5 ways to enjoy nature this summer

We are already one month through summer which is crazy! I have spent most of June interrailing through Europe which was the most amazing experience. Today’s blog post is going to be about ways to enjoy nature this summer. I love spending time in nature, and it is so important to go outside and breathe in the fresh air!

(Cover photo is a Male Adonis Blue taken at Prestbury Hill nature reserve in Gloucestershire).

This blog post is part of a collaboration organised by B from Mind Beauty Simplicity. I love being a part of this bloggers group because we are from all across the world but support and collaborate together. The links to their blog post will be at the end of this post.

Read outside

Is there anything better than reading outside in the sun? I haven’t done it much this summer, but I am looking forward to doing it when I go to France with my parents. It is so nice and peaceful to read your book and listen to the sounds of wildlife nearby. Sometimes when I lived in Bournemouth, I would go to a local park and read my book in the park. There would be butterflies and bees fluttering about amongst the flowers which I loved so much.

I am so behind on my Goodreads reading goal of 40 books this year, as I am only on 10 or 11. Between university, I have had no time to read for pleasure. My reading list is very long and I’m currently reading a number of different books. Hopefully, I will get more of a chance to read soon. Before I went away I was reading Book Lovers by Emily Henry which I really enjoyed but wanted to read at a leisurely pace. I recently bought Love, Theoretically by Ali Hazelwood and I’ve read the first two chapters – she is my favourite author.

Related post: 8 ways to attract wildlife in an urban area

Visit a nature reserve

As I’m sure you know, I love going to a nature reserve. There are so many incredible ones and I’m always finding new ones just around the corner. I love spotting butterflies in the summer and I’ve spotted 32 so far this year out of the 59 UK species. It was on my 2023 bucket list to spot 3 new butterfly species and I’ve managed to spot 6 so I’m extremely happy with that.

Of course, there is plenty of other wildlife to spot if butterflies aren’t your thing. I went to a nature reserve nearby called Coombe Hill and they had a bird hide but I hadn’t got binoculars, now that I do I want to go back. If you live in Dorset or Hampshire, the New Forest is a great place to go on walks.

Continue reading: 5 ways to enjoy nature this summer

Do some gardening

We are in full swing of the picking season on my parent’s allotment, but it isn’t too late to start planting! I recently read that now is a good time to plant salad leaves, herbs, chard and pak choi amongst other things. This year, I have grown a lot of fruit and vegetables. The vegetables I have grown are pink broad beans, purple sugar snap peas, watermelon lettuce, carrots, beetroot and rainbow chard. I’ve grown some flowers too including cornflowers, poppies, wildflowers, echinacia and cosmos. I have loved growing more things on the allotment, and hope to add to that list next year!

The purple peas are my favourite probably, due to how successful they have been this year. I don’t think I planted that many seeds, but they all came up and produced a lot of pods. I am trying to get lots of pink, purple and blue cornflowers to grow but I have to keep on top of the weeding! Personally, I find weeding very therapeutic and love to see the before & after. It’s also much better for the environment to grow your own veg and eat seasonal.

If you don’t have a gardening section, you could go to a pick-your-own place. I used to love doing that when I was younger!

Start a nature journal

Another way to enjoy nature this summer is by starting a nature journal. I started mine in April and I love printing my wildlife photos off and sticking them in. I like to draw the organism myself next to the picture which helps me learn and remember them. As a member of the Butterfly Conservation, I get magazines from them which have beautiful photographs in so I have been cutting them out. Painting and drawing really relax me so to combine it with wildlife is perfect for me. I’m a kid at heart really, and I love buying stickers – I recently bought a beautiful washi tape for my nature journal. There’s no limit to what you could include in yours, maybe even pressing flowers.

Eat outside

It has been so hot lately, almost too hot to be outside! Breakfast is a good meal to have outside as it isn’t too hot in the morning. A picnic is another nice idea, pack some food and a blanket. I also love having a summer BBQ and I look forward to having some grilled halloumi and vegetable skewers – delicious! What’s your favourite BBQ item?

Go camping

Another way to enjoy nature this summer is by going camping. I used to go camping more when I was younger, but I did really enjoy it. Now my parents have a caravan, so not quite the same as sleeping practically on the ground but in the countryside nonetheless! I also used to go camping with guides and loved it, nothing like a s’more on an open fire. It’s not everyone’s cup of tea, but I quite like being woken up by the birds morning song. Camping is a great way to get away from the stressfulness of life, and to have a social media detox.

Related post: 7 ways nature can improve your mental health

I hope you enjoyed my post, here are a list of the other bloggers in this collaboration:

• Mind Beauty Simplicity
• Examine This Moment
• Headphones Thoughts
• Riyah Speaks
• Dating Bitch
• This Brits Life
• Victoria St. Michael

How are you going to enjoy nature this summer?

Caroline ♡