30 Days Wild
“No one will protect what they don’t care about;
and no one will care about what they have never experienced.”
Sir David Attenborough
30 Days Wild
As part of the Wildlife Trusts #30DaysWild, we will be taking part in classroom activities throughout June. You can also join in at home by visiting the Wildlife Trusts website to get your activity pack at www.wildlifetrusts.org/30dayswild
What is 30 Days Wild?
30 Days Wild is a fun, feel-good challenge run by The Wildlife Trusts every June. Back for its eighth year in 2022, it brings people closer to nature where they live, taking small actions that can collectively have a big impact. From little things such as watching a bee from your window or feeding the birds, to giving up single-use plastics for a month or digging a pond in your garden: every Random Act of Wildness counts. If you want to see what others are getting up to, just check out #30DaysWild on social media.
Why take part?
While nature needs us more than ever, the reverse is also true. We’re all part of nature, and it should be a part of our lives. There is lots of evidence to show that people feel happier and healthier after taking part in nature based activities, something especially noticed in the recent pandemic. The benefits of being involved with our natural world has been researched by many specialists, including with the mental health sector. The following report by the Mental Health Foundation outlines why we should be more involved with wildlife for our own wellbeing www.mentalhealth.org.uk/sites/default/files/MHAW21_NATURE%20REPORT_ENG_web.pdf
Let’s not forget our local biodiversity
In our modern society, wildlife and the natural habitat around us is less obvious or important to our lifestyles. Most people only see the ‘greenery’ and don’t fully grasp the huge changes happening around us. The 2019 State of Nature Report showed that 44% of our native terrestrial and freshwater species have declined since the baseline study in 1970. Some of these declines have been catastrophic:
On average almost a 70% decline in the populations of mammals, birds, fish, reptiles and amphibians in the UK since 1970,
97% of the UK’s wildflower meadows have been destroyed over the last century,
Of 8,431 UK species that have been assessed 15% have been classified as threatened with extinction… that is 1264 species!
The UK is in the bottom 10% of countries across the world for biodiversity, with less than 50% of our native species surviving. It is vitally important that we address this detachment from our natural world and encourage people, especially our children to help protect the species we have left… before they are lost forever.
We can do that in a number of ways. At Hook Infant School, we are promoting natural and green initiatives via “Our Greener School” projects, such as recycling, Trailblazer outdoor learning, Wild Things club and Wilder Schools. See “Our Greener School” pages on our website www.hookinfants.co.uk/website/our_greener_school/557990 for more details and lots of extra activities in the Wild Things section.
We hope to make the ‘Green Heart of Hook’ a wilder place for all.