IS YOUR family wild about nature? Perhaps you’ve resolved to get outdoors and explore the natural world more often in 2022. If so, Wildlife Watch is a great way to encourage youngsters to be passionate about our wild world.
Wildlife Watch will inspire them to explore the great outdoors and help them find out more about the wonderful creatures with which we share the world.
Wildlife Watch is a part of The Wildlife Trusts, just for kids. It has a free website, www.wildlifewatch.org.uk, which shares fantastic facts about creatures – from a woodlouse hiding under a rock to the humongous buzzard soaring high in the sky.
It also includes an area packed with downloadable activity sheets: young ones will enjoy the colouring sheets, while older kids can use the instructions to construct a bird feeder or insect hotel, or even make seed bombs to create a mini wildflower meadow for insects to enjoy.
The site has a wildlife zone section with lots of information on the UK’s amazing animal life and plants, from minibeasts to mammals and wildflowers to woodlands. It includes the places they live – some may be almost on your doorstep!
Youngsters can enter a species in the search box, or browse through categories such as birds, reptiles and fungi to discover species they may not have heard of, and find fascinating facts about them.
If your family really wants to be wildlife friendly you might take out a family membership of Surrey Wildlife Trust, which includes Wildlife Watch membership.
Family membership is half-price until the end of January – just £2.50 per month: visit www.surreywildlifetrust.org and use the ‘join us’ tab for details.
When your family joins you will receive a fantastic Wildlife Watch starter pack for children. It includes a 60-page handbook packed full of things to do in your own garden or local wild spaces, as well as wildlife stickers and a badge to show youngsters have joined the club.
Members also receive four magazines a year filled with activities, quizzes and facts, plus a poster with each issue.
The family will also receive Surrey Wildlife Trust’s regular membership pack for grown-ups, which includes a 66-page guide to wildlife in Surrey, the latest issue of Surrey Nature magazine – published for members three times a year – and free or discounted activities and courses with the trust.