More than 2,500 people have signed up to go wild for the 30 days of June with The Wildlife Trusts in the North West.
The national 30 Days Wild campaign aims to get tens of thousands of people to do something wild every day in June.
This ranges from Random Acts of Wildness, like walking into your garden and feeding the birds to more planned activities like climbing every tall hill in your area.
Campaigns Officer Alan Wright toured all 39 nature reserves in Lancashire, Manchester and North Merseyside in June last year. Alan said: “30 Days Wild is a great way for people, large and small, to get into the outdoors every day for a month.
“Families try to get out every day in June, to visit a park or a nature reserve. More active people get on their hiking boots or running shoes every day. The less active make sure they do a bit in their garden or pop down the park. And, obviously, getting outdoors and doing a bit of exercise is good for you too.”
In 2016 more than 1,000 people (and families) signed up to 30 Days Wild in the region and received action packs with lots of ideas of what they could do. This was one of the largest sign-up totals in the country.
Nationally this year more than 40,000 people have signed up for 30 Days Wild with 2,549 in the North West. Participants are encouraged to tell everyone about their activities on social media – on Twitter it passed a million Tweets in the first 20 days.
Alan said: “Last year was the first year and it was a huge success. It means people are getting out and seeing the wonderful wildlife in their area. I visited 39 nature reserves and saw something special on every one. I even managed to help some ducklings climb over a wall to be reunited with mum.
“Of course we are hoping that 30 Days Wild will just be the start of people getting out and enjoying the natural environment – learning about their local wildlife and just having good, healthy fun. I won’t say clean fun because we all love getting muddy too.”
To participate in 30 Days Wild go to www.lancswt.org.uk/30-days-wild or call 01772 324129. There are opportunities for schools, businesses and organisations to get involved.
Alan said: “Let’s get a bit of healthy competition going. Which is the wildest school, club or business? Let’s go wild.”
Connecting with the wild
Share your 30 Days Wild on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook using #30DaysWild
