30 Ways to Have a Wild Night

Nature is as beautiful at night as it is in the daytime yet it’s all too easy to miss it. Here are a few ways to make the most of nature at night.

Watch the sun set.
Drink home-made elderberry port.
Go moth-spotting.
Go camping.
Cook over a fire – or just tell stories around one.
Go to a night time nature event: there are more around than you might think.
Stargaze – and learn the constellations one by one (and learn how to identify planets).
Bat watch.
Photograph flowers – they look much more Gothic by night.
Go on a ‘wild date’ with a partner: don’t forget to take candles (and a lantern to protect the flame: pocket chess board or Scrabble optional).
Create a night time nature scavenger hunt.
Sleep in a treehouse.
Make shadow puppet animals on the wall.
Go on a wild sleepout.
Feed the hedgehogs.
Water your plants (they prefer being watered at night).
Go on a torchlit mini-beast safari.
Set up an infared webcab to watch wildlife.
See how many wildlife calls you can identify.
Try orienteering using a compass and the stars (with a friend!)
Have a midnight picnic outdoors. Take a fire bucket if it’s cold (but only have fires in places a spark won’t cause nature any problems.)
Admire the reflections in the water.
Take a moonlit stroll with a loved one.
Learn the phases of the moon, and work out what stage it is at.
Listen to the dawn chorus.
Lie on the ground in the early hours, while the dew still beads the grass.
Watch sunrise.
Read a nature book in bed.
Listen to a nature CD as you drift off to sleep.
Dream of your favourite nature spot.

For more ideas, buy my book Go Wild: Over 200 Ways to Connect With Nature. It includes money-saving tips and research on the health benefits of nature, along with fun ways to make the most of the world around you. I am donating all June profits from the book to the Wildlife Trusts. You can make your own donation to The Wildlife Trusts here.