This summer the Biodiversity Team have been developing various events at different nature reserves in our borough to launch the Nature Discovery Backpacks. This exciting new project is a joint collaboration between the British Ecological Society and London Borough of Sutton to celebrate the Festival of Ecology. Our first launch event was at Devonshire Avenue Nature Area on Wednesday 24th July with a poster competition and our most recent event was at Hamilton Recreation Park on Monday the 29th July.
Each Backpack contains the materials to perform activities such as Marvellous Minibeasts, Cryptic Caterpillars, Beautiful Butterflies, Flying Friends, Birds and Bats, Fantastic Flowers, My Glorious Nature Crown, Tremendous Trees and Wonderful Wetlands. Each activity provides a new insight into the fantastic diversity of animal and plants we have on our doorstep.
It was amazing to see how the children were responding and performing in the different activities. Some were so excited looking for minibeasts and identifying them with the help of the Bug Identification Guide, while others were looking for butterflies and writing their names in the Activity Book. They also really enjoyed the exciting Mirror Walk, where they walked through the woodlands and placed mirrors under their noses so they could see the branches of the trees above them.
The project is designed for children aged 5-12, and depending on their age they could take part in different activities. The youngest detectives preferred activities such as Wonderful Wetland using the Frog Eyes, as well as My Glorious Nature Crown using the Sticky Card Strip. The older detectives preferred to identify birds using the Bird Identification Chart and binoculars or to discover the different tree species using the Tree Identification Swatch.
Our next Backpack Events will take place at our annual BioBlitz event on 3rd August at the Sutton Ecology Centre from 11-5pm and on 5th August at Nonsuch Park. Come with your family and friends and enjoy nature with these wonderful activities! Our BioBlitz is also tied in with the Friends of Sutton Ecology Centre Summer Fair, making it a day out not to be missed!
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Patricia Arcenegui
Biodiversity Education Assistant
