Thank you for choosing to live a little wilder

The start of a New Year is a perfect time to kick old habits and start some new ones, and so many of you did so by choosing to support your local wildlife in 2023 by joining as a member, says Lucy

Coxhead

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Want to live even wilder in 2023? There are so many small changes we can make in our own lives to be more environmentally friendly. Here are some tips from the Lancashire Wildlife Trust team on how you can make 2023 your wildest year yet.

Make Room For Nature In Your Garden

Install a bird or bat box, or how about a hedgehog house or a bug hotel? Even something as simple as a pile of logs and leaving leaf litter can provide a great shelter for invertebrates.

Many butterflies find shelter in leaf litter, either in egg, pupal or adult form, to safely wait out the winter and emerge in spring. Toads and frogs will also snuggle themselves down in a warm log pile or compost heap and snooze the season away.

Take A Day Off From Gardening And Let Nature Take Over

Leave a wild patch in your lawn where you don’t weed or mow, and it will soon be buzzing with wildlife.

If you don’t have a lawn, you could scatter some wildflower seeds in a flowerpot or get crafty and upcycle some household items - that old pair of wellies with holes in could be a perfect planter. Planting wildflowers provides vital resources to support a wide range of insects that couldn't survive in urban areas otherwise.

Spare A Thought For Hungry Visitors

When the weather is cold, a tantalising mixture of high fat -content food (like fat balls or peanut cakes), seeds, nuts, grains and over-ripe fruits like apples and raisins will keep garden birds warm and ensure they're getting a varied diet. If you’re lucky enough to have a prickly visitor, hedgehogs enjoy tucking into a bowl of plain, meat-based cat food.

It’s important to remember to remove any food that doesn’t get eaten overnight and replenish it with fresh food each evening. A little care goes a long way.

Lessen Your Global Footprint

The food we eat can have a huge impact on the planet – in fact, a quarter of global emissions come from food alone. Thankfully, there are ways to lessen your footprint whilst still enjoying delicious meals. More than half of food emissions come from animal products, so the easiest change is to cut down on the amount of meat, milk and eggs you consume. How about having a simple meat-free Monday every week?

Help The Planet

Single-use plastic is a global problem, but we can be part of the solution at home. We’ve all heard of the benefits of bringing our own coffee cups, shopping bags and refillable water bottles. If you do these things, then keep up the good work. Maybe it’s time to go one step further. Keep an eye out for unpackaged bar soap, shampoos and conditions and ditch the plastic containers.

If kept out of a water stream, they last a long time. With the rising demand for plastic-free groceries, many places have seen their first refill shops pop up. If you are lucky enough to live near one, buying dried goods like rice and pasta here often works out cheaper too.

We want to thank all our members – whether you have been supporting us for years or recently joined - for continuing to stand by us, helping us to protect wild spaces and inspire others to take action for nature.