The Biodiversity Summer School is a FREE outdoor event that will give families the opportunity to take part in fun biodiversity projects such as pond dipping, mini-beast hunts and bird box building. Learn about the natural world through a variety of activities and games.
Date: Monday 4th to Friday 8th August 2014 – every morning from 11am to 1pm.
Venue: Diamond Jubilee Wood, Whitehead. (Meet at Bentra Car Park, Slaughterford Road, Whitehead.)
This is an outdoor event please wear suitable outdoor clothing and footwear. Under 16’s must be accompanied by a parent or guardian.
Event Details:
Day 1 (Monday 4th August): Natural Art: Come along on a guided tour of the woodland and collect natural materials to make your own unique piece of art! Leaves, twigs, petals and grasses can be bound together or pressed onto paper to make a wonderful picture or creative piece of jewellery to take home.
Day 2. (Tuesday 5th August): Come Dine with Me: Help feed our feathered friends by making lots of tasty cakes and treats from raw ingredients. Using natural and recycled materials these treats can be left in the nature reserve or taken home and will completely biodegrade. Learn how to reuse household waste to create simple feeders for taking home and learn the importance of feeding birds especially through the winter season.
Day 3. (Wednesday 6th August): Pond Life: What’s living in the water in the woodland? From quick- flying insects on the surface to wriggly fish in the water, catch and bottle a variety of minibeasts for a closer look at the secretive and mysterious world of the pond. Learn about the food chain of the pond, how they share the wettest part of the wood and what you can do to enhance their wild habitat.
Day 4. (Thursday 7th August): Build-a-Box: Do you want to attract more wildlife into your garden? Make your own habitat for wildlife to take home. Choose from bird or bat box or a mini-beast hostel, and use a range of hand tools to follow a set template. Learn how the importance of protecting our native birds and bat with instruction on where to place and how to monitor your bird and bat box.
Day 5. (Friday 8th August): Seed Bombing: Get your hands dirty for a great cause. Roll up your sleeves and make mud pies and dip them in lots of lovely native wildflower seeds. Join us for a walk around the woodland, find a bare patch of ground and then… throw your seed bomb where it will grow into a beautiful patch of wildflowers over the next few years. Bees will love you for giving them food!
Please note the above details may be subject to change without notice. Check the Council website (LINK) or contact us using the information below for updates.
Stephen Daye – Parks & Countryside Development Officer
Telephone: 028 9335 8000
E-Mail: biodiversity@carrickfergus.org
