If you love nature and wildlife, and want to discover more about wetlands in particular, please take a stroll around the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust’s website and especially their Discover Wetlands pages.

The Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust (WWT) is the UK’s leading wetland conservation charity.  And they are working "to create a world where healthy wetland nature thrives and enriches lives."

There’s lots to discover and learn about wetlands from their website and there are things to do, for all the family – and this is a great chance to boost your knowledge about vital wetlands and what they are and why they are so very important.  Sadly, they are often overlooked and seen as “wasteland” but they are critical for both wildlife and people and the good of us all.

Amongst the  things to do, you’ll find a series of Make it videos.  They are all short in length and easy to follow, and they give you lots of ways to encourage wildlife to your garden so that you can help all garden wildlife. 

Make it with help from the WWT - they have got some great videos to help you!

The WWV videos show you how to make things such as...

• A mini pond
• A toad hall
• A LEGO bird table
• A bird feeder
• Yoru own binoculars
• A bird hide
• A water cycle in a jar
• Your own t-shirt bag
• An upcycled bird feeder
• A bug hotel
• Eggy cress aniamls
• A nature star

They all come with an activity sheet in PDF format that you can download, too

The Discovery Wetlands pages also have quizzes you can do plus for teachers and parents (or I presume anyone who would like to do it), there’s a 12 week home-learning programme with everything you need to teach key science and geography topics at home!

Don’t forget that the WWT has a number of different wetland centres you can visit around the UK – you can find the one closest to you here.

Help our wetlands!  They need your support

Please, please may I urge you to respond to WWT's call to give the creations of wetlands our support? Wetlands Can is asking for all our support (signatures) for the creation of 100,000 hectares of healthy wetlands – including in urban areas – to help fight today’s wellbeing, climate and nature crises.

Find out more about Wetlands Can here

Pledge your support for Wetlands Can here

Images on this blog entry ©WWT

We have done lots of things to encourage wildlife into our garden in the last few years and we've been rewarded with lots of different species of birds.   We've also had a frog or two, and bees and butterflies, dragonflies and a couple of hedgehogs.  

Our neighbour is very good with identifying different types of birds and says he's spotted over 60 species of our feathered friends in the neighbourhood which is really good to hear.

Rewild your garden with tips from Springwatch

So far, in our garden we've....

• Put up a log pile (or more accurately, we've put a pile of logs in a quiet corner which the insects seem to like
• Put out a hedgehog house with a water bowl (also in a quiet corner so that the hedgehogs can have some peace)
• Stuck up a little bee house and a butterfly hotel
• Planted lots of flowers for wildlife - ones the bees and butterflies will LOVE!
• Put out two or three bird feeders
• Dug out a very small wildlife pond which we did in lockdown.  
• Let our garden overgrow in some parts and let the lawn grow, grow, grow

We love looking out of the window to see who is in the garden paying a visit and I'm sure there's more we can do to encourage the wildlife.  

Top 10 patio plants for bees

If you're looking for hints and tips, and ways to get started, a great place to start is the RHS website.  They have a particular section of the site for wildlife gardening and however much you have done already or want to do, there could be something there to spark off an idea or an activity.

Head off here to see their section on Wildlife Gardening.  Take it a step at a time;  it's the sort of thing you could do a step a month.

By the way, you could do something as simple as pot a plant for pollinators - just get a pot and stick some bee and/or butterfly friendly flowers in it.  All you need is the pot, soil, compost (and you can make your own) the seeds and a small space, so it's very easy to do.

Want to make a difference to wildlife?

One way to do this is to take part in surveys.   They give conservation charities a really good idea of what is happening across the country – so the more people who join in the better.  You don’t need to be an expert, just to take part.

Building up a picture of wildlife on our doorsteps help us tell if a species is in trouble and needs help.   For example, thousands of wildlife watchers have helped identify the loss of hedgehogs over 20 years.  Like the RSPB’s Big Garden Birdwatch, which has run for over 40 years now, surveys give a lot of local information which give great value to wildlife conservation because of the picture they build up.

It’s time for the PTES Living with Mammals Survey!

The 29^th March 2021 saw the launch of this year’s Living With Mammals survey.  All you need to do is to record the mammals you see every week and any signs they leave behind, such as footprints or droppings.

Spotting wild mammals, a PDF from the PTES
image © PTES

You can choose any green space to survey.

It could be a garden, an allotment, a local park or any other area that’s convenient to spend a little time in each week.   The site must be within 200 metres of a building.

You can share your photos online using #LivingwithMammals

PTES who run the survey aren’t asking people to survey public areas, but to survey in gardens and other private land.  If you’re not sure about whether to take part in surveys during COVID-19, check government guidelines and then decide if it is right and proper and safe for you to take part.

Register here (it’s free to do this and there’s the most gorgeous picture of a fox waiting for you)

Survey tips and hints are here such as when and where to look, tracking signs so you can work out who is who, a note on wildlife cameras and more.   Mammals are typically more active at sunrise and suntset.   Check walls, hedges, fences, grass verges and field margins – they all provide cover for mammals.

There are mammal fact files here.   Doing a survey is a great way to find out more about wildlife!

You can see the results of past surveys here – Living with Mammals started in 2003!

Visit the PTES website for more information

Give local wildlife their own wildlife corridors

PTES point out that connecting our gardens and patches of green such as grass verges and local parks enable animals to move between different features.  Make a CD sized hole in the bottom of a fence can really help them journey from one place to another – their own sort of motorway network, a wildlife corridor, if you like.  These can certainly help animals such as hedgehogs.   Visit Hedgehog Street, a campaign run by PTES and the British Hedgehog Preservation Society for more information..

Love donkeys and horses?   

If you do, just take a moment to imagine them walking mile after mile, every day. 

That’s the reality for many working horses, donkeys and mules who work tirelessly, around the world. 

The Brooke reach over 1.5 million working horses, donkeys and mules across Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Middle East and help them.  

If you do and want to do your bit to help them, please take a look at The Brooke's Step in their Shoes Challenge and take on the 100 mile challenge to raise essential funds to support the working animals they care for every day. 

The Brooke is asking us all to walk 100 miles (not in one go!) at some stage this year. 

There is no set time limit for the challenge;  you can do the 100 miles however you like – walking, wheeling, running or cycling, whatever!  If you have a dog, you could include your daily dog walking in your 100 miles!

Register, and a fundraising page will be set up for you - you just need then to share the link with your family and friends and ask for donations.  The Brooke is asking us to raise £100 or as much as you can. 

If you can't do the challenge, why not donate or sponsor someone? 

Visit Step in their Shoes' website here