Autumnwatch: Get closer to nature

Get involved with nature this autumn

This autumn, pull on your woolly jumpers and head out to enjoy an adventure with nature where you live.

To help inspire you, Autumnwatch's Martin Hughes-Games has made a series of films that show how we can all get more involved with local wildlife.

"You may have put up a bird box or dug a pond, but I've been finding out how we can go much further in helping and learning about wildlife," says Martin.

Autumnwatch 2009 runs from 2 October to 20 November, Fridays at 9pm on BBC Two.

From bat detecting to discovering the ancient knowledge of medicinal plants, there are hundreds of conservation and wildlife volunteering projects that can spark our interest and lead to an autumn adventure with nature.

Not only can we get up closer to nature, but we just may help make a difference to science or conservation groups' efforts to help our native wildlife.

Batman

As part of the Autumnwatch "How Do I?" series, Martin gave up his usual Friday-night curry to spend the evening in a bat-mobile with the Bat Conservation Trust.

There are 17 species of bat in the UK, but the population has declined dramatically over the last century - due to the loss of natural habitats.

Autumnwatch: Local bat surveys

The increase in the use of pesticides has also reduced the numbers of insects on which the bats feed.

Across the country, volunteers are helping with bat surveys. This plays an important part in their conservation.

To get involved with a bat group and survey in Wearside or County Durham, visit the Durham Bat Group here.

If spending an evening surveying bats is too much adventure after dark, there are plenty of wildlife activities you can take part in at a more sociable hour.

The Durham Wildlife Trust have an extensive programme of nature related activities. You can download them from their website here.

Wildflower walks

Earlier in the year, BBC Two's "Grow Your Own Drugs" series inspired many of us to think more about the medicinal properties of the flora in our gardens and countryside.

What you might not have considered is that by learning more about the medicinal properties of plants, not only can you help yourself, but you will also enjoy more time with nature.

Of the 1,500 wild flower species growing in the UK, around 400 are thought to have medicinal properties.

Echinacea is thought to help fight infections like the common cold

"Hundreds of years ago," says Martin, "we couldn't just pop into the chemist for a cure, so we had to learn how to make them from nature. It's an age-old practice but the ingredients are still all around us."

Herbs create a brilliant habitat for wildlife.

Not only do they bring wildlife to your garden, but the wildlife also uses them to fight against parasites in the nest, or to treat illnesses.

"For thousands of years, it's been observed that wildlife uses herbs and flowers to treat conditions and make life easier, just as humans have used herbs to increase their quality of life," says medical herbalist, Christina Stapeley.

Natural remedies help us and wildlife

Herbs and flowers have offered us food, medicine, dyes, fragrances and so much more - but don't just pick from mother nature's larder without learning about it first.

"Please be very careful," says Martin, "just because you can pick a plant, don't assume you can use it in a remedy."

"Some plants, like the foxglove, can kill you. It's a very complex science - so take part in one of the many guided wildflower and herbalism walks and learn from the experts," he insists.

To find out more about a wildflower walk in Wearside or County Durham, visit the Durham Wildlife Trust website here. Further advice and information is also available from The Herb Society website here.

Be a nature volunteer

One of the best ways to learn more about nature and how you can get involved, is by assisting one of the many wildlife or conservation projects that are taking place in the UK.

One of the largest projects is the bird-ringing scheme run by the British Trust for Ornithology (BTO).

Bird ringing allows us to track the movement and numbers of birds

Involving more than 2,000 trained volunteers, a small, uniquely numbered metal ring is fitted on the legs of more than 800,000 birds.

By indentifying them as individuals, we can start to understand changes in the survival and movements of bird populations.

"Ringing allows us to follow the birds' movements and, more importantly, understand what might be causing changes in populations - what we call demography," says Mark Grantham of the BTO.

"Anyone can get involved, and the best way is simply to keep an eye out for ringed birds.

"This might be a blackbird in your garden or a barn owl down the road - all are important! If it's ringed, report it online or via the BTO," he adds.

To become a bird ringer in your area visit the BTO website to find your nearest ringing trainer.

However you decide to get involved with nature this autumn, enjoy being out in the fresh air, enjoying the wildlife and experiencing nature where you live.

Watch Autumnwatch from Friday 2 October to Friday 20 November 2009 at 9pm every Friday on BBC Two followed by Autumnwatch Unsprung at 10pm.