With June’s arrival there is not time to lose: species have finally showed up and we want everyone to see surprising creatures and to have a good time in “Our Green Places” events.
Last Saturday I attended the Ochils fest in Menstrie. Although the sun seemed to have a shy day and we had the feeling that winter was here again…our stall was constantly full of people! They were amazed by the water scorpion, the mayfly larvae and many other beasties.
The palmate newts received most of the attention, closely followed by a massive dragonfly larva who ended up eating most of the small inverts that it found in the tray! Here’s a picture of Heather Campbell (Biodiversity & Communities Volunteer) showing the some children one of our aquatic friends.
At 12:00 we had a wildlife walk around the area guided by Keith Bowey (iSpot). I don’t know who were the ones more amazed by all the interesting things that he talked about, the kids or the adults. It was definitely a well worth while walk!
More than 100 people also participated in our citizen science activity, a nature hunt in the surrounding of the event location. Once completed, they all got a badge as a prize for being a citizen scientist!
The TCV team was also at West Quarter Glen last Saturday and this event was also a great success! The ladybird walks led by Paul Gunn, Natural Communities trainee with Buglife, were very popular. Thanks to him, more than 40 kids had great fun looking for these charismatic creatures and learning about their important role in nature.
Also the tight race between two snails at the stall was one of the great moments of the day. In this picture you can see them in action.
If you also want to be a Citizen Scientist, we will be at the BioBlitz at the Royal Botanic Garden in Edinburgh this Saturday. I’m sure that we will have great fun!