A nature charity is urging people to go wild during the month of June.

Devon Wildlife Trust is asking people to make the most of the natural world around them by taking part in ‘random acts of wildness’ each day during the month.

The Wildlife Trusts national campaign, called 30 Days Wild, is now in its third year and already has more than 35,000 people signed up across the UK. More than 1,500 from Devon are among the nature lovers ready to go wild.

Each day participants are being asked to take part in a random act of wildness at home, in their schools and at their workplaces to encourage them to connect with nature. This year’s random acts include star gazing, building a home for bugs in the garden, taking a lunch break outdoors, enjoying mindfulness in a park or wildflower meadow, listening to birdsong and learning to spot a new butterfly.

Devon Wildlife Trust’s Steve Hussey said: “We want people throughout Devon to use 30 Days Wild as an inspiration for getting to know their local wildlife better. They can spend a few minutes, or a few hours each day enjoying nature - how they do it is up to them.

"The important thing is to use our ideas for random acts of wildness as a starting point.

"In my own case, I plan to stop on my regular commute by bike to work to check on the progress of one pair of swans and their cygnets on the River Exe. Rather than keeping my head down and getting to work as soon as I can, each day during June I’ll be taking a few minutes out to pause, look for this swan family and take in the wonderful wildlife that we have here in Devon.”

The Wildlife Trusts believe there is a real benefit to our health and welfare from pausing to put a little bit of wildness back into our lives. A study of people taking part in last year’s 30 Days Wild campaign undertaken by researchers from University of Derby showed that a daily dose of nature, even in bite size chunks, is good for you.

The study found that people who did something ‘wild’ each day for a month felt happier, healthier and more connected to nature. Dr Miles Richardson, director of psychology who led the study, said: “The impact of 30 Days Wild adds to the compelling argument for bringing nature into our everyday lives. Two months after taking part in 30 Days Wild, there was a 30 per cent increase in the number of people who reported their health as excellent.

"Last year’s results also show people’s happiness continued to improve after 30 Days Wild ended, which illustrates its sustained impact. This is important as it is happiness and connecting with nature that influence improvements in health.

"Our study also shows that those who benefitted most were younger adults and those who weren’t ‘nature lovers’.”

People can sign up to take part in 30 Days Wild by clicking on a special link at www.devonwildlifetrust.org .