Inspiration For Random Acts of Kindness to Nature
Published on 07 December 2023
Our first act of kindness was to help the insects and small creatures. We sprinkled wildflower seeds along an empty patch of grass. A lovely mix of the beautiful blue cornflower, classic Chamomile, bright Marigolds and deep red Poppies. A vibrant colour pallet provides a rich and diverse food source to help attract wildlife. We bought a selection of wildflower seed packets from our local garden centre. These were about £1.50 a bag. Super cheap and easy to do.
After leaving the grassy verge of freshly sprinkled wild-flower seed and saying lots of lovely kind words and our fingers crossed! ‘We hope they grow.’ We went on our way to our next spot…
On our way to the river, our next act of kindness was to litter pick! We grabbed our litter pickers and rubbish bag and started picking! Everything we could see from plastic bags, glass bottles and cans, you name it, went into the rubbish bag. We then took our full bag to the recycling bin to be correctly disposed of. It felt super good to help clean up our beloved natural habitat.
We bought our litter pickers from the local garden centre in the hardware department, super cheap and easy to use. Next time you’re out and about for a walk, take your little picker and bag. Take a friend and enjoy it. Remember to recycle afterwards.
When we got to the river we were welcomed by the swans and ducks. Eager to say hello, we took our specialised swan and duck feed out of our bag and threw our feathered friends a handful of food. They absolutely loved it! The swans as always, are elegant and sophisticated, and the ducks are always so jolly. We were joined by Moorhens and some gulls after some of the treats. The more the merrier!
We bought the special swan and duck feed from the local garden centre in the bird food department. Feeding the birds is always a joy, especially this time of the year when food is scarcer.
Other food that is safe to feed them could be sweetcorn, lettuce, frozen peas, oats, seeds and rice.
Our next act of kindness was to feed the hedgehogs. These creatures are in decline. We must help them out as much as we can. We bought some specialised hedgehog food and placed it out with a bowl of fresh water. These beauties will be waking up from their hibernation around now. They will be hungry!
Remember hedgehogs are allergic to milk, and also if you see a hedgehog out in the day this is not normal, so help them out and take them to your local wildlife rescue centre to have a medical check, as they may be poorly.
More acts of kindness were to give a cosy safe home to little insects and minibeasts. We wanted to find the perfect spot for our insect houses. After careful consideration, we decided the perfect place was amongst the trees and bushes in the local woodland garden. A calm tranquil space. Perfect!
You can buy insect houses easily from local garden centres and hardware stores in their garden departments. Or you could recycle old tins and use natural foraged objects to make a cute home.
To top off the day we found a perfect tree to place our bird feeders. They are half coconuts filled with suet, nuts and seeds. They already come with a little rope, so super easy to hang. We have placed them near a tree by our window, so we can look out to see our beautiful, feathered friends when they visit.
We bought our bird feeders, but they are simple to make. Keep an eye out for future blog posts, and how we make them.
We had the best day giving back to nature. It was fun doing it together and felt so good! We hope we have inspired you with some ideas to help our beautiful natural world.
Just a little act of kindness can go a long way.