30 Days Wild - The Wildlife Trust initiative for June 2015

I want an GM free world by 2050 Young Birder Birdgirl Mya-Rose Craig AKA Birdgirl
Photograph taken by and copyright Helena Craig

Is a month-long nature challenge running through June 2015, from The Wildlife Trust. They are asking people to sign up and do something wild every day for a month – and make nature part of their everyday life. Things like:

Shutting your eyes to listen to bird song. Taking a wild walk at lunchtime. Lying back in the long grass. Searching out urban wildlife. Talking to someone on your street about nature. Eating something wild. Can you make nature part of your life - every day for a month?

You can sign up here

The Wildlife Trust are not asking for the impossible and they don't want you to stop doing anything - quite the reverse – just to start giving yourself time in the wild every day. 

Maybe you already do this? Well this is your chance to share your experiences and ideas with lots of other people.

Everyone who signs up to 30 Days Wild will be sent an e-mail pack full of ideas, inspiration and information on how you can make nature part of your life. We’ll also send you personalised emails through the month with links to things you can do near where you live. You can join in on social media using #30DaysWild and #MyWildLife and the 30 Days Wild Facebook Group.

All you have to do is spend time in nature every day for one month - this could be:

• just a few minutes sowing wildflower seeds in a pot, photographing plants growing on a city centre wall or shutting your eyes to listen to bird song; 

• half an hour climbing a tree, mixing yourself a nature-smoothie or out spotting butterflies; 

• spend more than an hour to search a beach at low-tide, explore a local wild place you've never been to before or attract moths to your garden by building your own moth trap! 

We have 101 ideas to inspire you and encourage you to find time for nature in your life.

Enjoying the sand, sea and birds in Bangladesh Young Birder Birdgirl Mya-Rose Craig AKA Birdgirl
Photograph taken by and copyright Helena Craig

Research has shown that spending time in wild places can help you feel happier and healthier, and the more people who make nature part of their life, the more people there'll be to help protect and restore it.

For my month, I'm going to try and notice when I'm connected to nature, like smelling a flower rather than just noticing that it is pretty. On top of my normal engagements with nature, I'm going to try to do some different things....

Young Birder Birdgirl Mya-Rose Craig AKA Birdgirl at RSPB Minsmere
Photograph taken by and copyright Helena Craig

About the writer

Young Birder Birdgirl Mya-Rose Craig on Scilly

Photograph taken by and copyright Chris Craig

Mya-Rose Craig is a 13 year old young birder, conservationist, environmentalist, activist, writer and speaker. She is based near Bristol, UK and blogs about birding and conservation from around the world. Wader conservation is important to her and she is Ambassador to the global wader initiative World Shorebird Day. She is looking forward to Mountain Gorilla trekking this summer in East Africa and to watching penguins in Antarctica in December, her 7th continent. She has recently been listed with the singer songwriter George Ezra and actress Maisie Williams from Game of Thrones as one of Bristol's most influential young people. Please like her Birdgirl Facebook Page and follow her on Birdgirl Twitter.

Minsmere RSPB Reserve and another dip - 27 May 2015

Mum had rather optimistically booked an early breakfast for 7 am. After the late night the evening before, after being in the audience of Springwatch Unsprung, laughing at our great friend Gary Prescott aka Biking Birder, we were pretty tired.

After a silent breakfast, Mum and I had to go back to bed for a bit.

Reed Warbler, Minsmere RSBP Reserve
Photograph taken by and copyright Young Birder Birdgirl Mya-Rose Craig

When we arrived at Minsmere RSPB Reserve, There was no sign of the Red Necked Phalarope that had been there the day before, which was a shame. There wasn't any point being too miserable about not seeing it the day before, as there hadn't been time.

We then wandered around the reserve with Oscar Dewett, a young birder and photographer who was taking photographs for Springwatch to go on their blog.  He was there for the three week duration.  Oscar had seen me on the BBC4 Twitchers: A very British Obsession programme from 2010, which was funny.

Avocet, Minsmere RSBP Reserve
Photograph taken by and copyright Young Birder Birdgirl Mya-Rose Craig

Avocet, Minsmere RSBP Reserve
Photograph taken by and copyright Young Birder Birdgirl Mya-Rose Craig

Avocet, Minsmere RSBP Reserve
Photograph taken by and copyright Young Birder Birdgirl Mya-Rose Craig

After great views of male Bearded Tit, Reed Warblers,  baby Avocet, a fantastic Bittern flying around in the open and a Hobby we stopped for a quick lunch before heading off via a Stone Curlew.

Common Redshank, Minsmere RSBP Reserve
Photograph taken by and copyright Young Birder Birdgirl Mya-Rose Craig

Common Tern, Minsmere RSBP Reserve
Photograph taken by and copyright Young Birder Birdgirl Mya-Rose Craig

After a long drive towards home, we stopped again at the Lady Amhurst's Pheasant site in Bedfordshire.

We heard the last surviving male call several times from the other side of the clearing but had no luck seeing it (again).  I can tell this is going to turn into a bogey bird for me.

Dad goes to China on a birding trip on Monday and so I'm going to have to do some sweet talking to persuade him to bring me back to try for the pheasant again before he goes.

On the way home, we stopped at the same take away as last week.  The same Bangladeshi guy was just as friendly as last week and was very excited about me having been on TV yesterday, even though he had not heard of Springwatch. The British Asian world is like an alternate universe, but one that I would like to bridge...

About the writer

Young Birder Birdgirl Mya-Rose Craig on Scilly

Photograph taken by and copyright Chris Craig

Mya-Rose Craig is a 13 year old young birder, conservationist, environmentalist, activist, writer and speaker. She is based near Bristol, UK and blogs about birding and conservation from around the world. Wader conservation is important to her and she is Ambassador to the global wader initiative World Shorebird Day. She is looking forward to Mountain Gorilla trekking this summer in East Africa and to watching penguins in Antarctica in December, her 7th continent. She has recently been listed with the singer songwriter George Ezra and actress Maisie Williams from Game of Thrones as one of Bristol's most influential young people. Please like her Birdgirl Facebook Page and follow her on Birdgirl Twitter.

Being on BBC Springwatch Extra - 26 May 2015

Young Birder Birdgirl Mya-Rose Craig, BBC Springwatch set
Photograph taken by and copyright Helena Craig

Tuesday 26th May 2015 was an awesome day as I was lucky enough to be on BBC Springwatch Extra!

This is my interview on Iplayer http://bbc.in/1GRc1hW

Dad and I left my Gran's caravan in the northern Lakes at 8.00 am. We had travelled to Scotland on Saturday to visit Scotland's Big Nature Festival, where I gave a talk on Sunday morning.  A highlight had been watching Bill Oddie walk past!

Young Birder Birdgirl Mya-Rose Craig, RSPB Scottish Birdfair

Photograph taken by and copyright Helena Craig

He then headed back to the Lakes for a day of rest before travelling again. We were travelling south east, to pick up Mum from Cambridge Train Station at midday. She hadn't been able to come to Scotland with us because of my cousin's wedding.

We had loads of traffic, so were almost an hour late for mum.  I had a little present from her - she had bought me a Serious Black wanted poster print from the Harry Potter Shop at Kings Cross Train Station.

My new Serious Black (from Harry Potter) print from King Cross
Photograph taken by and copyright Helena Craig

It was 3.00 pm when we arrived at Minsmere RSPB Reserve, the home of BBC Springwatch for the last 2 years.  It had been a seven hour journey for me but when we arrived, there was a lovely surprise. 

Almost immediately, we bumped into our great friend, Gary Prescott, The Biking Birder.  It was the first time we’d seen him since the Citrus Finch twitch 3 weeks before, when we were in a bit of a hurry to see the bird so didn't stop for long.   Dad and I had seen him being interviewed that morning on Springwatch Extra, before starting our journey.

Gary is doing a green Big Year, on his bicycle and at the same time is visiting every RSPB and WWT in Britain. He is writing a blog about his year, http://bit.ly/1AGDEcC and read about him on http://on.fb.me/1KIMn1a where you can donate money to his chosen charities for the year.

We immediately hit it off again as Gary noticed my Ramones T-Shirt and wanted to know if I was 'a poser or a lover'. When I said I loved the Ramones, he told me about a tiny Ramones museum in Berlin. 

Gary Prescott, Biking Birder and Young Birder Birdgirl Mya-Rose Craig, Minsmere RSPB Reserve

Photograph taken by and copyright Helena Craig

 After a long chat and a few photos, it was time for us to rush off to the BBC area and we would see him later as he was appearing on Springwatch Unspring and we were going to be in the audience.

We then went to the Springwatch enclosure, where we were greeted by a researcher, Libby Prins.  She made me feel at ease and brought Lindsey Chapman over to meet me, who was going to be interviewing me.  I rarely get nervous but it did help that we had a chat about the interview and she made me feel a bit more relaxed. It was an amazing experience and it was really interesting to see everything going on behind the scenes on the set. 

Young Birder Birdgirl Mya-Rose Craig, BBC Springwatch set

Photograph taken by and copyright Helena Craig

Young Birder Birdgirl Mya-Rose Craig, BBC Springwatch set

Photograph taken by and copyright Helena Craig

Young Birder Birdgirl Mya-Rose Craig, BBC Springwatch set

Photograph taken by and copyright Helena Craig

Libby took me to the trailer where my interview was being filmed and gave me a briefing.  She also showed me around the trailer, which was full of screens and equipment as well as lots of people working on the show.  It was all really interesting to see.

Young Birder Birdgirl Mya-Rose Craig, BBC Springwatch Trailer

Photograph taken by and copyright Helena Craig

Young Birder Birdgirl Mya-Rose Craig, BBC Springwatch Trailer

Photograph taken by and copyright Helena Craig

Stephen Le Quesne (producer and far left, BBC Springwatch Trailer

Photograph taken by and copyright Helena Craig

After a tense wait that seemed to stretch on for hours (but in reality was about 10 minutes long) it was time. Mum went into the trailer with me, but was out of my view.  I was introduced at the start of the show, then interviewed after a 10 minute look at what had been filmed that day. I answered all the questions as best I could and I hope it went okay, but to me honest, it’s a little bit of a blur. 

This is my interview on BBC Iplayer http://bbc.in/1GRc1hW. I will try and put it on U-tube soon.

After my interview, I felt a lot more relaxed.  Gary arrives, so we carried on with our conversations and had dinner with everyone else in the food tent.  Anna Gallagher, The Springwatch Producer, came in to say a quick hello.  It was nice to see a friendly face, as I had met Anne in the BBC Natural History Unit in Bristol at the beginning of the year. 

Chris Craig, Young Birder Birdgirl Mya-Rose Craig and Gary Prescott, BBC Springwatch set

Photograph taken by and copyright Helena Craig

Young Birder Birdgirl Mya-Rose Craig, BBC Springwatch set

Photograph taken by and copyright Helena Craig

I had seen Michaela Strackan a couple of times that afternoon and said hello but I didn't try and stop her to chat. Then Chris Packham came into the food tent.  Gary introduced me to him (having met him that morning) as a young person who had done lots of world birding.  Chris was really kind and stopped for quite a long chat, asking me if I had seen various really rare birds from around the world which invariably neither of us had seen!  One of them was Snow Petrel though, which I hope to see in Antarctica this Christmas.

Young Birder Birdgirl Mya-Rose Craig Gary Prescott and Chris Packham, BBC Springwatch set

Photograph taken by and copyright Helena Craig

Young Birder Birdgirl Mya-Rose Craig, Chris Packham and Michaela Strachan, BBC Springwatch set

Photograph taken by and copyright Helena Craig

Young Birder Birdgirl Mya-Rose and Chris Packham, BBC Springwatch set

Photograph taken by and copyright Helena Craig

We also met Stephen Le Quesne who works on Springwatch.  He is involved in Durrell Wildlife Conservation and so it was great to tell them about the welcoming team I had met in Bath and the wonderful projects they are involved in.

Next, we all watched Springwatch on the big screens before going into the studio to be in the audience for Springwatch Unsprung.  Gary was interviewed along with James Logan a mosquito expert who one of my more gory stories to, which he didn't bat an eye to. 

Look out for me in the audience  http://bbc.in/1BEuXKN

Helena Craig and Young Birder Birdgirl Mya-Rose Craig, outside Springwatch Studio

Photograph taken by and copyright Chris Craig

After the show, Dad was quick and got  a photograph with Gary and me on "The Sofa" and then me alone.  I'd love to sit on it for real one day...

Young Birder Birdgirl Mya-Rose Craig and Gary Prescott, BBC Springwatch Studio

Photograph taken by and copyright Chris Craig

Young Birder Birdgirl Mya-Rose Craig and Gary Prescott, BBC Springwatch Studio

Photograph taken by and copyright Chris Craig

About the writer

Young Birder Birdgirl Mya-Rose Craig on Scilly

Photograph taken by and copyright Chris Craig

Mya-Rose Craig is a 13 year old young birder, conservationist, environmentalist, activist, writer and speaker. She is based near Bristol, UK and blogs about birding and conservation from around the world. Wader conservation is important to her and she is Ambassador to the global wader initiative World Shorebird Day. She is looking forward to Mountain Gorilla trekking this summer in East Africa and to watching penguins in Antarctica in December, her 7th continent. She has recently been listed with the singer songwriter George Ezra and actress Maisie Williams from Game of Thrones as one of Bristol's most influential young people. Please like her Birdgirl Facebook Page and follow her on Birdgirl Twitter.

Nature in the Lake District - 25 May 2015

We had a day in the northern Lake District, just walking and enjoying the nature around us.

These are some of the photographs from that day.

Young Birder Birdgirl Mya-Rose Craig, Brotherswater, Lake District
Photograph taken by and copyright Chris Craig

Young Birder Birdgirl Mya-Rose Craig, Brotherswater, Lake District
Photograph taken by and copyright Chris Craig

 Male mute swan displaying, Brotherswater, Lake District
Photograph taken by and copyright Young Birder Birdgirl Mya-Rose Craig

Brotherswater, Lake District
Photograph taken by and copyright Young Birder Birdgirl Mya-Rose Craig

Common Sandpiper, Brotherswater, Lake District
Photograph taken by and copyright Young Birder Birdgirl Mya-Rose Craig

Young Birder Birdgirl Mya-Rose Craig, Brotherswater, Lake District
Photograph taken by and copyright Chris Craig

Young Birder Birdgirl Mya-Rose Craig, Brotherswater, Lake District
Photograph taken by and copyright Chris Craig

Red Deer, Brotherswater, Lake District
Photograph taken by and copyright Young Birder Birdgirl Mya-Rose Craig

Young Birder Birdgirl Mya-Rose Craig, Brotherswater, Lake District
Photograph taken by and copyright Chris Craig

Young Birder Birdgirl Mya-Rose Craig, Brotherswater, Lake District
Photograph taken by and copyright Chris Craig

Young Birder Birdgirl Mya-Rose Craig, Brotherswater, Lake District

Photograph taken by and copyright Chris Craig

Young Birder Birdgirl Mya-Rose Craig, Brotherswater, Lake District

Photograph taken by and copyright Chris Craig

Young Birder Birdgirl Mya-Rose Craig, Brotherswater, Lake District

Photograph taken by and copyright Chris Craig

Young Birder Birdgirl Mya-Rose Craig, Brotherswater, Lake District

Photograph taken by and copyright Chris Craig

Young Birder Birdgirl Mya-Rose Craig, Brotherswater, Lake District

Photograph taken by and copyright Chris Craig

Young Birder Birdgirl Mya-Rose Craig, Brotherswater, Lake District

Photograph taken by and copyright Chris Craig

Young Birder Birdgirl Mya-Rose Craig, Brotherswater, Lake District

Photograph taken by and copyright Chris Craig

About the writer

Young Birder Birdgirl Mya-Rose Craig on Scilly

Photograph taken by and copyright Chris Craig

Mya-Rose Craig is a 13 year old young birder, conservationist, environmentalist, activist, writer and speaker. She is based near Bristol, UK and blogs about birding and conservation from around the world. Wader conservation is important to her and she is Ambassador to the global wader initiative World Shorebird Day. She is looking forward to Mountain Gorilla trekking this summer in East Africa and to watching penguins in Antarctica in December, her 7th continent. She has recently been listed with the singer songwriter George Ezra and actress Maisie Williams from Game of Thrones as one of Bristol's most influential young people. Please like her Birdgirl Facebook Page and follow her on Birdgirl Twitter.