For Day 9 of 30 Days Wild, Faye, Wilder Communities Assistant, has been at the Suffolk Show Ground with some of our Wild Tots to search for invertebrates amongst the beautiful oxeye daisies.

Faye says, "The sun shone as we made our way through the oxeye daisies in search of sun-loving invertebrates. We used sweep nets, which are great for finding species in long grasses and wildflowers. We found grasshoppers, malachite beetles, ladybirds, and spiders, and observed bumblebees hard at work collecting nectar.

We also watched dragonflies and damselflies darting across the pond, chatted about stag beetles, and collected natural treasures to display on our rope mobile."

You can find out more about Wild Tots and book to join in here.

For Day 10, Sarah, our Head of Communications, photographed this poppy outside our office at Suffolk Wildlife Trust, using her phone.

We have some fantastic wildlife photography events coming up across the county. Find out more here.

On Day 11, Youth Board member, Lydia, admired a beetle found in her garden.

Lydia said “While I was having a barbecue on a sunny day, I spotted a beetle on the table. Later, I found out that it was a type of green weevil called Phyllobius maculicornis. This shows nature is all around us, and even stepping into our back gardens can be a wild thing to do.”

For Day 12, Alex, our Planning and Advocacy Officer, set up a moth trap in his garden and recorded 22 species of moth in his garden, including a lime hawkmoth, a dark arches, a buff-tip moth, and scorched wing among others .

Alex says “all species were caught last night, in a suburban garden, using a Skinner trap with two 15w Actinic Tube lights – this is least intrusive for my neighbours but still attracts reasonable numbers and doesn’t hurt the moths, they fly into the trap and rest on old egg boxes that are used to line it. Moth trapping is a great way to see a vast diversity of insects, all related to butterflies – there are around 2500 UK moth species and only 60 butterflies.”

On Day 13 our Wilder Communities Manager up cycled different items in the garden to build a dustbin lid pond. Lucy said, “With all the hot weather we’ve been having (finally, the jumpers can come off) I decided to build another pond in the garden for wildlife to drink from and cool down in. I’ve created several different ponds in the garden, from bucket ponds, to slightly larger ones out of old planters, and now this pond made from an old dustbin lid.

"Making a cool space for wildlife, and providing water is one of the best things you can do for wildlife, and the resources you use don’t need to be fancy. Wildlife can thrive in ponds made from buckets, old dishes, trays, tubs and of course if you have the space, you can always dig in a much larger pond.

"I’ve used an old dustbin lid today which will be much shallower for wildlife than my bucket ponds, and hopefully be a good space for bird species that like to live life lower to the ground to bathe and drink from, and also a space where invertebrates can perch and drink."

For Day 14 our youth board member, James, has been identifying the wildflowers that grow on his walk to school. Here he shares some advice to help you learn more about the wildlife in your local area!

James says “I have found it really fun finding and remembering the places of interesting wildflowers and potentially planted ones that grow on my way to school. I think people should join 30 days wild as it can bring your maybe quite hidden passion for nature to account, as you fill in the online calendar and do the activities.”

On Day 15, I was admiring the roses in my garden when I came face to face with a cockchafer! Cockchafers have many names, including billy witch, snartlegog and midsummer dor. You can find out more about this fascinating little creature and its wide range of names here.

For Day 16 our Youth Board member, Evie, took a photo of a bank of beautiful oxeye daisies growing near her school.

Evie says “Did you know oxeye daisies are also known as dog daisies, horse daisies, moon daises or moonpennies? Moon daises or moonpennies seems appropriate because these bright flowers appear to glow in amongst the grass on summer evenings.

“Research shows that taking time to notice nature every day makes us happier and healthier and because we feel more connected to nature, we are more likely to care for it. What wildflowers can you spot on your way to school, college or work? Could you leave the grass to grow long in your garden? You never know, you might see some moon daisies of your own!”

On Day 17, Sarah, our Head of Communications, found some beautiful mullien moth caterpillars!

Sarah says “My aim today was to take a closer look at some of the plants in the garden here at Brooke House. It didn’t take me long to spot some amazing mullein moth caterpillars feeding on the food plant they share their name with - mullein (Verbascum). The adults are nowhere near as brightly coloured as the caterpillars. The brown and buff-coloured moths sport a punky ‘hairdo’ and are brilliantly camouflaged to look like dried plant stems.”

On Day 18, Graham Hart, our Conservation Advisor, had a close encounter with a Nightjar churring near West Stowe. Listen carefully to hear this amazing sound!

Meanwhile, at Foxburrow Nature Reserve, Emma Keeble, our Engagement Officer, camped under the stars with our forest school trainees. She said "What a way to start the day on the Big Wild Weekend: waking up in a hammock under the trees to a Birdsong serenade. We had 14 of us kipping out under the stars last night, an experience we love to offer our forest school trainees as many haven't experienced it before. A breakfast of freshly foraged elderflower fritters and berry compot soon set us up for a day of identification, crafting, spoon making and nettle string!"

Our forest school training will run again in August, so if this sounds like something you would like to get involved with, find out more here. 

We have two whole weeks of wildness left. But it's still not too late to get involved! You can follow our daily random acts of wildness on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram and don't forget to tag us so we can see how you are spending 30 Days Wild!