all many of wonderful herbs.
JUNE 4
British summertime really is butterfly season, and many species have munched their way through breakfast, lunch and dinner during spring and are now emerging. This lovely meadow brown was spotted on the farm this time last year, and added to our biodiversity list. Interestingly, butterflies are yet to emerge in great quantities at the farm, so I’m keen to do another survey and hopefully will discover numbers continue to thrive.
JUNE 5
Sometimes the wildflower meadow isn’t necessarily about the open daisies and neon ragged robin, but the softer flowering grasses too. This variety I particularly love - a blush of pink which billows softly in the breeze and just looks lovely.
June 6
An ongoing wildlife challenge is planting our new wood. Sadly, we’ve had a bit of a fail; lockdown & spring drought means a large percentage of trees died. Still, you win some, you lose some. We shall try again this autumn on this 2.5acre site.