The RSPB: Giving nature a home

As anyone knows who regularly follows this blog I'm a big fan of nature and the natural world. Its beautiful and precious, not only in its only right but also in the way its fate and ours are in inextricably bound. Its for this reason (and to escape from the tedium of an office based role) that I decided to start volunteering for the RSPB.

The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds was set up in 1889 as a way to promote the conservation of birds and the environment they live in. More recently the RSPB has expanded its focus to including all wildlife, for the simple reason that our environment and wildlife is so interconnected.

As such I started volunteering around Cardiff with a project designed to promote the idea of more children and adults coming directly contact with the natural world. This could include activities such children creating bird feeders made from vegetable fat and seeds to hang in their garden (a simple activity that can make a real difference to birds in winter). To directing people to simple nature based activities around Cardiff (such as a local flock of Pied Wagtails that have taken up residence in the trees on Cardiff high street come dark). Or even guided nature walks or spotting activities for children where we use sweep nets to show the types of creepy crawlies that kids love to see.

This type of work is important, as a recent study by the RSPB showed that just one in five children was found to be connecting to nature in a realistically achievable manner. Now you might be there thinking so what? But the fact is that for quite a few years now nature and wildlife has been in quite a serious decline and by educating future generations (and getting them enthusiastic about getting outdoors) we may be able slow or even halt this frightening development.

So if your reading this you might be thinking well what can I do right now to help? Well there are a number of simple steps that the RSPB recommend that you can do to help nature right from the comfort of your back garden. Why not start feeding birds during the harder winter months (although remember to clean the feeder regularly to stop the spread of lethal diseases), invest in a pond with shallow edges, plant trees and shrubs (particularly ones that provide fruit in the garden), made dead wood piles and when mowing the garden raise the high of the mower to provide more of a home for insects.

There are many ways for you to help nature and by taking practical steps and supporting charities like the RSPB you can make a real difference in to the natural world.

I've included some links to the RSPB website below with more hints and tip for giving nature a home.

https://homes.rspb.org.uk/page/projects