Small Acts of Wildness
Challenging Little Leopard to quick, easy nature interactions everyday. No kit, no planning, no pressure. Just simple ways to weave the wild world into ordinary days.
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Quick, everyday ways to interact with nature.
We're very excited about the 30 days Wild challenge that the Wildlife Trust organise every June. When Little Leopard broke his wrist in May, and normal adventuring was paused, I tried to stave off the boredom by setting him some small acts of wildness to do every day.
1. Listen to birds for 10 minutes.
We sat on a bench on the way back from school, got the Merlin app out and heard all kinds of birds, including great tits, robins, blackbirds.
2. Hug a Tree
Little Leopard chose this ancient yew tree to hug. He squeezed tight, while I imagined all th others who might have hugged it over the centuries
3. Watch a wild webcam.
We decided to watch the live feed from Cornell of these Red-tailed Hawk chicks. It's quickly become a routine that we check on them daily, along with having a look at the other Cornell webcams.
4. Take close-up photos of flowers
Little Leopard loved this, it's given him a new found appreciation of the variety of shapes and patterns that can be found around. He's also now spending a long time examining flowers for interesting insects.
5. Collect different leaves
Another one that we did on the way home from school. We used the PictureThis app to help because I'm still working on my tree identification skills. It seems like our little school-walk is almost an arboretum, with crab apple, oak, hawthorn,willow, and many more types of trees to be found.
6. Take photos of baby animals
We live near-ish a pond with Canada Geese, so Little Leopard took some photos of the army of goslings enjoying the shade.
7. Look for animal tracks / signs
It's trickier to spot footprints now that the ground is so dry, Little Leopard spotted this branch on one of our adventures that we think a deer has nibbled on.
8. Identify a bird by the feather
ALittle Leopard found this soft feather at our local pond, which appears to be from one of the Canada Geese goslings.
Try a Nature Adventure
If the weather is being kind (or if you're feeling particularly hardy) then why not try one of these Oxfordshire Nature Adventures. Or head here for more inspiration
May 2026 · Nature Adventures · Parks and Gardens
Stonor Park
A fun-filled day spent exploring the adventure playground, spotting deer, getting up close with birds of prey and strolling round the gardens and arboretum.
April 2026 · Nature Adventures · Nature Reserves
Cothill Fen
A long walk with a distinctly Jurasic vibe through the most diverse area in Oxfordshire, taking in FIVE nature reserves. We saw solitary bees, fossils, woodpeckers and some impressive geology.
April 2026 · Nature Adventures · Nature Reserves
Thrupp Lake
A gorgeous walk from Radley Station to Abingdon under the sounding bridge, around the lake and through Barton Fields, hearing an astonishing number of birds.