On Day 22, our Conservation Advisor Susan looks at white bryony, Bryonia dioica, growing in her garden. 

Susan writes “Though generally considered as a ‘weed’ in most gardens, I am always in awe of the amazing structural adaptations of this scrambling climber and the extraordinary beauty of the flowers close-up, so I allow some to grow in a few places in my garden. 

Highly poisonous, white bryony is something of a ‘femme-fatale’ of the garden - climbing rapidly up into the light through shrubs and plant stems. Its stretching tendrils launch into mid-air, until they meet something to clasp then form a tight spring-like grip. Though called white bryony, the flowers are a range of delicate greens with yellow stamens to lure in pollinators. 

In autumn, the stems wither back, but retain their hold, lacing supporting stems with strings of red berries.”  

Then, for Day 23, Faye our learning intern took some time out for mindfulness. “I’ve been admiring the perfectly blue sky through gaps in the leaf canopy on the beach at Lower Holbrook. This provided some time for mindfulness as I listened to the wind in the trees.” 

Spending time in nature has been proven to have a really positive influence on our mental health. So why not let your random act of wildness today be one of mindfulness.  

On Day 24, Sarah, our Head of Communications, spotted an amazing sand wasp in her garden.

She writes “This amazing thin-bodied wasp catches large, hairless caterpillars. It paralyses the caterpillar and takes it into a burrow dug in sandy soils. It then lays an egg in the caterpillar. The larva devours the hapless caterpillar as it grows - it’s a bit gruesome, but amazing.” 

On Day 25, Jane, our Digital Communications Officer, showed me the amazing square stems of the mint family - something I had never noticed before! 

On day 26, Lucy, our Wilder Communities Manager, upcycled some old bottles to help keep the plants watered.

She writes "It can sometimes be difficult to keep plants watered in this heat and when there’s little rain, but using old bottles can help to slowly water plants and it can save water compared to other ways of watering.

Using small glass bottles slowly distributes water and also gets another use out of the bottles (big bottles flush water out too quickly, smaller ones work much better)."

For Day 27, Faye, our learning intern, was admiring the different shades of lichen and moss on fallen branches, in Crag Pit at Foxburrow. “I love its textures and how vibrant the colours are in the sunshine. Lichen and moss really interest me, so I am looking forward to finding out more about them!”  

Katherine, our learning intern, made some Zines for day 28. She writes “Zines are small booklets that can be made by drawing, collaging and writing. They're a great way to spread a message about an important issue, as you can photocopy your zine to make multiple copies to give to others.  

I work in Ipswich and sometimes litter can be a real problem in the parks and other green spaces, so I've made a zine to remind people about the importance of taking their litter home with them, instead of leaving it to take over natural habitats. I made my zine with old wildlife watch magazines to recycle them!” 

Day 29 was an especially exciting day, as Lucy (our Wilder Communities Manager) and I accompanied Youth Board members, Megan and Charlie, to 10 Downing Street in London. 

We joined The Wildlife Trusts to hand in over 60,000 signatures for the Environment Act targets campaign, to demanded more ambitious nature targets that offer better protection for our wildlife.

We are also joined by delegates from other Wildlife Trust’s Youth Boards and Ambassador groups such as London Wildlife Trust, Warwickshire Wildlife Trust, Lancashire Wildlife Trust and Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust. To top it all off, we were thrilled that Mya- Rose Craig (aka Bird Girl) also joined us on the day, showing her support. What an amazing day! 
 

On Day 30 (our final day of 30 Days Wild), our communications team took a trip to Church Farm, and was given a fantastic tour by our Warden, Jamie. Church Farm really is a beautiful site, even on a grey day, and we saw so many four-spotted chaser (Libellula quadrimaculata) dragonflies! A perfect end to another fabulous season of 30 Days Wild.

Thank big you to everyone who signed up and took part in this year's 30 Days Wild challenge. I have loved seeing your random acts of wildness on social media! 

However, just because 30 Days Wild is over, doesn't mean the rest of your year can't be wild. Why not visit our #TeamWilder pages for inspiration, and take action for nature today! 

Visit our Team Wilder pages today!