Supporting Nature: printable card set
A sample of 4 cards. The full set of 70 comes with the collection. Back
Support natureDiversity

Step by step

  1. The more kinds of home a place offers, the more kinds of life can live there.
  2. Take a slow walk around your garden, school grounds or a local green space with a notebook.
  3. Sketch a simple map and mark each different habitat you find, such as short grass, long grass, flowers, hedge, trees, bare soil, deadwood, stone, water, shade and sun.
  4. Count how many you have.
  5. Then choose 2 patches about 1 metre square, one in a tidy area and one in a wilder area. Count how many different kinds of plant and small creature you can find in each in 10 minutes. You do not need to name them all.
  6. Compare the 2.
  7. Now look at your map and ask what is missing.
  8. Choose 1 thing you could add or change, with permission, to make the place more varied, and make a plan to do it.
The full Wilding activity guide (what you need, safety, variations and questions to wonder about): re-wild.co.uk/g/diversity/
Supporting Nature · re-wild.co.uk
Support natureLeave it be

Step by step

  1. Sometimes the most helpful thing you can do for nature is nothing at all.
  2. Walk slowly around your garden, school grounds or local green space and look for places where people usually tidy up.
  3. Then choose what you will leave alone.
  4. Leave dead seed heads and hollow stems standing through the winter, since birds feed on the seeds and insects shelter inside the stems.
  5. Leave spring dandelions and other early pollinator foods uncut until they have finished flowering, so that bees and other insects emerging from winter can feed.
  6. Leave autumn leaves where they fall under hedges and shrubs, or rake them into a quiet corner.
  7. Leave deadwood where it lies, or stack it in a shady spot. Agree your leave it be places with whoever looks after the land, and mark them with a small sign if that helps.
  8. Then come back often and watch who moves in.
The full Wilding activity guide (what you need, safety, variations and questions to wonder about): re-wild.co.uk/g/leave-it-be/
Supporting Nature · re-wild.co.uk
Support natureMaking a leaf habitat

Step by step

  1. In autumn, drive 4 wooden stakes into the ground in a square, about 90 centimetres apart. Brace the top of the structure with old planks or posts for extra stability.
  2. Wrap chicken wire around the posts, nailing it taut using a hammer and U nails, taking care when handling or cutting the wire.
  3. Leave a gap of around 13 centimetres under 1 side of the wire, so creatures such as hedgehogs can still get in and out, and check there are no sharp edges that could catch on passing animals.
  4. Fill your finished bin with raked up autumn leaves, shredding quick rotting types such as sycamore and walnut first, or mixing them with slower, better decomposing leaves such as oak, beech and hornbeam. Avoid adding evergreen or conifer leaves, which take a long time to break down and can make the mixture too acidic.
The full Wilding activity guide (what you need, safety, variations and questions to wonder about): re-wild.co.uk/g/making-a-leaf-habitat/
Supporting Nature · re-wild.co.uk
Support natureMaking a beetle bucket

Step by step

  1. Cut a few holes about 3 centimetres across into the base and sides of an old bucket, so beetles can move in and out freely. Dig a hole in the ground big enough to bury the bucket up to its rim.
  2. Place some large stones or pebbles in the base of the bucket, then stand a few upright logs on top of them.
  3. Fill the remaining space with bark chips or leaf litter, leaving the final 10 centimetres or so to fill with garden soil.
  4. Finish by placing a couple more logs on top.
The full Wilding activity guide (what you need, safety, variations and questions to wonder about): re-wild.co.uk/g/making-a-beetle-bucket/
Supporting Nature · re-wild.co.uk