Ellen keeps you up to date with the news from the Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust

SURELY December is the ideal time to curl up by a fire with a mince pie or three.

Outside, the leaves are leaving, and the wind is starting to nip.

It’s time to take care of each other, shop for Christmas presents, give to charity, and spread goodwill.

To get in the spirit of Christmas, Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust are sharing their Advent’ure Calendar – festive wildlife and countryside ideas for each day to Christmas Eve and beyond.

There are ideas for places to walk – sparkling blue days of hoarfrost are some of the best days to be alive, but stubbornly taking on one of Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust’s 17 Stroud area nature reserves in the wind and rain has its rewards too.

The sense of adventure – scarves and boots, braving the elements, before getting home rosy-cheeked, makes me feel I’ve earned that advent calendar chocolate.

Although if you are like me, you ate it before you went!

One of the calendar ideas to do early in December is to decorate a tree with bird feeder baubles, like the small yew tree in my garden where I hang tempting decorations.

Favourites are pine cones stuffed with a mix of suet and birdseed – adults and kids love making them.

And how about decorating a twig wreath?

Use dried apricots, strings of raisins, plain popcorn and monkey nuts – along with sprays of tempting berries or millet.

Go to town and the birds will thank you!

After dry food, a supply of fresh water (checked regularly for ice) is high on the list.

In a freeze it’s so hard for birds to find water that they can die from dehydration.

You can also try putting out fresh apples – windfalls are great – the soft texture means they never freeze solid. Small, thirsty birds can often manage to peck enough moisture to stay alive.

You’ll find many more ideas for this and wintry walks in the Advent’ure Calendar.

 You can also help wildlife through your Christmas shopping – did you know you could give someone a dormouse this Christmas?

GWT’s Adopt a Species packs allow you to give aunty Alice or nephew Noah a dormouse, water vole, barn owl or even a stag beetle as an alternative Christmas gift!

Gifting one of these packs will mean your money goes towards vital conservation work to protect these vulnerable species.

Have very merry and wild Christmas!

For more information go to the website gloucestershirewildlifetrust.co.uk or call 01452 383333.

Sign up to the Advent’ure Calendar by visiting gloucestershirewildlifetrust.co.uk/adventurecalendar.