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30 Days Wild: Let your inner child go wild this June

Child with muddy wellies (C) Abbie Hall

Abbie Hall, Communications Officer, reflects on childhood nature memories and the ways we can revive them with 30 Days Wild.

As much as I don’t want to wish the days away, I can’t help but look forward to June. June feels different. The light lingers, bees buzz around garden, swifts soar overhead (if you’re lucky!) and wildflowers push through cracks in the pavement.

We’re inviting you to notice it all with 30 Days Wild, the UK’s biggest nature challenge. This June, choose one wild thing a day (or just a few each week) from giving nature a helping hand to simply noticing the wild on your doorstep.

Having a young daughter has definitely helped me slow down and notice the little nature moments more. The way she marvels at an ant crawling along her slide in the garden, or stops to smell all the flowers we pass on our walk to the shops, reminds me of the way your senses feel so immersed in nature as a child.

Wild garlic in flower

Wild garlic/Ramsons {Allium ursinum} in flower, woodland, Cornwall, UK. May 2012. - Ross Hoddinott/2020VISION

One of my earliest memories of nature is driving to Tenby on a family day trip and passing so much wild garlic that the smell infiltrated the car. We tended to go on a day trip to Tenby at least once a year, I always looked forward to it, and this sea of wild garlic (and the smell which came with it) became a more vivid indicator of us nearly being there than spotting the actual sea! So even now there's a part of me that still gets excited when I smell wild garlic, because it makes me think something exciting is about to happen.

When I asked Beth, our Volunteer Manager, what her earliest nature memory was, hers was floral too:

Two red poppies in bloom

WildNet - Gemma de Gouveia

“When I was a young child, I was out in the garden with my mum - pottering around and looking at the flowers. My mum called me over to her, where there was a great big poppy bud that was just about to bloom. 

“As the sun shone more brightly, the bud started to unfurl, and we sat watching the beautiful red flower show itself. It was the first time I had seen a bud change to a flower before my eyes, and the crinkly floppy brand-new petals captivated us.”

Steph, our Individual Giving Manager, had memories of wildlife making its home in her childhood garden:

Common Frog C. Stu Bown

Common Frog C. Stu Bown

“I vividly remember my dad using an old small sink from a bathroom renovation to make a small wildlife pond. As our next-door neighbour had a large pond we had tadpoles and frogs quickly and I can remember racing to the bottom of the garden each day to check on their progress. I was equally delighted and terrified when we had to rescue the ones that managed to hop into the paddling pool that summer!”

I can’t help but wonder what my daughter’s early nature memories will be! 

Brimstone Butterfly on Dandelion, Dundry Slopes, (c) Alex Dommett

Brimstone Butterfly on Dandelion, Dundry Slopes, (c) Alex Dommett

One of the easiest ways you can take part in 30 Days Wild this year would be to carry on the good work on No Mow May, by striding into Let It Bloom June! Leaving a part of your green space to grow wild is one of the simplest ways you can take a positive action for nature, providing food and shelter for insects, in turn supporting our feathered friends and mammalian (or even mustelid) mates. Be a grower, not a mower!

You can sign up today for the 30 Days Wild challenge and receive your free pack in the post and by email. Join thousands of people connecting with nature, feeling better and making a difference for local wildlife.

Sign up to 30 Days Wild

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