Written by Jolyon Chesworth, head of engagement and community programmes

EVERY June, tens of thousands of people across the country pledge to get a little wilder every day as part of The Wildlife Trusts’ 30 Days Wild campaign, the UK’s biggest nature challenge.

Each day throughout the month, people take their breakfasts outside to eat while listening to the birds, turn gardens into bumblebee havens, and become much closer to nature.

This June has been no different: over 110,000 people have been carrying out these random acts of wildness, and over 1,200 of them have been doing so in Somerset.

The purpose of all this is to encourage as many people as possible to seek out, appreciate, and value the nature around them.

Best of all, it is good for us, and there is now a wealth of research to demonstrate that connecting to nature can have a positive impact on our mental and physical health and wellbeing, helping us feel happier and healthier.

We also hope that by participating in 30 Days Wild and experiencing nature, more people will be encouraged to take action and help look after it.

As Sir David Attenborough has said, ‘no one will protect what they don’t care about and no one will care about what they have never experienced,’ and now, more than ever, we need people to give nature something back.

The UK is one of the most nature depleted countries in the world, and various species, from birds to butterflies, are declining in number.

Yet despite these worrying trends, each one of us can make a difference.

Studies have shown that if just one in four people take action, it can create a social tipping point that will encourage others to follow suit — so if you make your garden a little wilder and plant flowers for pollinators, others may join you, creating a movement of people all taking small actions in their day-to-day lives that can add up to big changes.

30 Days Wild is often the start of that nature connection journey, opening our eyes to what is around us, but it doesn’t matter what month it is — nature is not just for June.

We can usually spare a minute or two to listen to the birds or notice the plants sprouting from between cracks in the pavement.

If we all join in with 365 Days Wild, we will feel more connected to nature, which will encourage us to take action and help look after it.

For more information on how you can take action for nature in your community, please visit www.somersetwildlife.org