I always promised myself that when I gave up 'work' I would join a local group and spend time giving something back to the community. This week I joined the Cheshire Wildlife Trust. I think this is such a worthwhile charity, perfect for all ages, that is doing some amazing work.
Since moving to Cheshire I have been acutely aware of the degree of new builds that are shooting up around the county. Whilst I understand we need additional housing I also believe we need to ensure we get the right balance between construction and preservation of habitat. I don't want my grandchildren to grow up in a concrete world, never having the joy of seeing hedgehogs in the garden or tortoiseshell butterflies because they have become extinct.
The Wildlife Trust have a number of projects that they are working on. Creating and preserving living landscapes, living rivers and wetlands and living seas by working on coastlines and estuaries. They have a fantastic website that you can spend a number of hours on reading about current projects, places to visit and how you can do your bit in preserving our wildlife. There are 46 wildlife trusts across the UK one in nearly every county so there will be one close enough to you to join. Head over to https://www.wildlifetrusts.org/support-us to find your nearest.
In June the trust is hosting a 30 days wild campaign which I have signed up to. It's a really fun thing to do and it's not too late to order your pack. Every day there is an action to take, something as simple as smell a flower on the way to work or the shops (when was the last time you actually did that?) to bigger things like giving up single use plastics for a month. The whole family or even neighbourhood can get involved.
I don't know why I felt I had to wait until I left work to join. I thought I would need lots of free time to take part in the activities and do my bit but that's not true at all. This week I have visited one of the many reserves that the trust have created and after reading up on their website on the habitat that live there, what would have been at one time for me just a walk in the country became a much better experience as I was more informed of what was going on around me and what to look out for.
As the weather is pretty dull today why not spend an hour or two on the Wildlife Trust website to see what's happening in your area. I promise you it will be time well spent.
Until next week..... Happy Sunday x
