Northumberland Wildlife Trust volunteer Jordan Spurling, Volunteer and Events Coordinator Lynette Friend with the donated Vine House Farm packets of bird seed and bird feeder. Image by: Fiona Dryden.
Big Wild Weekend receives generous support
Hot on the heels of Radio 1’s Big Weekend in Middlesbrough, all 46 Wildlife Trusts throughout the UK will be taking part in the national Big Wild Weekend on 15 - 16 June.
The Big Wild Weekend is two days of wildlife and nature events aimed at helping people of all ages and all interests to discover and enjoy wildlife in their area. It takes place half way through 30DaysWild - the UK’s annual nature challenge organised by The Wildlife Trusts and which runs from the 1st - 30th June.
In this region, support from players of People’s Postcode Lottery is enabling Northumberland Wildlife Trust to host a number of free events at two of its wildlife sites: the Hauxley Wildlife Discovery Centre on Druridge Bay and Northumberlandia in Cramlington.
At Northumberlandia, the Wonderful worms in your Garden drop-in event on the Saturday (15th) and Sunday (16th), between 11:00 - 14:00 offers a great opportunity for people to take part in a worm themed trail and find out more about how valuable worms are for gardens - not just in the summer, but also throughout the whole year
Volunteers and staff at the wildlife charity’s Hauxley Wildlife Discovery Centre at Druridge Bay are set to celebrate The Big Wild Weekend on the Sunday (16th).
With a Moth trapping event on the Sunday (16th), between 8:00 - 9:30, members of the public will be able to see the reserve’s moth traps being emptied (weather permitting) and ask Trust moth expert, Jenna Berry, about these fascinating creatures. This will be followed by a short talk in the Tony Tynan Room at the Centre at 9:30 where Jenna will be enthusing about moths and moth trapping.
The Big Wild Weekend will be brought to a close with a Guided Walk around the reserve on the Sunday (16th) between 18:00 - 19:00.
Support from players of People’s Postcode Lottery is enabling the Trust to run the events free of charge, which is great news for the region’s nature lovers.
An added bonus to the weekend is the donation of a host of birdie goodies from Vine House Farm Bird Foods, long standing partners of all 46 Wildlife Trusts.
Thanks to the Lincolnshire farmers, small bags of birdseed will be handed out free with every Feeding Garden Birds leaflet picked up by members of the public. In addition, a 25kg bag of birdseed and a bird feeder have been donated as raffle prizes, tickets for which will be being sold on the two sites over the course of the weekend.
Speaking about support for The Big Wild Weekend, Mike Pratt, Northumberland Wildlife Trust Chief Executive says: “What a great way to celebrate wildlife than by uniting across the UK and sharing our joy of wildlife.
“It is no surprise that two of this Trust’s great champions - Vine House Farm Bird Foods and People’s Postcode Lottery stepped forward to offer their support over the course of the weekend.”