17 young wildlife enthusiasts travelled down to Cameron’s Cottage in RSPB Franchises Lodge at the end of May to take part in the New Forest Wildlife camp.
This was the fourth New Forest Wildlife Camp the Trust has sponsored and the energy and enthusiasm of the attendees ensured it was a great success. These camps are co-ordinated by Wild New Forest who do an excellent job in guiding, informing and entertaining the campers.
In the bioblitz competition, 166 species proved to be the winning score, testimony to the abundance of fauna in the Reserve
The schedule was jam packed from the moment they met up for the ice-breaking quiz and pizza dinner on the Friday to the closing bird quiz and round of ice creams on the Sunday. There were evening wildlife walks, moth trap setting exercises, bird ringing demonstrations and a career advice talk.
The bioblitz competition on the Saturday proved a hotly contested event with the group splitting into three teams and challenging each other to find as many species as possible in an hour. 166 species proved to be the winning score, just edging out the second place team by one. It just goes to show how alive with wildlife Franchises Lodge is.
Many thanks to the support team and volunteers who make the weekend such success; Andrew Colenutt, Nigel Jones, Andy Page, Ali Dennis, Jane Pownall and Tommy Saunders as well as New Forest Wildlife directors Marcus Ward and Russell Wynn.
You can read a full report on the weekend's activities on the Wild New Forest website
Corinne talking to the group about the background and vision for Cameron's Cottage
Marcus with a Hawfinch in the hand
The open heath provided a nice evening location for informal careers talks
The decaying Beech tree covered in Southern Bracket fungi the size of dinner plates provided a scenic backdrop for a group photo at Franchises Lodge
The attendees enjoying dessert in the outdoor learning centre
Preparing to check the corrugated iron sheets in the meadow for wildlife
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