Wild at Heart

Encouraging your children, and the whole family, to enjoy, discover and connect with nature has never been more important. The benefits are endless, from mental and physical wellbeing to education, self-confidence and the pure pleasure being outdoors brings.

Factor in the added bonus that many of the activities you can do as a family in nature are often virtually free – critical for many of us at the moment, getting outside to explore is a complete and utter win-win.

If you are looking for inspiration, motivation or new activities to add to those you already do, then the new book by husband-and-wife team, Steve Backshall (wildlife and adventure broadcaster and presenter of Deadly 60) and Helen Glover (twotime Olympic champion and triple world champion rower) is a must-read!

Wildlings - How to raise your family in nature is an accessible guide for rewilding your family. It is one thing to realise how crucial the freedom of the outside world is for the whole family, but Steve and Helen are also aware that it is not always as simple as that. This is where Wildlings comes in. Taking you through different environments and activities to explore, from minibeasts in the garden and pond dipping, all the way through to beach Olympics and sea swimming (via rainy days, wild woods and river exploration), there are ideas small and big for all ages that will get them – and you – more engaged and involved with nature, and the wildlife in it.

The book contains contributions from Bear

Grylls, Ed Stafford, Sir Chris Hoy, Judy Murray, Michaela Strachan, Gordon Buchanan, Caroline

Lucas, Wayne Bridge and many more, making Wildlings a map to a more adventurous, wilder future.

With our warmest thanks to Steve and Helen, they have shared two fantastic activities from the book on the following pages to help get you and your family started on your exciting journey!

How to build an A-frame den in the woods

Dens are brilliant – as secret hideouts, places to hang out with friends, as birdwatching hides or simply as somewhere to shelter when you are out and about and the weather is a bit iffy. But building them can be a lot of fun too, and a great activity for all ages to get involved in.

It’s also something you can practise indoors using furniture as framework and sheets as your tarpaulin; it might not require quite the same techniques but it will certainly give you an idea of some of the skills involved and how teamwork matters. And you still get a pretty cool result.

But there is nothing quite like getting out into the woods and building a den from scratch. It’s outdoors, active and creative and you have something to show for it too – what could be better? You will need:

 Long branches and/or sticks – the straighter the better  Small bendy sticks for weaving into the framework  Twigs, moss, leaves etc to cover

Important to remember:

 Only use material that you find on the ground.

Don’t damage trees by breaking off sticks and branches  Always dismantle your den when you leave  If you use rope or string or any other material you haven’t found in the woods, make sure you take it home with you afterwards To make an A-frame – essentially a tent made from branches and sticks – you will need to:

 Find two trees with lowish forks. They need to be close enough together to be able to put your longest branch between them.  Then build each side by propping sticks in a row against the long branch  Use the smaller sticks and twigs – the bendier the better – to weave in and out of the upright ones. You should end up with something that looks a bit like a tent-shaped basket.  Pack dry leaves, grass, moss etc on top to fill in the gaps and create a weatherproof cover. This also helps provide camouflage if you are using your den for bird spotting etc.  If you can’t find two suitable trees you can easily just use one to prop up your largest branch diagonally, then follow the same method to make a smaller cocoon-like den.

Make a mini garden pond

If you have a garden and want to entice more wildlife to it, then creating a pond is a great way to get started.

It doesn’t need to be big to attract the likes of frogs, newts and dragonflies. And ponds have other plusses too; they make excellent bathing spots, watering holes and all-you-can-eat buffets for various other animals and birds. All the more reason to think about building one.  First work out where you want it to go. For wildlife to thrive it will need plenty of light, but you should avoid putting it somewhere that gets constant sunlight and no shade.  One easy way to get started is to use an old washing-up bowl or large plant pot as your base. (If your pot isn’t watertight you can fix that by using pond liner – easily available from any garden centre. And if you don’t have a suitable container you can simply make a hole and line it in the same way.)  Dig a hole big enough to sink your pot/bowl into the ground. If that’s not possible it’s fine to keep it on the lawn or patio – just make sure there’s easy access for any creatures who set up camp there.  Add a layer of gravel to the bottom and fill with rainwater (you can always leave buckets/bowls out to collect what you need. Avoid using tap water as the various chemicals found in tap water are not good for the wildlife you want to attract.)  Add pondweed and other plants. Always use special aquatic pots and pond-friendly soil – garden centres can advise on these – and don’t go for anything too big for a small space. Lesser spearwort and miniature waterlilies are ideal.  Patience will pay dividends. Don’t add wildlife from other ponds. Wait and watch and soon the creatures will come.  In very hot weather you may need to add more (rain) water to keep your pond topped up.

About the authors

Steve Backshall MBE is an explorer, naturalist, presenter and writer, best known for presenting the ever-popular Deadly 60 on CBBC, but has also presented many adult nature documentaries on the BBC, from Lost Land of the Tiger to Blue Planet Live. He was also on Strictly. He's written a YA series and the Deadly 60 books, and one adult non-fiction title, Expedition, published by BBC Books. Helen Glover MBE is the former number 1 British rower who won Olympic gold twice, as well as being a World, World Cup and European record holder. She was also the first mother to make it back onto the Olympic rowing team (one year after having twins, after training by herself at home during lockdown).

Wildlings by Steve Backshall & Helen Glover is out now published by Two Roads How to build an A-frame den in the woods and Make a mini garden pond extracted from Wildlings by Steve Backshall and Helen Glover, published by Two Roads.

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