Explore Nature with 30 Days Wild by The Wildlife Trusts

If you are looking to get active this June and encourage your children to explore nature, sign up for 30 Days Wild! This challenge is a great way to bring fun into your everyday plans while teaching your child about the world around them.

In this blog, we have come up with a few ideas to help you and the family get outside and create some wonderful memories.

What is 30 Days Wild?

30 Days Wild is the UK’s biggest nature challenge over the month of June, organised by The Wildlife Trusts. This thrilling challenge encourage families to connect with the great outdoors and nature by taking part in one “wild” task or adventure each day throughout the month.

This initiative began in 2015 and has become a popular activity amongst families with each passing year. When signing up, each account receives a free pack of inspiration and activities to help you plan your 30 days of wild adventures. This challenge is perfection for families, schools and even individuals looking to participate in something new!

Find out more details about the challenge and sign up for free at The Wildlife Trusts’ 30 Days Wild page.

Why Join 30 Days Wild with Your Child?

The 30 Days Wild challenge aligns with the Early Years Foundation Stage framework, which fosters a curiosity for children to learn about the world around them and supporting children’s development.

Outdoor play and activities have an impact on a child’s physical health, stimulates their cognitive development, and improves children’s emotional wellbeing. The benefits of an active 30-day challenge provides you and your family with endless fun, and despite the commitment seeming daunting, it will be worthwhile.

Discover benefits and ideas for outdoor play by visiting ‘Fun Outdoor Learning for Children.’ 

30 Days Wild Ideas

You don’t have to continuously take part in extravagant plans, sometimes simple plans will be just as effective. Here we some ideas for a variety of different categories to get you started, choose whichever plans suit your needs and preferences to make your 30 Days challenge unique to you.

Simple Ideas for 30 Days Wild

Plant a Wildflower Garden

Get busy with the kids and start planting some wildflowers in the garden. You can use a pot, flower bed, or set up an indoor planter. Children can learn about photosynthesis, the biology of plants and how plants transform from seeds into flowers. This is a great way to teach children about the importance of native wildflowers for wildlife and how insects such as bees and butterflies rely on these flowers. For more gardening guidance, check out our blog ‘Gardening for Kids’.

Walking Barefoot in Grass

Let the children run free and get messy by taking their shoes and socks off to experience nature directly by feeling the grass under their feet. This allows children to connect with their environment in the simplest of ways.

Listening to Birds or Insects

Take a moment to enjoy all the sounds of nature and listen out for birds and insects. This can be a fun way to play games where children can guess what birds or insects they hear whether walking through a forest or travelling through the park. This can be a great way to have fun and play an educational game.

30 Days Wild Activities for Rainy Days

Create a Nature Scrapbook

A great way to get creative is to collect a variety of natural items such as leaves, acorns, and flowers to create a scrapbook. This is a creative indoor activity for children to stay engaged with nature while expressing themselves through some artistic creations. For supplies, visit our arts and crafts collection.

Setup a Camera in the Garden

A fun activity filled with adventure would be setting up a camera in the garden (somewhere it can remain dry or covered) and have it film everything for 3 to 9 hours. After you have completed your film, watch the video on the TV with the kids to see how many different wildlife species you can spot. This is a wonderful way to educate kids about animal habitats while staying entertained on rainy days.

Create Animal or Nature Art

Encourage children to express themselves by drawing their favourite animal or plant. This can improve their observation skills by coping a picture or view that inspired them. Art can sometimes foster a love for the subject such as wildlife. To get started on some colouring fun, see our drawing sets.

Active Ideas for 30 Days Wild

Play with a Mud Kitchen

Get messy with a children’s Mud Kitchen, mix, swish, squash, cook and build with water, sand, and mud! Mud kitchens allow children to enjoy outdoor creative play with sand toys and natural materials. This summer kitchen is the ideal alternative to a sandbox where kids can make natural treats such as “sand cakes” or mini castle experiments.

Play Nature Scientist

Have your mini scientists create all kinds of plant experiments with the Nature Lab STEM kit. This is a fun and educational way to learn about nature while growing plants and having your child create their own rainforest scenes. This kit also offers scavenger hunt sheets to take the fun outdoors and go on an explorer’s adventure.

Build a Den

Gather a variety of materials from your garden or local park such as leaves, sticks, damp wood and natural materials to create a den. Or go big by planning a DIY project for a snug den for the kids to enjoy! This promotes problem-solving skills, planning and organisation skills, and most importantly, creativity. For ideas on creating a den, visit our blog ‘Creating Garden Dens’.

30 Days Wild Ideas to Make the Most of the Sun

Cycle Through a Forest

With the weather on your side, it is the perfect time to set up a route through your local forest or park. Enjoy cycling with the family and witness all the views nature has to offer. Stop at peaceful viewpoints to discuss wildlife or take pictures of birds that the kids find intriguing. This is a wonderful way to make the most out of summer with the kids. Check out our kids bikes collection.

Make a Daisy Chain

A classic activity for many, making daisy chains involves little technique with a whole heap of fun. Children can create bracelets, rings, necklaces, or even daisy crowns to wear on a sunny day. Promoting children’s creativity and hand-eye coordination as they pick out the perfect daisies for their accessory creations.

Litter Pick

Help clean up your local park, beach, or area and teach children about the importance of taking care of our environment. With litter leaving plenty of hazards for animals to choke on or harm themselves with, this is a great way to teach children responsibility and care for wildlife.

Crafty Ideas for 30 Days Wild

Make a Bug Hotel

Get crafty with the kids and create a bug hotel for all the creepy crawlies in the garden. Create a safe habitat for insects to thrive in and call home using natural resources and materials. This can be a fun, hands-on project that helps children learn about different bugs and their roles in the ecosystem. You can make a small cosy habitat or make a large, combined hotel for a variety of insects to share. For instructions and ideas, visit ‘How to Create a Bug Hotel’.

Make a Photo Collage

Encourage the children to pick up some nature magazines from the local supermarket or corner shop and cut out their favourite scenes or insects to create a vibrant collage on a canvas. To make the piece even more authentic look at spending the morning taking your own photos whilst on a walk, fostering a sense of ownership, personalisation, and creativity for little ones to enjoy and build a project around.

Big Adventures for 30 Days Wild

Go Camping

Spend a night under the stars, alongside wildlife, and immerse yourself in nature with an exciting night of camping! Get your tents and sleeping bags ready and have a wild adventure with the children. For tips on family camping trips, read our blog ‘Camping with Kids: Tips for Family Adventures’.

Try Rock Pooling

If you live near a coast, or are happy to go on a family field day trip, why not explore rock pools in the UK? Discover all kinds of marine life and teach the children about life under water and see a wide range of organisms that live on our seashores. This is a traditional summertime activity for families in the UK, discover shore crabs, anemones, whelks and even periwinkles!

Go Hiking

Unplug from technology and enjoy the great outdoors by following a hiking trail in the UK with the family. This is a great way to be active while taking on a big adventure. Children will learn lessons from perseverance, to patience, to resilience as some hiking journeys are a little more challenging than others. Ensure you research your trail, and it is suitable for young children depending on their age and physical ability.

The 30 Days Wild adventure can spark an endless interest in the outdoors and nature, helping children understand and appreciate the world around them and everything it has to offer. For more outdoor fun, visit our garden games and toys collection.

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