Day Eighteen of Megan & Matt Go Wild!

Welcome to our joint-blogging series for the Wildlife Trusts’ 30 Days Wild Challenge – you can read more about the campaign and ourselves in our introduction page.

Megan (in some beautiful Dorset meadows)

I had a lovely time at Lorton Meadows today with a class from one of the local schools. We went pond dipping (where we admired the swooping acrobatics of a dragonfly), into the woods (great fun doing some bark rubbing and tree identification) and on a short walk around the reserve (admiring butterflies, moths, bees, flowers and more!).

The children were fantastically enthusiastic – many of them approaching me during the session to ask a variety of questions, from the identification of a flower to asking about butterflies.

It was a shame to see them leave, but hopefully today has helped to plant a love for nature in them which can be (again, hopefully) nurtured so that they grow up caring about their local wildlife and the wider environment. Which we need more than ever in our society!

Matt (on the train to Malvern)

Another day, another train journey.

I’m back in Malvern and off to Scotland with Megan and some other friends this weekend, which should provide a fantastic end to #30DaysWild.

And tomorrow’s edition should be especially exciting for other reasons.

But today was more tame, but no less interesting. Drifting through the South East corner of England I saw four red kites at different stages of my journey – is this species spreading even further? It feels so and I think that’s a good thing.

I also spotted a distant but probably cuckoo (I’m fairly sure having got my eye back in by seeing lots this Spring).

Trains are, as I say repeatedly, one of the best places to birdwatch, if you don’t fall asleep or get distracted by eavesdropping.