Lucy McRobert: 365 Days Wild

Last month, you may have noticed something very special happening across the UK. Around 400,000 people were, quite literally, going wild. No, this didn’t involve big parties and loud music (although plenty of people were caught making their own elderflower gin). It was The Wildlife Trusts’ 30 Days Wild campaign, which takes place every June. Put simply, The Wildlife Trust asks you to perform a Random Act of Wildness every day, for thirty days.

It’s a bit like Movember, but without the facial hair. Instead, all we ask is that you create a little bit of room for nature every day. Simple? Yes. Brilliant? Absolutely. And it’s guaranteed to make you feel happier and healthier.

This year was a record-breaking year. Over 78,000 people signed up across families, businesses, care homes and schools. If you took the time to add up all those individuals, that’s as many as 400,000 people taking part! The campaign caused loads of people to share what they were doing online too, and that’s resulted in #30DaysWild being used over 100,000 times on Twitter and Instagram.

30 Days Wild has been running for five years now. For the first four years of this, I helped to manage the campaign whilst in my role at The Wildlife Trusts; this year, I’ve been off work on maternity leave with my new little bundle of joy, Georgiana. This meant that instead of sitting behind my desk watching everyone else have all the fun, we were out in nature (almost) every day. And to add more excitement to the campaign, my first book, 365 Days Wild was published back in May by William Collins.

30 Days Wild has been hugely successful right from the start, but it’s always such a shame when June comes to an end. This led me to question, well what next? Once you’ve exposed yourself to a life in nature, and spent a month building a little bit of wild into your daily routine, you won’t want it to stop (believe me). That’s where 365 Days Wild came in. The incentive of the book was to pull together all the inspiring Random Acts of Wildness that I saw people doing every single day, along with lots of ideas for the other seasons, too. Most of the ideas contained in the book are suitable for kids and families, but absolutely all of them are suitable for adults: from making your own blackberry vodka to jumping in muddy puddles, my book gives you permission to unleash your inner wild.

Last month, Georgiana and I shared some great wildlife adventures. We went hunting for butterflies, identified orchids, fed house sparrows by hand and admired sand martin chicks. I also treated myself to some wild mint mojitos, whipped up a natural rhubarb fool, changed my skincare routine to be as plastic free as possible, and went on a fair few wild runs.

And we don’t plan to stop there. Georgie and I are going to be turning 30 Days Wild into 365 Days Wild. Using inspiration from my book (which I wrote when I was pregnant, so I have to keep reminding myself of what’s in it), we’re going to be doing something wild every day, for a whole year. Yes, we’ll miss a few days I’m sure, but that’s okay, because our aim is to transform our wild month campaign into a of way life. We’re going to do some wild baking, get crafty outside, learn all about wildlife in the UK, listen to birdsong, and hopefully make some positive steps to help nature, too.

Nature is in trouble. We’ve seen a 56% decline in our wildlife. By making a few little changes – a spot of wildlife gardening, ditching single-use plastics, supporting campaigns and making eco-friendly consumer choices to name a few – we can all help to make things better.

This is just a taster of what’s in the book. You can read more about Random Acts of Wildness and find out all about The Wildlife Trusts, including how you can support them, here.

I believe that a wild life is a happier, healthier life, and that we can all benefit from more time spent in nature. 365 Days Wild will help you get started on your very own wild adventure. You’ll feel better for being closer to nature and you can give it a helping hand, too. Wildlife and wild places are much closer than you think, so have a fabulous time finding your own wild life!

You can follow all our Random Acts of Wildness on Instagram @wildlylucy.

Photo by Molly Martin