GET KIDS INTO
WILDLIFE EVERYTHING YOUR FAMILY NEEDS TO MAKE 2015 YOUR WILDEST YEAR EVER
Bank vole: Paul Hobson; from left: Chris Lloyd; Dan Burton/NPL; David Tipling/NPL; Ray Kennedy/rspb-images.com
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ADVERTISEMENT FEATURE GETTING KIDS INTO WILDLIFE, IN ASSOCIATION WITH OMAN MINISTRY OF TOURISM
S LA A EO O A Whether you have a passion for land or sea animals, culture or adventure activities Oman has something for everyone in the family. Diving, sailing, hiking, bird watching, land mammals...the possibilities are endless...
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man’s world class sailing and diving are easily accessible, with some of the best sites clustered off the coast from Musandam to Muscat and down to Salalah. Rays, dolphins, turtles, eels and reef sharks are among underwater life commonly encountered, with April to July the best months to dive. Look out for the unique Arabian whale off the Dhofar coast and, for truly exceptional diving, visit the Damaniyat Islands. With its vast protected areas and tall peaks, the Sultanate of Oman is the perfect place for cycle tours and mountain biking in the winter. There are three ability levels, ranging from flat routes through the palm groves to challenging tracks at an
altitude of 2,000 metres around Jabal Shams. You can also hire a 4x4 and visit mountain villages, canyons and wadis, some of which are ideal for canyoning; from Muscat it is easy to get to the Hajar Mountains and take in the breathtaking views. There are huge networks of underground areas in the Hajar mountains, including Majlis Al Jinn, the second largest cave chamber in the world. Some easily accessible caves can be explored as part of a canyoning route. However, most of the caves in the Selma Plateau require solid training and professional supervision. At the foot of Jabal Akhdar, the Al Hoota cave is equipped for public access and visitors
can go on a 40-minute guided tour to see stalactites, stalagmites and karst crystals covering the walls. Land mammals inhabit the mountains and coastal plains throughout the Governorate of Dhofar, where they enjoy protection from hunting under Oman’s law. The most iconic is
the Arabian leopard, one of the smallest Leopard species and these mountains are critical to its survival. The Arabian gazelle can be seen in the valleys either side of the main mountains ranges. In these valleys Rock Hyrax are also found, while in remoter areas Striped Hyaena, Nubian Ibex and Arabian Wolf live.
Alternatively, why not watch the turtles make their night time nesting foray onto the beaches before heading back to the ocean. Thousands of sea turtles migrate annually from the shores of the Arabian Gulf, the Red Sea and Somalia to lay their eggs on the Sultanate’s shores. Al Ras Al Jinz nature reserve is a quiet sanctuary
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for turtles located where they lay their eggs, securing the continued survival of the species and protecting them from extinction. Apart from the turtle breeding season (which extends throughout the year in varying degrees), you can enjoy the beauty of the beach and view the magnificent tracks left by the turtles.
CLOCKWISE FROM LEFT: Arabian leopard, sailing near Musandam, Green Back Turtle, Oman anemonefish and scuba divers, Majlis Al Jinn cave in Oman.
Oman witnesses huge swarms of migratory birds during their seasonal journey between their nesting habitats and the places where they spend winters, especially those birds migrating from Europe and East Asia which makes the Sultanate of Oman the perfect bird watching destination. Many birds, especially water fowl, migrate from faraway regions like northern Siberia, and travel about five thousand kilometres. You can see many species of birds in each of Oman’s different regions. Al Hikman Peninsula, Masirah Island, Al Wusta Governorate beaches, the Lagoons, the beaches and springs in Dhofar are ideal places for bird observation. Many of these species live in the Dimaniyat Islands and in Musandam.
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GETTING KIDS INTO WILDLIFE, IN ASSOCIATION WITH OMAN MINISTRY OF TOURISM
Your wild challenge Make the most of a summer of wildlife with this wild challenge from Amy-Jane Beer. Let us know when you’ve ticked them all off!
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Several of the butterflies and moths seen in Britain in summer are migrants from as far away as Africa. For instance, the painted lady begins to arrive in spring, feeding and laying eggs mainly on thistles – by July it’s possible to find caterpillars, pupae and newly emerged adults across Britain. Meanwhile influxes of hummingbird hawk-moths (below) arrive in summer and can be seen hovering to sip from nectar-rich tubular flowers such as red valerian and viper’s bugloss.
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If your summer includes a visit to the coast, try to make a trip to one of the seabird colonies for which Britain is famous. Gannets (pictured at Bass Rock), puffins, kittiwakes, fulmars, guillemots and razorbills all nest on cliff-faces or clifftops, where they are safe from land-based predators. The cacophony of calls, the sometimes heady stink of fish and guano (seabird poo), and the swirl of birds somehow managing to avoid collisions as they to-and-fro from feeding trips far out at sea is one of the greatest wildlife spectacles anywhere in the world.
5RFNSRROLQJ $FKLHYHG The number of hummingbird hawk-moths in the UK is increasing.
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An hour discovering the inhabitants of a tidal pool is time spent in another world. Anemones, filter-feeding barnacles, grazing limpets, shrimps, crabs and skulking fish can all be observed in detail, since they have little opportunity to escape. You don’t even have to disturb the animals by fishing them out. Human eyes aren’t well adapted to seeing in water, but you can get around the problem by making a simple but effective viewer from an old ice-cream tub – visit www.discoverwildlife. com/animals/marine/how-make-rockpool-viewer for instructions. You have a good chance of spotting a common shore crab while rockpooling.
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Clockwise from top: Nick Sidle; Mark Hamblin; Eric Médard; Damian Kuzdak; Paul Kay; Colin Varndell; Steve Round
The robin (right) is usually the first bird to strike up a song in the morning, often well before dawn, so you’ll need to be up by 4am! But it’s worth it – the song is among the most beautiful of any native bird, and having heard it echoing through the pre-dawn twilight you’ll recognise it easily whenever you hear it again. Get out on International Dawn Chorus Day, Sunday 3 May, and you can post your experience on our forum at www.discoverwildlife.com.
April 2015
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The populations of small mammals peak in late summer, particularly field voles, whose signs become easy to find in almost any patch of long grass. Look for small tunnels in tussocky vegetation, or burrow entrances the size of a £2 coin at path edges or under rocks, roots and logs. Be alert for loud squeaks in hedges and thickets which could signal a bad-tempered vole meeting. Your local mammal group or Wildlife Trust will run live trapping sessions where you’ll be unlucky not to see field and bank voles and woodmice up close.
YOUR FIRST MACRO PHOTOS You don’t need an expensive camera to take wildlife photos, says Sam Hobson. Try these three projects with a compact digital camera for great images.
The field vole is thought to be the most common British mammal.
)ORZHUV Begin by taking floral photos on a still, sunny day using your camera’s macro function (look for the flower symbol). This will teach you how to cope with focus and depth of field.
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The flickering forms of bats are difficult to identify as they zip by faster than the eye can follow. But the experience of bat watching is completely transformed with a bat detector, which lowers the pitch of bat calls to a frequency we can hear. Aiming a microphone at the sky, you can hear incoming bats before you see them and even identify species – our photo shows a brown long-eared bat. International Bat Weekend on 29–30 August will see events taking place all over the country. Visit www.bats.org.uk/batnight for details.
6SLGHUôV ZHE Start early in the morning when a spider’s web is likely to be covered in dew and see if you can capture this image, thinking about lighting and an uncluttered background.
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April 2015
From top: FLPA; W Rolfes/Minden/FLPA; FLPA
Wild badgers (right) are easily spooked, with a phenomenal sense of smell that alerts them to the presence of watchers. But they can become used to people, and such habituated animals can be watched from a house or hide, or even from a position in the open if you’re still and quiet enough. The best opportunities are in mid-summer when short nights mean that they have to start foraging in daylight. Don’t forget that disturbing a sett is a criminal offence, so join an organised event or go with someone who knows the law.
%XWWHUķ\ Look for butterflies such as the peacock (above) absorbing the early morning sun in your garden, as they will be relatively still. Share your photos at www. discoverwildlife.com/forum.
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Top tips to get into birdwatching Birding is a great way to see wildlife, but how do you get started? Amy-Jane Beer shares her tips for becoming a birdwatching pro...
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Start wherever you are! Birds are everywhere if you take the time to notice them. Begin by trying gardens, parks, local reserves or woods. Find a spot you know well, ideally somewhere birds are easy to see – with feeders, perhaps. This is where you can get your eye in and become familiar with a good selection of species.
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Use your full range of senses. Your peripheral vision is highly sensitive to movement (an adaptation our ancestors used to detect both predators and prey), so try to tune into what’s going on in the corners of your eyes. Listen, too – you’ll need to stop moving about to do so properly, though you can hear even the quietest calls if you listen hard enough. Loud
bursts of chattering song or clicking calls close by are warnings that birds have seen you – but can you see them?
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There’s no substitute for experience. Join an organised session or ask a regular birder to teach you – they will help you see more, and point out important features in real time. This is much more effective and memorable than learning from books or websites, though the latter becomes more useful as your own ability grows.
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Binoculars not only help you see details you’ll need to identify birds – they allow you to enter their world, and see individual feathers shifting as a bird turns its head; the puff of
steamy breath as it sings on a cool morning; and the precise movements of beak and claw. Be warned: these exquisite details are how birdwatchers get hooked. Take a notebook and pencil to record your experiences as they happen – don’t assume you’ll remember everything. You may also wish to buy a field guide such as the tough, waterproof charts for different habitats from the Field Studies Council.
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There’s plenty to occupy the birdwatcher in each of the four seasons – spring for newly arrived migrants, peak birdsong, courtship and nesting behaviour; summer for parents and fledglings intent on feeding; autumn for gathering migrants; and winter for intense action around feeding stations,
invasions of visitors from further north, late afternoon roosts, vast flocks of waterfowl, and starling murmurations. Birds have daily routines as we do – and these are most predictable at the beginning and the end of the day, so these are usually the best times to watch.
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Everyone does! If you see a mystery bird, note down as many details as you can including its appearance, song, location and behaviour. If you can take a photo (even if it’s not a good one) that will help. Use the information to consult a field guide, share with a local bird group or ask questions on the BBC Wildlife forum. Don’t be afraid to ask questions. The regulars and magazine team will be only too happy to share their knowledge with you.
Alan Williams/naturepl.com
HOW TO MAKE THE MOST OF YOUR WILDLIFE HOLIDAY Whether you’re heading abroad or going to a different part of the UK, here’s what you need to do.
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Check out websites to get an idea of what you will see, and in the UK consult the local Wildlife Trust.
Pack a good pair of binoculars to make sure that you get a really good view of the species you spot.
Don’t forget your ID books. Also consider picking up a local guide to the wildlife of the area.
April 2015
KIDS’ SPECIAL
LOCAL PATCH REPORTERS We now have a small army of Local Patch Reporters sharing news of their area on our forum. Here some of the best of our young bloggers explain why they do it‌
0\D 5RVH I love blogging about nature because it is fascinating and it is always changing. I could visit the same field at the same time every day for a year and I would never see or hear the same things. Blogging also helps me remember the small details I would otherwise forget.
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A hide full of people armed with expensive-looking kit can be intimidating, but don’t be put off. Enter and close the door quietly. If you’re not sure what birds to expect, look for a log book or board with recent sightings. Find a seat and a window. It’s fine to talk quietly, and to ask people what they have seen – most will be happy to share, and to point out when they see something interesting. When it’s time to leave, do so quietly, but do add any new sightings to the log.
Siskins – this is a male – frequently visit gardens to raid feeders for peanuts.
=DFK It’s fun to go outside, look at nature and find new things – sometimes in places you don’t expect. Blogging helps me record and learn more about the wildlife that I see. It also lets me share my love of nature, and get in touch with other people who love it too.
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Take a nature journal to record what you see, and a camera – or just use your smartphone.
Upload your stories to our Local Patch Reporters scheme at www. discoverwildlife.com/forum.
April 2015
Blogging has been a great way for me to record my wildlife sightings, and to share my pictures with others (I am a keen photographer). I also enjoy looking back to see what I have discovered and learnt – there have been many wonderful wildlife moments.
I love being outdoors, looking for wildlife and trying to spot new creatures – our back garden is full of some of my favourite animals! The blog is a brilliant way to keep track of all of the great things that we’ve seen on our adventures, and hopefully other people enjoy looking at it as well. Want to be a Local Patch Reporter? See www.discoverwildlife.com/forum
BBC Wildlife
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ADVERTISEMENT FEATURE GETTING KIDS INTO WILDLIFE, IN ASSOCIATION WITH OMAN MINISTRY OF TOURISM
G T I GKD I T N T R Climbing a tree, watching a ladybug crawl up your hand and making a wish with a dandelion are just some of the images the mind conjures up when we think of kids and nature, but what about the first time a child peers into the eyes of a big cat or smells the planet’s largest primate? We may think of woods, fields, rivers and oceans when we want to get kids outdoors, but zoos and aquariums offer just as many opportunities to explore, learn, have fun and be inspired by the natural world.
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IAZA is the British and Irish Association of Zoos and Aquariums. We have over 100 members who pride themselves on their excellent animal welfare, education and conservation work. Zoos and aquariums provide so much more than a fun day out. They give kids the opportunity to get close to nature, to learn about exotic wildlife from overseas and fascinating animals in their own back garden and to enter a world where they will be inspired to protect these beautiful creatures that we care for. BIAZA zoos and aquariums reach out to more than 22 million visitors a year and deliver wildlife education for over 1.5 million children in classroom sessions. This puts our zoos and aquariums in a unique position to teach and inspire a wide and diverse audience. Nothing can replace the experience of closeness with living animals. We understand that in order to want to protect the natural world we have to understand and care about what we are being asked to protect. Zoos and aquariums offer the opportunity for the public to form a more personal connection with wildlife, and our education programmes can direct this emotional response towards a conservation goal. We aim to inspire kids to protect wildlife. Zoos and aquariums are not only involved with conservation projects abroad, but also for UK and Irish species in partnership with other conservation organisations and local groups. Many visitors are not aware of the amazing biodiversity found in their own back yard – or the number of creatures living right here which are in need of conservation efforts. Zoos teach kids about native species via talks, animal encounters with smaller animals such as minibeasts and fun nature activities from building bug houses and pond-dipping, to nature walks and bioblitzes on and off-site. Zoos not only keep animals, but often are nature hubs themselves. Many of our members care for local habitats and green spaces for public use. They often become ‘safe havens’ for local species such as bats, butterflies and bumblebees.
C E T RZ ON R HO E G A D Z O O I A S CE Y NEW FOR 2015 Inspire a generation of young explorers with the wildlife expedition of a life time at Chester Zoo. We’re recreating the amazing tropical environments of six South East Asian islands and making them yours to explore on your own wildlife expedition from June 2015. Extraordinary discoveries every day, join the expedition! www.chesterzoo.org
H W C N E V N YT U T This year the Hawk Conservancy Trust celebrates its 50th anniversary and 50 years of educating children at the Trust. From our Young Falconer and Children’s Owl experiences and pond dipping during school holidays to owl pellet dissection and nest box building at our after school club, there is plenty to get youngsters excited about wildlife. Enjoy a day in the country, to have fun, to learn, to be inspired and be amazed. www.hawk-conservancy.org
www.biaza.org.uk
BR I G A WL LF C N E V TO P R The Birmingham Wildlife Conservation Park actively engages children in the wonders of the natural world through proactive teacher-led education sessions. These illustrate conservation issues relating to biodiversity. Children have the opportunity to see a wide variety of species managed in naturalistic environments. We are a wildlife oasis in the middle of the UK’s second largest city. www.bhamconservationpark.org
P R DS WL LF P R Paradise Wildlife Park sits in the heart of Hertfordshire’s countryside. We encourage kids to engage with wildlife through our daily keeper talks, shows and animal encounters. We also work hard to preserve our beautiful Woodland Walk, where we encourage visitors to take a seat in our nature hide, to get even closer to nature. www.pwpark.com
GETTING KIDS INTO WILDLIFE, IN ASSOCIATION WITH OMAN MINISTRY OF TOURISM
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There are so many different animals to meet at Shepreth Wildlife Park you won’t know where to start at this multi award-winning attraction, which has helped raise over £100,000 for conservation projects worldwide. From admiring tigers in the Big Cat House to spying upon mischievous primates on Lemur Island, with over 100 species to see, you’re in for an amazing treat.
Tayto Park inspires children to engage with wildlife through various education and special programmes including; citizen science projects and conservation fundraising events. Our green heroes roll up their sleeves and get down and dirty as bug detectives and master builders of magnificent wildlife hotels to become champions of conservation. Their experiences at Tayto Park empower a strong connection to the natural world.
www.sheprethwildlifepark.co.uk
www.taytopark.ie
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There is magic around every corner at West Midland Safari Park. Explore four miles of drivethrough safari. Come face to face with giraffes, cheetahs and elephants. Feed the deer and enjoy Discovery Trail with its live shows, animal encounters galore, including Penguin Cove. Visit Meerkat Mayhem, walk-through lemurs and our Theme Park. www.wmsp.co.uk
The rangers and educators at Yorkshire Wildlife Park work all year round to inspire and educate children through their talks and sessions, as well as initiatives such as the Conservation Ambassadors competition, fun workshops during Love Your Zoo week and on International Tiger Day and Polar Bear Week. Children can get close to animals they have only seen on television, inspiring future generations into conservation! www.yorkshirewildlifepark.com
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Home to Asian elephants, white rhinos and common hippos, ZSL Whipsnade Zoo can get young people close to some of the world’s biggest creatures. Our Veterinary Careers Day course gives participants a unique chance to see inside the veterinary hospital, meet the professionals that work there and experience exactly what their jobs entail.
Young people of all ages can get close to the wonder of wildlife at ZSL London Zoo, London’s real urban jungle! Get excited about the natural world with a range of inspiring practical activities including our Zoo Academy course, which teaches about the care and protection of animals through hands-on activities behind-the-scenes.
www.zsl.org/education
www.zsl.org/education
GETTING KIDS INTO WILDLIFE, IN ASSOCIATION WITH OMAN MINISTRY OF TOURISM
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s wildlife enthusiasts ourselves we are well aware of the joys and benefits of a healthy interest in the natural world. We’re keen to share our enthusiasm with the next generation and offer a range of products specifically for children, as well as a whole range of other items to help people to encourage more wildlife into their gardens. The most obvious way of attracting wildlife is to provide food for the birds in your garden. This doesn’t just help the birds that you regularly see in your garden, but may also give fleeting visitors like Siskins or Redpolls a reason to stay around. Many of our most common garden visitors are bright, attractive birds that are hard to ignore, which is probably why so many naturalists cite watching garden birds in childhood as the initial spark that fired a lifetime’s interest. Bird feeding is a year round past time that gives you a glimpse into the private world of some of our most captivating wildlife, and is a great way of encouraging a deeper interest in wildlife. We have feeding house kits that enable children to build and decorate their own bird feeder so that it is uniquely theirs, and we also offer a nest box kit that allows even small children, with some gentle supervision, to have a personal connection with the birds that use it during the breeding season. Specialist foods and accommodation can encourage charismatic wildlife such as hedgehogs into gardens and offer a chance to watch them undisturbed from a convenient window, whilst also helping the wildlife by providing good quality nutrition. Wildlife gardening is a subject that has filled many excellent books, but simply gardening in a more benign way, reducing or eliminating the use of chemicals and allowing space for wildlife are all good ways of increasing the value of your garden with a whole range of creatures. We have a great range of wildlife identification guides, viewing lenses and collecting pots to give children a memorable one on one encounter with common garden invertebrates. In our experience most youngsters need very little encouragement to look at minibeasts and will delight in identifying features on creatures that initially look like aliens! We can’t imagine life without an interest in the natural world and we welcome the chance to encourage that interest in others.
To get your free copy of our new spring catalogue please visit www.birdfood.co.uk/wildlifekids or call 0800 731 2820.
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Sumburgh Head Lighthouse, Visitor Centre and Nature Reserve
Open daily April to September
www.sumburghhead.com The Shetland Amenity Trust is a registered Scottish charity, No:SC017505
KIDS’ SPECIAL
If you know a teacher who brings wildlife into their classroom then we want to hear from them.
SCHO O LS’ DI GITAL WI LD LI F E AWAR D
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April 2015
Calling all teachers: a new award aims to celebrate the most dynamic wildlife education in British schools.
SOME IDEAS TO GET YOU STARTED... kk YOUR SCHOOL WILDLIFE ZONE
kk INTERNATIONAL CONSERVATION
kk SPECIESSPECIFIC
Your digital project could focus on your school’s wildlife zone, reporting on the different species that live there, the behaviour you’ve seen and any seasonal changes.
You could report on a conservation issue somewhere in the world using research that has been discussed in the classroom – anywhere from Africa to the Antarctic, from rainforest to desert.
Whether you’ve been studying birds, mammals, ocean wildlife or invertebrates, you can create a presentation that looks at groups of animals or even just a single species.
kk LOCAL WILDLIFE Report on a wildlife reserve nearby, local conservation efforts or a specific species that is found in your area.
TERMS AND CONDITIONS • All entries must be submitted by a teacher or representative of the school over 18 years old by 5pm on 3 June 2015. • Videos must be no longer than three minutes and can be sent via File Transfer Protocol (FTP) or posted to us at BBC Wildlife Magazine, Immediate Media Company, 2nd Floor, Tower House, Fairfax Street, Bristol, BS1 3BN on a CD-ROM. • Do use voiceovers, but we want to avoid on-screen presentation. So no pupils should appear in the presentation or video. •There will be separate awards for Key Stage 1, Key Stage 2 and Key Stage 3. • Contact Matt Swaine (left) for guidelines on how to make and submit your presentation before getting started. • Visit www.discoverwildlife.com/competitions to read the rules as well as full terms and conditions.
From top: iStock; Tim Graham/Alamy
BC Wildlife Magazine is on the hunt for schools that are leading the way in natural-history education. Our new Schools’ Digital Wildlife Award will celebrate both the most innovative teachers and the most enthusiastic classrooms around the country. We are asking classes to submit a digital presentation from the classroom. It could be in the form of a three-minute video or a concise Prezi-style presentation that can combine words, video and pictures (see http://prezi.com). As long as the presentation relates to wildlife, you can choose any topic you like. In fact we’d + FIND OUT MORE like you to be as If your school is creative as possible interested in getting when deciding your involved, email matt. theme, but we’ve swaine@immediate. co.uk for full details suggested some ideas using the subject to help you get started line “Wild Schools”. (see box, right).
NEW WILDLIFE SCHOOL PRIZE
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et in the heart of the Wensum Valley and voted Norfolk’s Best Large Visitor Attraction 2014*, Pensthorpe Natural Park is more than just a showcase for conservation and wildlife. It’s never been easier to leave technology behind, take a walk on the wild side and get children out into the fresh air! It has been well documented how children today are inclined to stay indoors to play in the virtual world rather than putting on a pair of wellies and playing outside. With an ethos to encourage children to swap WIFI for wildlife, Pensthorpe Natural Park has adopted a clever approach to entice and inspire children to safely reconnect with the natural world and cultivate a curiosity for conservation through adventure play. In a bid to reconnect children with the great outdoors, Pensthorpe Natural Park launched WildRootz; an outdoor adventure playground designed to encourage children to play and explore in natural habitats as they swoop like a falcon, scramble like a spider and dig like a mole! For those who love handson learning, there are daily feeds, meet and greet sessions with a resident owl, pond dipping and the WildRootz Passport to ensure the Park offers an exhilarating and fun day out for wildlife lovers and children of all ages. The park is also a feast for the eyes with 660 acres of unspoilt habitat, hundreds of wild species, woodland walks and nature trails to explore and inspire budding young photographers. Children can snap away as they admire flamingos, cranes and red squirrels that inhabit Pensthorpe Natural Park. Come in and see what’s new for WildRootz as the outdoors comes indoors! Hootz House opening summer 2015. •EDP Tourism Awards 2014
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e all know, there is now critical amount’s of evidence that our nation is no longer the green nation we pride ourselves on. Instead, generation by generation, we are increasingly becoming more and more isolate from the great outdoors. Our nation’s children are missing out on the pure joy of connection with the natural world, and as a result, as adults they can lack the understanding of the importance of nature. Now more than ever there are so many ways to connect your child with wildlife. Nest Box and Bird Feeders with cameras installed make the ideal way for children to get closer to the wildlife in your garden. Imagine the excitement on their faces as they watch live pictures and sound of garden birds nesting, laying eggs and raising a little family.
We manufacture and supply a wide range of nestbox camera systems, bird feeder cams, bird tables, wildlife cameras and general wildlife watching products to customers all over the world. Gardenature is a family run business which has fast become Europe’s number one manufacturer and supplier of high quality products designed specifically for watching all forms of wildlife from the relaxed comfort of your armchair, your garden, out in the wild, or any other natural habitat. Come and visit us at www.gardenature.co.uk and get your children closer to wildlife.
T��: 01473 563 000 W��: www.gardenature.co.uk
GETTING KIDS INTO WILDLIFE, IN ASSOCIATION WITH OMAN MINISTRY OF TOURISM
T EC RO S T E H U E A V N U E – W L O ET O R W N E F L W R D.
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he award-winning magical world of Bewilderwood is a land apart. Set in the leafy Norfolk marshes, Broads and woods, it is a place of rich imagination where children of all ages can run wild. A kind of gentle timelessness pervades the whole day out. It brings you back to the lost time of truly exploring the wilderness of ancient woodland. You can even build your own den from branches and logs. And because it is all shaded by leaves it is a perfect place to visit on a hot summer day, or even in light drizzle. Entry is by pink boat past the Boggle Village where Swampy lives, and on into the Scary Lake. Something with teeth lurks there in the dingy water. Could it be dangerous? (Hint; she’s called Mildred the crocklebog and she has heaps of handbags, so maybe not). Then it’s on to the high Broken Bridge, the wild zip-wires, the near vertical Slippery Slopes and more. This year there is a new Sky Maze, with over half a kilometre of canopy walkway to get lost in. In between the adventure and play, there is a storytelling stage and most days there are events when children can make beautiful things to take home after they have used them in the park. There’s no extra charge for doing anything and adults are encouraged to join in too. Oh, and the food is delicious, healthy woodland fare, just the sort the Boggles themselves would eat. Based on the series of books by the park’s creator, Tom Blofeld, this is a world of adventure and imagination galore. Every detail is crafted with care. Don’t miss out on a visit. Schools are especially welcome.
T : 01692 633033 W : www.bewilderwood.co.uk
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O
ur Junior Keeper Experiences (age7–11) and Trainee Keeper Experiences (age 12–16) are extremely popular with all young animal enthusiasts. Our experiences offer children from ages 7 to 16 a chance to go behind the scenes with a qualified zookeeper and spend the morning or day with the keeper doing various keeper jobs, such as mucking out, feeding and enrichment. As well as the hands on experience, they get to discuss topics such as the role of zoos, breeding programmes and what it takes to gain their ideal animal job in the future.
“Won erf ! Kee doing he wor ou do. carlett i it was her best ir hday xperie ce ever!” – Mrs Littell Our experiences let children get closer to wild animals such as Meerkats, Penguins, Lemurs and Giraffes, in a safe way and this experience helps to teach them about respecting animals and their capabilities, as well as teaching them that the animals are not kept in zoos as pets, but for breeding, education and conservation purposes. The experience helps educate the children about animal care and welfare, and the conservation work that is so vital now for species survival, in a fun and interesting manner.
“To be o clos to he nimals n lear o much abou hem was r m com true.” – Jemma, age 7 “
was p ! was eve better h hough it woul be. c ’ choos my vourit it bec us it was al o m zing! Th k ou.” – Elliot, age 8
Address:
Burford, Oxfordshire, OX18 4JP T : 01993 823006 W : www.cotswoldwildlifepark.co.uk