Early spring is upon us and, along with the rest of nature, we are emerging from the chill, the shorter days and a period of hibernation. It’s the perfect time to commit to connecting more to nature and we want to make it easier than ever for everyone to do just that. This isn’t about parting with money, it’s about pledging a bit of time, as often as you can.

We’ve written here before about the value of connecting with nature, its potential to heal our minds and bodies and improve our moods. We also believe the more we connect with nature the more likely we are to take action to protect it. The UK’s wildlife and nature face unprecedented threats – it’s being neglected and has seen huge declines in a range of species in the past 50 years.

The good news is we can all play a big role in protecting it. Across Cheshire, people are coming together to do just that. Many of you will be doing things in your gardens or your communities and others are taking individual action to enhance neglected spaces, such as Aidan Bucknall in Cheadle Hulme. He has committed many hours to clearing invasive species that had hidden and choked fruit trees in his local park. He now has a growing group that comes together to maintain the space. Aidan says the connection to nature he found through this work has transformed his health: 'It brought me back to life, he says.

Other projects include Grit Studios in Stockport, where a group of artists and craftspeople have come together to clear surrounding streets and plant wildlife-friendly plants. The results have been felt by residents, as pride is brought back to their neglected streets.

These schemes were not motivated by lofty ambitions, they started with the desire of a few passionate people to tidy up their local space, but as is often the case things took on a life of their own. Their passion grew and that passion inspired others to take action. The more action, the more wildlife flourishes, and so it goes – a life cycle starts, one with huge benefits for the individuals involved, for communities and for nature.

Great British Life: Nature nurturer Aidan Bucknall and his wife Caroline from Cheadle Hulme, who are part of a growing group caring for their local park. Nature nurturer Aidan Bucknall and his wife Caroline from Cheadle Hulme, who are part of a growing group caring for their local park. (Image: Joseph Lee)

Not everyone is in a position to take on a big project or form a group, but if you’re reading this the chances are you want to do a little more for nature and wildlife. If that’s the case you’re not alone, the Office for National Statistics found 80 per cent of people in the UK care about the environment and want to do more to protect it.

With this in mind, we’ve created a new space on our website to make it easy for you to take action. We will be curating different types of actions to suit every level of expertise, no matter how much time you have. We will have quick wins such as signing a petition, through to things that take a little longer, such as planting a tree or creating a bug hotel. There will be individual actions and ideas for families or workplace teams and they will change with the seasons, ensuring you can feel more connected to nature come rain or shine.

This is all about taking the time whenever possible to spare a thought for nature, tuning into it through simple actions; it’s about carving out a little bit of time to wonder how nature is doing and whether there’s anything you can do in that moment to help it.

We all owe our lives to nature, we are part of nature and it’s part of us. So imagine if we all started thinking about nature as if it were one of our family – nurturing it and putting its needs before our own. Imagine what the world would look like if we all did that a little more. Would we see cleaner rivers? Greener cities? More birds and bees? Would we all be healthier and happier?

So, are you ready to take the challenge and commit to making every day wild? Are you ready to hold up your hand and shout: 'I’m with nature'?' If your answers are yes, then sign up on our new webpage, it won’t cost you a penny but you’ll be joining a growing movement of Cheshire people pledging to:

• Connect with nature every day

• Live more sustainably at home

• Find ways to bring more nature and wildlife into your community

We’ll provide you with a variety of actions for nature and inspiring stories to get you started and make it easy for you to develop a new habit of living every day a little wilder.

Let’s make Cheshire wilder... together

cheshirewildlifetrust.org.uk/take-action-join-movement