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Summer Unleashed: Wildling Activities to Try Over the Holidays
As summer kicks off, it’s the perfect time to get outdoors and help out local wildlife (even on the not-so-sunny days).
Why wilding matters:
Rewilding allows nature to take care of itself by bringing back native plants, animals, and natural processes to a level before human involvement.
Wilding actives are all about exploring the outdoors, discovering the natural world, and learning through creativity and adventure. It helps students build confidence, teamwork, and a lifelong appreciation for the nature around them and how they can support it.
These ideas are easy to do and don’t require fancy gear, just a few simple resources.
Make a pine cone bird feeder
The trusty pine cone bird feeder never goes out of fashion and is a great natural alternative to bird feeders.
School grounds and gardens are becoming increasingly important places to provide food and water for birds.
What you’ll need:
Pine cones
Fat/suet
Bird seed mix
String
1. Shake or tap the pine cones to remove any dirt or debris.
2. Tie a piece of string securely around the top of the pine cone.
3. Mix the fat and seeds together in a bowl and spread all over the scales of the pine cone. Press it in for better seed sticking.
4. Hang the from a branch or hood in a secluded part of school grounds safe from predators.
Make seed bombs
Rewilding in the Palm of Your Hand!
What you’ll need:
1 cup air-dry clay or natural powdered clay
1 cup peat free compost
1–2 packets of native wildflower seeds(pollinator-friendly is best)
Top plants to include
- Ox-eye Daisy
- Buttercup
- Red clover
- Lady's bedstraw
Water (a little at a time)
Bowl for mixing
Tray or cardboard for drying
1. Mix the Dry Ingredients
In a bowl, mix together:
- 1 part clay
- 1 part compost
- Seeds (just a pinch per bomb is enough)
- Add Water Slowly
Add a little water at a time and mix with your hands until the mixture sticks together. It should not be too wet or crumbly. - Roll Into Balls
Roll the mix into small balls. - Dry Them Out
Place the seed bombs on a tray or cardboard and leave them to dry for 24–48 hours in a warm place. - Throw and Grow!
Once dry, the seed bombs are ready to be tossed into bare soil areas in gardens or school grounds try and plant before rain is forecast or water them in lightly—and watch as pollinator habitat increases on your grounds.
Build a mini pond
Want to encourage some aquatic life to your school grounds in an easy and simple way? Mini ponds are the perfect wilding activity to scale down the pond building process.
They are also incredibly important for biodiversity, attracting aquatic creatures such as frogs, newts, toads, and pollinators like bumblebees, butterflies and dragonflies.
What you’ll need:
An old bucket, tanks, washing up bowl or another watertight container(second hand is best!)
A spade/shovel
Sand
Old bricks, rocks and pebbles and logs found around the grounds
Native pond plants that will attract wildlife
- Pick your mini pond location
Chose a spot that will get light but not full sunlight all day.
- Dig a hole
Dig out a hole and put your empty container in it, making sure the edges of your container edges are level with the ground, more creatures can get in and out.
- Prepare your container
Put a layer of clean gravel in the bottom, you may need to wash it first (don’t use any soil or compost).
Also make sure wildlife can get in and out by creating a range of depths, slopes and steps using stones, wood, tiles and ticks.
- Fill with water
Make sure to sue rainwater as tap water contains chemicals that may harm your pond.
You can collect rainwater from a water butt or a watering can and other containers that you can leave outside to collect water.
- Plant up
You only need around three plants for a mini pond.
Make sure to use native, aquatic plants such as such as Water Forget-me-not, Submerged Pondweed (which keeps the pond clean) and Mare's Tail.
- Watch and wait
It may take some time for your mini pond to become its own ecosystem, but don’t worry! Let nature do its work and wildlife will come visit or even move into your pond on its own accord.
Go Fungi spotting
Be a nature detective and see which fungi you can spot!
Fungi are living things like mushrooms, moulds, and toadstools. They’re not plants or animals—they belong to their own special group They are important for breaking down matter and helping plants and animals and help natural habitats grow.
You can find fungi almost anywhere: on logs ,in soil, under trees, even on walls and woodchips!
📍Best places to look:
- Nearby Woodlands
- Around fallen trees or logs
- On leafy ground and tree stumps
- In damp, shady spots after rain
What you’ll need:
A notebook or spotting sheet
A camera or tablet for photos
Fungi ID app (like iNaturalist or Shroomify UK)
A magnifying glass (optional)
Gloves
The most common in the UK this summer are:
Oyster mushrooms – Grey- white, fan shaped and grow in clusters, found on dead wood and fallen logs.
Wax cap – Known for their shiny-looking caps, Wax caps can be red, violet, yellow, green and pink. Commonly found in grasslands, meadows and urban lawns and parks.
Parasol mushroom – Tall with a wide, round cap and brown-to-black scaly top, white gills and a white/off white stem. Commonly found in woods, meadows and fields.
Puffball – Round- shaped, with a stem and without a cap or any gills. Starts white, but get browner with age and puffs out clouds of spores when touched. Often found in open meadows and fields and well-fertilized areas like lawns but can also be found in the undergrowth of forest. Puffballs never grow on logs or trees, only on the ground.
Chicken of the woods – Easy to spot due to its sulphur-yellow colour and made up of soft and thick fan shaped shelves, it grows high up on the trunks of seasonal trees, such as oak.
⚠️ Safety tips
Never pick or eat mushrooms.
Take photos, not sample sunless supervised by an expert adult.
Wash hands afterwards.
Stick to public footpaths and avoid damaging habitats.
Make a hedgehog highway
A hedgehog highway is a series of small holes or gaps in fences, hedges or walls that allow hedgehogs to roam freely between gardens and green spaces.
You will need:
Fence access
Measuring tape
Saw or cutting tools
Pencil or chalk to mark the hole.
Sand paper
Hedgehog Highway signs (students can design and make these!)
Gloves and safety goggles
1. Identify potential locations: fences around the school, gardens, or nearby parks and map where hedgehogs might travel.
Pick a spot at the bottom of the fence or wall.
2. Measure a 13cm x 13 cm square
Use pencil or chalk to draw the square clearly.
3. Whilst wearing protective gloves and goggles, use a handsaw or jigsaw to carefully cut along the lines.
4. Sand the edges slightly to make sure there are no sharp or rough parts.
5. Clear away any debris so the path is open both sides of the fence.
6. Add a home-made ‘hedgehog highway sign’.
You can:
Put a mammal camera by your new highway to see who comes to visit your garden or green space.
For more activities and tips visit the Wildlife Trust’s website!