How to provide bushes for nesting birds
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In the spring, birds choose the best locations to build nests, so why not offer them a safe place to settle?
If Halloween costumes and masks to copious amounts of plastic-wrapped treats is enough to scare you, check out our top tips for a plastic free Halloween!
Bring costumes back from the dead
It can be great fun dressing up as your favourite spooky character, but a recent survey found that Halloween costumes are often made up of 90% plastic. An incredible 7 million Halloween costumes are thrown away each year in the UK. But you can avoid this by:
- Making your own costume from old clothes or cardboard
- Costume swap with friends a family
- Rent a costume just for the night
Paint on a scary face
If you are looking for a waste-free costume, face paint is the perfect option! Choose a natural, non-toxic face paint that washes off at the end of the night. Transform into a ghastly ghost or a skeleton without the plastic waste.
Halloween costumes are often made up of 90% plastic.
Don't waste your pumpkin
Carving a pumpkin is a family friendly activity which screams Halloween. But what do you do with the leftovers? Sadly, a horrifying 8 million pumpkins will be thrown out after Halloween in the UK alone. How about using the leftovers to make a pumpkin pie or soup? Alternatively, roasted pumpkin seeds make a quick and easy snack!
Reusable treat containers
Upcycle a plastic tub, pillowcase or tote bag by decorating it with a spooky design. It will last for many years to come!
Home-baked treats
Instead of individual plastic-wrapped sweets, cook up some fudge or bake your own spooky cookies. Children will love decorating them!
Decorate
Get creative and make decorations that are recyclable! How about...
- Paper ghosts, bats and garlands
- Construct an autumnal Halloween wreath made from twigs and leaves
- Create autumn leaf lanterns using old jam jars and leaves
- Transform milk jugs into ghost lanterns
- Use brown string to create spider webs
More ways you can help wildlife
The best plants for bees and pollinators
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Set up a ‘nectar café’ by planting flowers for pollinating insects like bees and butterflies
How to clean nestboxes and bird feeders
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Nestboxes can harbour parasites so it is good practice to take them down at the end of the season and give them a clean. Likewise it is important to keep bird feeders clean to stop the spread of diseases.
Recycle and reuse
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Recycle, upcycle - and make do and mend! Production of household waste needs to decrease by 33% by 2037 to reach emissions targets. So get out that needle and thread!
Do a litter pick or beach clean!
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Be a wildlife saviour and do a litter pick or beach clean!
How to make a hedge for wildlife
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Hedges provide important shelter and protection for wildlife, particularly nesting birds and hibernating insects.