Elliott's Field goes Nuts about Nature
Wednesday 7th March 2018
Children will be given a chance to get up close to nature thanks to a free workshop at Rugby’s Elliott’s Field Shopping Park on Sunday 11th March.
Staff from Warwickshire Wildlife Trust will be at the shopping park holding a ‘Nuts About Nature’ event to educate children about different aspects of nature and wildlife with various activities and craft sessions. All the activities, which will include visits to areas of the Living Landscape around the shopping park to see and collect natural materials, will take place between 10am and 1pm and parents are invited to take their children. Among the activities will be animal mask making and demonstrations of bark rubbing and children will be able to go on a scavenger hunt to find lots of natural material around the shopping park discovering different textures without taking anything from trees and growing vegetation. Youngsters will also be given a prepped bookmark and they will then collect fallen leaves to decorate it, without removing leaves or flowers from bushes.
Ian Jelley, Director of Living Landscapes at Warwickshire Wildlife Trust said: "Elliott’s Field Shopping Park sits in the middle of a Living Landscape, a recovery plan for nature championed by The Wildlife Trusts since 2006. It is a new way of thinking about how we manage land to do more for wildlife, people and the economy.
"Living Landscapes contain important nature reserves at their heart. These nature reserves are connected through the landscape by a series of natural corridors including the River Swift, River Avon, Oxford Canal and disused railway lines like Ashlawn Cutting nature reserve and the Sustrans cycle network. As part of this project, the shopping park’s landlord Hammerson has been working in partnership with Warwickshire Wildlife Trust to bring the people of Rugby closer to nature. The first phase included the production of some new interpretation boards on site at Elliott’s Field which tell the story of the wonderful wildlife that can be found in the area. The second phase involves the delivery of free environmental education drop-in sessions for children and their families while shopping at Elliott’s Field. These sessions will help shoppers connect with nature, developing their understanding and appreciation for the natural world.
Warwickshire Wildlife Trust’s Eucation Manager Vicky Dunne said: “Warwickshire Wildlife Trust offers more than 22,000 wildlife interactions with children every year through school trips, parties and events. We are going to be bringing a taster of all the activities we offer and giving families the chance to make their own bird feeder, animal mask and find out what they can do to attract more animals and wildlife into their gardens. Come along and get involved and see what animal you can become.”
We will also be running more exciting Nuts About Nature events at the shopping park on 20th May,1st July, 5th August and 7th October 2018.
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