Inspire a generation

Ah, those unexpected moments in nature. Those glorious fleeting flashes which stick with you and bury deep down into your soul. A scurrying hedgehog emerges from the shadows on your walk home. The first time a Robin chooses YOUR new birdbath to have a splashy wash. Watching a young child’s face as they stare in amazement as a snail magically reveals itself from within its shell.

Encounters like these, where wildlife gives you a glimpse into their world, brighten your day and put a spring in your step. But they also build a desire to protect nature from the many threats it’s facing.

We know nature is in trouble. Everywhere we look the science and evidence is telling us much of our wildlife is in decline. In Europe alone around 600 million birds have disappeared from our skies in the last 40 years. The reasons are often complex, but a loss of habitat, a lack of food and the effects of climate change are all playing their part. To halt and start to reverse many of these threats will take years and in many cases decades. The fight for nature we’re leading now will need a new generation of nature savers to follow.

This is where the Wild Challenge Award comes in. We know that building a love and connection to nature is vital if we’re going to inspire the next Sir David Attenborough, Greta Thunberg or Chris Packham. To help do this, we have put together a heap of activities designed for families to have a go at regardless of where you live or your previous experience of getting hands on for nature.

Fancy going on a bug safari, a fabulous fungi hunt, or making a hedgehog cafe? Or how about a spot of wild weather watching, or a wild miles count? Or maybe branch out and have a go at learning how to tell our many trees apart? It doesn’t matter if you’ve never done anything like this before, the activities all come with simple instructions to guide and support you on your way.

For two of the activities, we’ve teamed up with the LEGO group. With LEGO Minifigures as your guide, challenge yourself to complete the WOW activity, using the handy calendar to discover when to see some of the UK’s nature spectacles.

The second activity, Upcycle for Nature, shows you how to use everyday throw-away items to help nature in your outdoor space – from building butterfly feeders to an upcycled water feature.

Inspired to get stuck in? Great! You can sign up for free here. Once in, you can explore all the activities and find out more about the bronze, silver or gold awards you can get for completing a certain number of activities. All you have to do is submit photos, drawings or a piece of writing to show us your hard work. Each one completed takes you one step closer to the glittering gold.