30 Days Wild: One wild thing, every day throughout June 

30 May 2023

Can Friends of the Award – young people on activities, staff, Trustees, volunteers, partners – do one wild thing every day for an entire month? 

30 Days Wild is The Wildlife Trusts’ annual challenge which asks everyone to do one wild thing a day throughout the month of June. It has over 100,000 sign-ups so far for 2023, including Friends of the Award. Last year saw over 16 million acts of wildness; the most popular activities were wildlife-watching, eating outdoors, planting wildflower seeds and listening to birdsong.    

In 2020, a five-year review of 30 Days Wild participants, run in conjunction with the University of Derby, found that people reported they felt happier and healthier from taking part, with positive effects lasting for at least two months afterwards. “This evaluation shows the positive power of simple engagement with nature” says Professor Miles Richardson, Professor of Human Factors and Nature Connectedness. “Doing simple things to enjoy everyday nature can bring considerable benefits. What really stood out was how the people who didn’t feel a connection with nature at the outset were the ones who benefitted most from taking part in 30 Days Wild.” 

We’ll be catching and sharing things from DofE Expedition encounters to lunchtime dips into Water of Leith wildlife. Add your own to the mix. On social media, tag @FOTA and use #30DaysWild and #AwardsPlus. Email Dan.Jones@fota.org.uk with a summary sentence. And watch this space…