Her walks took her to some truly lovely places, including Badgeworth nature reserve and Witcombe roman villa. She also walked around WWT Slimbridge, taking in all the birds and other wildlife this amazing reserve has to offer.  Not only did Heidi raise a whopping £510 for the Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust, a huge success considering her target was £50-100, she also completed her challenge two days early, on the 28^th – amazing work Heidi! During the interview, Eddie asked Heidi a few questions to find out more about her 30-day challenge.

Eddie kicked off the interview by asking, ‘What did you love about your 30 miles in 30 days challenge?’ Heidi told him that she loved all the different kinds of wildlife that she spotted on her walks. Whilst walking in the Badgeworth reserve near Cheltenham, she encountered a big group of coloured beetles, including red-headed cardinal beetles, shiny green beetles, a yellow and black beetle, and even a hairy little beetle larva, which she was fascinated by! Heidi also jumped for joy when she remembered spotting a woodpecker out on one of their walks.
 

Craving more information about all the wild critters living around Gloucestershire, Eddie went on to ask Heidi what else she had discovered during her challenge. Heidi mentioned that when she went for a walk at WWT Slimbridge, she stopped to give some food to a moorhen, who took it out of her hand and then used it to feed her moorhen chicks! What a fantastic experience!

After asking Heidi what else she was getting up to now that 30 Days Wild is over, Eddie was very pleased to hear that Heidi is carrying on her journey and is taking action to help nature thrive where she lives.  She has started by building a bug hotel for her front garden and is now helping her community by building and putting up bird and bat boxes around the neighbourhood. She will also be cleaning out the new and existing bird and bat boxes in the Autumn. Heidi has litter picking sessions planned throughout the year and was recently nominated to be an ambassador for her local wildlife group, at only eight years old – a true inspiration!

Heidi also mentioned that she has been feeling quite sad and angry, recently, as a new housing development is being built close to where she lives, which will prevent the land from being rewilded. Heidi wants people who love nature to use their voices and make their views heard by those in power, to help protect nature and encourage its recovery. Her advice is to find other people who are passionate about the environment and join forces with them to get your message across.  

Heidi closed the interview by encouraging everyone to get outdoors and explore all the nature reserves around Gloucestershire. Of course, Eddie agreed with this, adding that our county is rich with a variety of habitats that are just waiting for you to discover them. If you spot any wildlife during your adventures, be sure to take some photos and tag the Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust on social media – we love to see you enjoying the beautiful countryside!

Heidi was also happy to hear that the money she raised will be well spent on enhancing and protecting nature reserves around the county, as well as connecting them to other reserves, so that all the wild critters living there have more places to find food, take shelter and rest. If you would like to do some fundraising for Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust then get in touch and tell us all about your wild plans to help nature: https://www.gloucestershirewildlifetrust.co.uk/membership/community-fundraising

Or email: fundraising@gloucestershirewildlifetrust.co.uk