New Year Nature challenges for improved wellbeing

Plast Off! litter pick - Radnorshire Wildlife Trust volunteers

It can be easy at this time of year to retreat into a cosy home or bury ourselves in work. Living through some of the shortest days of the year in challenging weather conditions can seem relentless sometimes (though - fingers crossed - we are promised a drier spell is on the cards for the rest of January 2024!) And winter weather conditions can definitely impact on our mental health. So, what can we do to renew, refresh and generally feel better about life at the start of 2024?

For some people, after the excesses of the festive season, it’s time to take on a new challenge

This could be changing or adapting our diet with a dip into Veganuary “for a greener planet, lower food bills, better health and kindness to animals”.

Giving up alcohol for January is also a popular option with Dry January encouraging growing numbers to go sober to start the new year “for a body and mind reset”. Others determined to improve both their physical health and emotional wellbeing opt for new exercise routines - perhaps they join a gym, try a new sport or sign up for online classes or the local weekly Parkrun.

Yet another option, and one we want to explore more here, is getting outdoors to appreciate and do our bit for Nature in this, our wonderful county of Powys!

Here are some activities, (along with details of helpful organisations), that can encourage just that, with the added benefit of social interaction in most cases for those that want to make new friends (or just meet up with family and friends to take part). Litter picking, bird watching and wildlife walking are all suitable too for those needing some space, perhaps time for themselves to recharge their batteries, after a busy or draining festive time - many people have to work through the winter break after all!

Plast Off! litter pick - Radnorshire Wildlife Trust - 13 January

Kick-start your New Year with a litter pick and do something positive for local wildlife! Join Radnorshire Wildlife Trust and the Lakeside Boathouse on Saturday 13th January in Llandrindod Wells anytime between 10am until 1pm. Free hot drinks will be provided for those taking part!

Plast Off! is a Wales wide event, organised by Stand for Nature Wales youth groups around the country. The aim is to remove plastic and other litter from the environment that could cause harm to our wildlife.

There is no need to book this event, just turn up! This event is in association with the Lakeside Boathouse.

More information HERE.

Big Garden Birdwatch from the RSPB - 26 - 28 January

Join the world’s largest garden wildlife survey!

Every year, hundreds of thousands of nature lovers take part, helping to build a picture of how garden birds are faring.

All you have to do is spend an hour watching the birds in your patch, between 26 and 28 January, and record the birds that land (so not those which just fly by). Then you can record your sightings on the RSPB website.

Last year half a million people took part in the Big Garden Birdwatch recording an amazing 9.1 million birds! House sparrow took the top spot. Which birds will you spot on your patch this year…?

More information HERE.

Wildlife walking - Winter Bird Walk in Builth Wells with South & West Wales Wildlife Trust - 10 February

A four hour walk from Builth Wells to spot resident and visiting winter birds with the County Recorder for Brecknock, Andrew King. With a mixture of habitats including the River Wye, woodland, and farmland there is a chance to see a wide variety of birds.

Please bring your own binoculars and wear warm wet weather gear and appropriate footwear. Also bring some snacks or lunch and a drink. Please note that dogs are not allowed on this walk.

More information and booking online (essential) HERE.

Nature reserve maintenance - local wildlife trusts, ongoing

Our local wildlife trusts are always on the lookout for keen volunteers to help look after the many and varied reserves in the county. What better way to keep fit, meet like-minded people and see some of the stunning wildlife we share this beautiful county of Powys with?

If you are interested then contact your nearest wildlife trust:

North Powys - Montgomeryshire Wildlife Trust

Mid Powys - Radnorshire Wildlife Trust

South Powys - Wildlife Trust of South & West Wales

Spring Clean Cymru with Keep Wales Tidy - 15 - 3 March

Spring Clean Cymru is part of the Great British Spring Clean, the nation’s biggest mass-action environmental campaign.

7,000 “litter heroes” collected more than 4,000 bags of litter and recycling last year!

“Keep Wales Tidy believe that everyone deserves to live in a community they can be proud of but according to UK figures, less than half of UK adults (43%) currently agree that they feel proud of their community.”

Litter picking is a simple action that anyone can do to make an immediate and visible difference to their area.

If you want to be one of the first to pledge your support, you can register your interest HERE. More information coming in February 2024!

These wonderful voluntary organisations have contributed a huge amount of energy and enthusiasm into organising these events - so let’s support them, wildlife and the environment, whilst at the same time boosting our own positive mental health. Whilst all these events are free, donations are welcomed.

Finally Happy New Year 2024 from everyone at PAVO’s mental health team! 

We’d love to hear more if you have ideas about getting outdoors in Nature, 

to help the local environment and boost your wellbeing. 

Let us know in the comments below.

Second Chances, New Horizons

Matt Clark (second from left), retiring Reserve Warden, Montgomeryshire Wildlife Trust

This week's guest post was first published in the latest edition of the Montgomeryshire Wildlife Trust News. Many thanks to the local wildlife charity for allowing us to republish here.

Volunteers are vital to the Trust’s work – we simply couldn’t do it without them! We are also grateful for the opportunity to make a real difference to people’s lives, as this letter from retiring reserve warden Matt Clark shows:

In February 2012 I had just been released from HMP Altcourse after serving 9 months for what I still class as a despicable crime of fraud and forgery. On returning home I was unable to go out without my parents for I lived in fear of retribution. I was diagnosed with manic depression and, as in prison, I was under the care of a mental health team due to attempts to take my own life.

In March 2012 the Montgomeryshire Volunteer Bureau suggested I try a visit to the Nurtured by Nature project at Severn Farm Pond. I went along in the first week of April and lasted all of 6 minutes. It was just too much for me - all those eyes looking at me and judging me, as I thought. But the following week I went again and stayed for the whole session. I started to attend unaccompanied and quickly realised that I wasn’t being judged at all, that one’s past can be left at the door. I was able to go there and share my interest in wildlife, under the leadership and later friendship of Mel. I was able to find my feet and in August of that year I was able to go to Tesco on my own to buy a paper - a huge achievement.

I worked at the pond for 3 years every Wednesday without fail. Whilst there I have learnt more about myself, have a better tolerance of people and have learnt how to build bug hotels, bird boxes, adapt habitats for the benefit of wildlife and learnt about wild flowers. My general knowledge has increased widely and I have built up the courage to join many other wildlife groups and Trusts. Over the time I spent at the project I was able to express myself, to tell my story and not be judged. Through the project I have met a chap from a completely different walk of life who has turned out to be a dear friend, something I would never have done before.

Prison strips you of everything - self-belief, self-respect and freedom. The project gave it all back to me as well as a sense of belonging. I was fortunate to be made warden of Severn Farm Pond which was a huge honour. To be given that chance in life to give something back was truly excellent. As a result of the self-confidence I have gained from the project I now run my own business, have been signed off by the mental health team and am starting a new adventure in my life.

If anyone gets an opportunity to join or work with MWT or at Severn Farm Pond then do it. It will change your life for the better, I guarantee it. As I have said before, Mel* and the project changed my life. The sessions at the reserve mean so much to the people that attend them. I’m sure I’m not the first and I won’t be the last to pass through the Nurtured by Nature project and be so much better for it.

Many thanks for Matt for sharing his story with a wider audience. Have you volunteered in conservation work? How has it impacted on your mental health? Tell us more in the comment box below.

*Mel Chandler is the MWT Community Partnerships Officer. She works with local community, voluntary and statutory agencies to develop outreach projects, such as Nurtured by Nature, which promote and connect people and the natural world. You can contact Mel to find out more by emailing mel@montwt.co.uk or ringing 01938 555654.

30 Days Wild 2016

A couple of months ago I decided to sign up to the Wildlife Trusts' 30 Days Wild Challenge which asks: "This June can you do something wild every day for a month?" 

The idea is that many of us are so busy with our every day lives that we often forget to connect with nature. And yet nature is around us all the time, whether we live in the town or the countryside there are trees, birds, wildflowers (sometimes called weeds!), creepy-crawlies and other creatures.

It is a well-established fact that being outdoors and close to nature is good for our mental and physical wellbeing. Rather ironic then that on 1 June, Day 1 of the challenge, I found myself indoors looking at fish and other amazing sea creatures! The lumpsuckers at Anglesey Sea Zoo, the lobsters, jelly and star fish, conga eels and sea anenomes had our family party completely hooked on going wild straight at the off! The challenge was well and truly on!

I found out about the challenge originally a couple of months ago when browsing my copy of Natural World, the magazine of the Wildlife Trusts. Receiving this and a local roundup of news is one of the benefits of being a member of the Montgomeryshire Wildlife Trust which I have enjoyed for many years.

Just by chance, on the afternoon of Day 1, we spotted some clumps of sea spinach or sea beet (a distant relative of cultivated Swiss chard) on the beach by the Menai Strait. We picked some of the vivid green leaves and my niece Andrea later cooked up a delicious "Foraged spinach and filo pastry bake"!

Day 2. The first week started during half-term and we were on holiday with family at Trearddur Bay on Holyhead Island. What better place to start the challenge!

We spent the whole day on a virtually deserted beach on the north-west coast of Anglesey, flying kites, jumping off the dunes, rock pooling and paddling in the sea. Gabriel (11) and Daisy (8) then helped create this massive beach sculpture of a mermaid. Pebbles for the scales, seaweed for the hair, limpet shells for decency and even an old glove for a hand!

Before heading off on our holiday I had printed some of the 30 Days Wild random acts of wildness cards. Over breakfast we browsed these for ideas: not that we were short of inspiration on Anglesey. But great for Day 14 as I type this in the office and it pours down!

So, Day 3: time for a walk. The Isle of Anglesey Coastal Path beckoned. This long distance footpath covers much of the island's coast, and is one of my all-time favourites. Our short stretch along Holyhead Island took us up and down rocky outcrops overlooking the Irish Sea smothered in wild flowers such as sea thrift. Happy days!

Day 4 and sadly our week's stay on Anglesey was at an end. It was another baking day so we called in at Betws y Coed on the return home and dipped our feet in the River Llugwy before making footprints on the rocks.

I signed up for the challenge online, and as I type so have 27,386 people! Part of the fun comes from posting photographs of activities on social media and seeing what exciting and creative things other people have been up to. We used the hashtag #30DaysWild on Twitter to spread word of our involvement.

Luckily Day 5 was a Sunday! Chance to catch up at home before returning to work. And we were greeted on our arrival by the cheerful sight of 5 baby pied flycatchers in one of our bird boxes. The birdcam was a Christmas present three years ago and this is the first time any bird has nested in it. How did they know I'd signed up to 30 Days Wild?

Left: Daddy pied flycatcher pops in to check out the youngsters - probably just a couple of days old and snuggled up tight to keep warm.

I'll be honest - fitting in the challenge around work days is harder, but definitely not impossible. Day 6: back to the busy PAVO Mental Health Information Service... in my breaks I wondered what to choose for the day's challenge.

It was a lovely evening at home and I picked just a few wild flowers from the many in my garden - greater stitchwort, red clover and common vetch - to press under a pile of heavy books. Later I might use them to make cards for friends.

Day 7: the end of week one - we'd made it! I'd stayed in touch with Andrea and family who live in the South of England and they too were still really enjoying the challenge (still are on Day 14 where James Carter's poem "The Tree" is inspiring them).

At lunchtime on Day 7 I went for a walk on a short section of our local long distance walk - the Severn Way. Our office is just a few hundred yards away from the river in Newtown. I found some sycamore seeds (blown off early?) and just played, even when the rain poured down I was still sheltered by the leaf canopy.

That was a week ago now! And the challenge rolls on. We're having fun, being creative, and learning so much stuff - it's brilliant. If you've taken the 30 Days Wild challenge, tell us all about it in the comments section below.