Earth Month

The Nature Conservancy are celebrating Earth Month throughout this month.

Earth Month is an opportunity to enjoy nature and to help protect our wild places. Or as the Nature Conservancy says :  'the perfect time to Explore, Volunteer and Give back to nature.' With that in mind, their website includes a map of the USA showing volunteering opportunities across the country. If there's nothing officially happening in your area, there are likely to be plenty of conservation volunteering events going on independently of Earth Month.

In Edinburgh there are lots of opportunities to volunteer to help conserve nature, I volunteer with the Water of Leith Conservation Trust, but there are many other opportunities to suit different interests, skills and time commitments, for example Lothian Conservation Volunteers (who undertake tasks like tree planting, path building or pond clearances) or the friends groups attached to local parks (who do things like litter picks, wildflower planting and wildlife recording).

Getting out into the great outdoors, whether for a walk or to volunteer is a great way to keep connected with nature and so develop a greater understanding of its importance. It's also good for your health, both physical and mental.

So, what are your plans for enjoying and helping nature this Earth Month? If you're on Twitter you can use the hash tags #EarthMonth and LiveNature to share your experiences!

(Of course every month should be Earth Month and here in the UK we have 30 Days Wild in June, which encourages people to do something involving nature every day.)