Giving Nature a Home by the RSPB
At Muddy Puddles, we’re big believers that childhood is better with a healthy dose of fresh air, muddy boots and outdoor adventures. Our friends at the RSPB share that passion, with a particular mission: helping children discover the wonderful wildlife living right on their doorstep.
And there’s plenty to discover! From robins hopping across the lawn to bees buzzing between flowers, our gardens, balconies, parks and green spaces can be bustling with life - if we give nature a helping hand. But before we get out the gardening gloves, there are some important numbers to know.
Our wildlife needs a helping hand
According to the State of Nature Report, 60% of UK wildlife has declined over the last 50 years. That’s a sobering statistic, and a reminder that nature needs all of us to do our bit. The good news? We don’t need a huge garden, a country estate or acres of land to make a difference. In fact, the RSPB highlights that 54% of urban England is green space, much of which is made up of our own gardens. That means our little patches of green can play an important role in providing food, shelter and places for wildlife to live. And this is where the RSPB’s Giving Nature a Home campaign comes in.
Give nature a home
The idea is wonderfully simple: make space for wildlife wherever you live, whatever space you have available. Have a garden? You could grow wildflowers, create a log pile or leave a little patch of grass to grow wild. Live in a flat? You could put up a bird feeder by a window or grow pollinator-friendly plants in pots. Have a bigger outdoor space? You could create a pond, plant a hedgerow or even turn part of a field into a wildflower meadow. There really is no such thing as a space that's too small. Every little wildlife-friendly corner can become part of something much bigger.
Get the kids involved
The best bit? Creating a home for wildlife is a brilliant family activity. Children can help sow seeds, plant flowers, build bug hotels and fill bird feeders. Once your wildlife-friendly space is ready, the real fun begins: watching to see who moves in! Keep a notebook beside the window and encourage little wildlife detectives to record what they see. How many different birds can they spot? Which insects visit the flowers? Can they find evidence of minibeasts hiding under logs or leaves? You could even make your own wildlife bingo card or spend an afternoon sitting quietly in the garden to see how many creatures you can spot. The more children notice the natural world, the more familiar and fascinating it becomes.
Find ideas for your own patch
Not sure where to begin? The RSPB’s Giving Nature a Home campaign can help you create a wildlife-friendly plan tailored to your own outdoor space. Pop in your postcode and a few details about your garden to discover ideas suited to where you live. You can also select the ‘Ideal for families’ option to find activities that are particularly well suited to getting children involved. There are ideas for all sorts of spaces and all sorts of families, whether you’ve got a tiny balcony, a suburban garden or a much larger patch of land. Thousands of people have already joined in, and you can explore their wildlife-friendly spaces on the RSPB’s map too.
Little actions can make a big difference
There’s something rather wonderful about watching a garden transform when you start thinking about it from a wildlife point of view. A patch of wildflowers becomes a café for hungry bees. A bird feeder becomes a breakfast stop. A pile of logs becomes a miniature woodland for creepy crawlies. Even a shallow dish of water can give thirsty wildlife somewhere to drink. And for children, these small changes can make wildlife feel much closer and more real. Instead of simply learning about nature from a book, they can see it happening right outside their door. So grab your little wildlife explorers, get your hands dirty and start making room for nature. You never know who might come to visit!
Give Nature a Home with the RSPB and discover how your family can help wildlife flourish, one little patch at a time.