30 Days Wild: Day Three – Go Wild With Friends

Today,  I woke up with plans to take bin bags with me on a canal walk and clear up a litter-strewn area along the canal that that has been nagging at me.

However, after watering and taking photos of my window-garden, I received a text from a friend inviting me to a BBQ. The sun was shining, we were long overdue a catch up and I had a block of halloumi in the fridge (and fond memories of my last BBQ halloumi experience) so it seemed only right to say yes. (I will still be going litter picking though – the thought of the wildlife getting hurt nags at me).

Of course, the BBQ gave me the chance to go wild with friends. I filled a basket with flower seeds, a toy dinosaur (for dinosaur garden making) and some crafting supplies, for my friends to share with their children, and set off with my partner (after uploading some #30DaysWild photos to Instagram (@GrowEatGift) and liking as many photos as I could on the tag to help it trend).

We arrived to smiles and a pleasantly manageable amount of people, including some of my favourite children.

I told them about 30 Days Wild, and learned one of them wanted to be an environmentalist, ‘not a nature TV presenter because, they just smile, flip their hair and point at animals.’ (Though David Attenborough got approval.)

I took photos of their cuddly dog sniffing the flowers, and had a lovely chat with a junior writer who has a great idea for an environmentally themed book, ‘because the world is in trouble’. I promised I’d help her edit it, after reading through her rapidly written, impressively structured synopsis. If children ran the world, I suspect nature would be treated with a lot more respect…

I also had a lovely chat with a friend who told me about an upcoming Fruit Routes event, which includes guided foraging, food and general nature fun – now added to my diary.

The company and food were brilliant but I couldn’t help sneaking off for a while to take some photos of my friend’s beautiful garden.

I saw some lovely flowers to photograph for #Rainbowblooms tomorrow – join in and share your rainbow coloured flower photos from 11am (starting with red photos, and moving through the colours of the rainbow each hour).

The skies were full of wonderful clouds.

I found a flower that looked like a bug.

There were happy bees to watch.

It was a blissful afternoon full of creativity, stimulating conversation and beautiful things to see (and eat).

When I got home, I checked in on Twitter and retweeted as many people as I could using the #30DaysWild tag, and followed more people who are taking part. I love the way my timeline is becoming filled with more nature magic every hour (and almost minute!)

I also read a fascinating research paper on the benefits of nature, that I’d strongly recommend reading. I’m a total nature geek,  particularly when it comes to the interconnect with health, happiness, creativity and overall wellbeing. Please do let me know of any great academic papers in the comments, or share them with me on Twitter.

The sunshine made me feel alive, the companionship made me feel warm and, though I ached a little by the end of the day, I was relaxed, happy and excited about tomorrow’s wild adventures…

Random Acts of Wildness So Far…

1. Spread the word.
2. Start a weather/pain diary.
3. Look at the clouds.
4. Photograph wildflowers.
5. Look for urban nature.
6. ID a butterfly.
7. Find a fledgling.
8. Feed a swan.
9. Collect feathers.
10. Stake out a foraging site.
11. ID birdsong.
12. Tweet using the #30DaysWild hashtag.
13. Plant a virtual seed.
14. See new life growing.
15. Feed the ducks.
16. Protect an animal from a predator.
17. Reflect on nature.
18. Look closely at your lawn.
19. Make someone a nature hamper from recycled materials.
20. Share nature photos using #30DaysWild on Instagram (and help the hashtag trend).
21. Show your houseplants some love.
22. Tell friends about #30DaysWild.
23. Talk to a junior naturalist and encourage their creativity.
24. Photograph a favourite cuddly toy in nature.
25. Add a nature event to your diary.
26. Look closely at a friend’s garden.
27. Take photos for #Rainbowblooms.
28. Find a plant that looks like a bug.
29. Watch a bee.
30. Read a nature-based research paper.