Leading garden bird food brand Peckish is swooping in to give garden centres a major footfall boost this October half-term.

Peckish is calling on garden centres to partner with them to launch a new campaign for the wild bird season. The campaign, Go Wild With Peckish, encourages families to unplug from their digital devices for a day, in support of Britain's feathered friends. It will provide entertaining activities for garden centres nationwide to run, keeping retailers and families alike feeling chirpy.

Recent research* shows the average UK adult now spends more time using media than they do sleeping, and by 'media multi-talking' young adults pack a staggering 14 hours of media consumption into 9 hours of the day. It's now so difficult to switch off that nearly a third of working adults carry out work on holiday. 

As part of Go Wild With Peckish, the brand is providing garden centres with an activity pack to help give Britain's wild birds a hand during half-term. The pack includes guidance on activities to increase footfall, such as fun bird feeder and fat ball making sessions, and a bird spotting activity where giant cut out bird characters guide customers on a journey around the store. Goodie bags will also be provided for garden centres to issue to participants.

A major drawing competition is also running through garden centres and the Peckish website. Children who bring the wild birds in their garden to life through creative drawings can win prizes including a family day out and Peckish hampers. The Peckish website will also be packed with downloadable activities to help families connect with nature during half-term and bring more birds into their garden. Likewise, the trade website will include downloadable items and support for garden centres looking to hold the activities in their store.

Rachael Dickinson, Senior Brand Manager at Peckish said: "We're encouraging families to turn off their screens for a day during half-term and spend time together enjoying and learning about nature. Technology really helps us fit a lot into our lives, but it's also important to make time to switch off. The British wild bird population is in decline, so Go Wild With Peckish aims to be fun-filled whilst also encouraging future generations to do their best to help out wild birds thrive.

"We've had a fantastic response from our garden centre partners to Go Wild With Peckish. They'll receive a real boost from the increased footfall and customer participation in the activities and giveaways. To ensure they have extra customers flying through the door this half-term, garden centres should sign up at www.trade.gardenhealth.com or by emailing joingowild@gardenhealth.com."

Peckish provides quality food for garden birds and enhances the enjoyment of feeding them. It helps bring more birds, colour and bird song into Britain's gardens.

For more information about Go Wild With Peckish, visit www.trade.gardenhealth.com or follow @PeckishBirdFood for the latest Twitter updates. Garden centres can sign up for Go Wild With Peckish directly by emailing joingowild@gardenhealth.com.

*Ofcom, The Communications Market Report, August 2014