Calling all eek!splorers

Join us for a fantastic fun wildlife learning eek!sperience for all the family this half term

We’re getting very eek!cited (and a little bit scared) about our new autumn event. At all our centres this October, come and explore the mysterious world of wetland nature with spooky interactive activities and scary trails. Are you ready? Are you brave enough for eek! week?

Time for a change

The leaves are falling, the evenings are dark and Halloween is just around the corner. Our wetlands are changing as nature pulls out all the stops for this colourful and dramatic season. The fun and busyness of summer is certainly not over with our eek!citing interactive trails giving the whole family the perfect opportunity to explore and connect to nature around our reserves this half term.

Pick up your trail map – if you dare - and keep your eyes peeled. All around the reserve there are special creatures hiding and you never know who will be hiding where. Put your spookometer to the test as you go, with the interactive activities you’ll find along the way. Will you dare to put your hand in a snake box, grab a photo op with a bat or get up close and personal with a toad?

You’ll see a whole lot of different birds and animals too. This is the time of year that the species that rely on our wetlands for food and shelter during the winter arrive - from the Bewick’s swans that arrive from Arctic Russia to the bats that are looking for somewhere cosy to stay – it can get rather busy.

Memorable moments

With our wetlands offering sanctuary to thousands of birds and animals at this time of year, there are lots of opportunities to experience memorable (or mindful – depending how the mood takes you) moments with us this autumn. There’s nothing quite like sharing the feeling of wonder as you see (and hear!) thousands of geese, swans and birds come in to land. Wait for the dropped jaws and wide eyes as your little (and not so little) ones watch 40,000 pink footed geese touching down at WWT Martin Mere for the winter - a spectacle that doesn’t happen anywhere else in the world – and the ‘ohhhs’ and ‘ahhhs’ as the entire population of Svalbard barnacle geese arrive at WWT Caerlaverock in their thousands. You won’t want to miss these spectacular shows this autumn!

Get out there

Autumn is also a great time to get outdoors with the whole family and connect with nature in new ways. There’s lots to see and do before the rest and regeneration of winter. At most of our centres, October is the last chance of the year to uncover underwater life in our ponds (always a family favourite) or take to the water on a canoe or boat safari to get closer to nature. Experiencing something new is also a great way to build confidence and encourage children (and big kids too!) to move beyond their comfort zone. For those brave enough, our eek!citing interactive trails will certainly put your courage to the test! We’d love to see your weirdly wild adventures shared with us using #WWTEekWeek

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