We regret to announce that this year's camp has been cancelled due to the spread of COVID-19 (Coronavirus).

BTO is taking this threat seriously, with utmost concern for the health and wellbeing of their staff, volunteers and event partipants. We certainly hope to offer this opportunity again next year, so please keep an eye on the website and our social media channels early in 2021.

Event times: Friday 22nd May - 16:00 to Sunday 24th - 16:00
Availability:  Applications now open. See below.
Cost: £30.00 per person
Closing date: 29 Mach 2020

Additional information
If you will be aged 12–17 in May 2020 and are considering a career in conservation or ornithology, BTO Bird Camp is a great opportunity to develop your skills and meet like-minded people! The event aims to inspire young naturalists with amazing experiences and special insights into birds and conservation, through a weekend full of birding, ringing, nest-finding and friend-making.

Get a flavour of what the camp is all about by reading last year's report

Accommodation is in our own glamping village at The Nunnery in Thetford. During the weekend we'll explore the Nunnery Lakes reserve, where we'll experience ringing, nest-recording and other bird monitoring activities. We’ll also visit the nearby RSPB Lakenheath Fen reserve, home to Cranes, Bitterns, Marsh Harriers and much more besides. Nearby, we'll search for Breckland specialities including Stone-curlew, Woodlark and Nightjar. You’ll be accompanied throughout the weekend by an experienced team of BTO staff and volunteers – a combination birders, naturalists and scientists – all eager to share their knowledge and skills.

Location
The Nunnery Thetford , Norfolk
United Kingdom
IP24 2PU

How to apply
To apply, please email your name, date of birth and your answers to the questions below (~300 words) to youth@bto.org by Sunday 29 March. We will notify all applicants before Easter, and provide a consent form and secure link to complete the registration process.

• Why do you want to attend BTO Bird Camp 2020?
• How long have you been birdwatching?
• How often do you go birdwatching?
• Do you take part in any BTO surveys or schemes? If so, please tell us which ones.
• Are you a member of any wildlife or conservation-related organisations? If so, please tell us which ones.
• What aspect of BTO Bird Camp most interests you?

We are delighted to be teaming up with the RSPB once again for the WildArt Competition 2020. Our aim is to encourage as many young people as possible to enter this fabulous competition and observe wildlife by creating a unique piece of art. So be creative and let your creative juices flow. 

What to do
Create a piece of art inspired by nature – let your imagination run WILD! There are 2 categories to choose from this year – REAL LIFE – entries using the more traditional approach of paints, pastels, acrylics, pens or pencil. And our new GO WILD category – for those of you who want to ‘go wild’ in every sense of the word. To enter this category, experiment with textiles, sculpture, recycled and eco-friendly materials, collages – anything goes

Please email a photo of your artwork to competitions@rspb.org.uk with the heading WildArt 2020 Competition, and don’t forget to tell us your age and category selection! If your submission makes the shortlist, we’ll be in touch with further details after the competition closes.

Age Groups
WildArt is split into three age groups: under 8s, 8-12, and 13 years and over.

Visit rspb.org.uk/wildart for full terms and conditions. 

The closing date for entries is 28 August 2020

2019 Winners

Below are the four winning entries from last year's competiton.

Banner image above: Detail from Finnley Gibson's winning entry in the 2019 13-18 category

We were delighted to have the opportunity to work with the Homeless Children’s Foundation again this summer.  

The Trust sponsored five young children to attend the Audubon Junior Guide Camp. It was a great opportunity for them to socialise with other children and learn some valuable life and nature skills. They learned the art of photographing nature as well as participating in more vigorous activities such as hiking and kayaking. The children were encouraged to keep a journal and describe their experiences and thoughts on the camp.

As each summer passes, the members of staff continue to become more experienced in dealing with trauma and poverty and have been able to revise their curriculum to better suit the needs of the teens and children they are serving.

“Dear Sponsor, I’m grateful for you putting me in the Audubon Camp. I had an opportunity to do things I haven’t done before. You mean everything to me. The photography was awesome to experience."

This summer, one activity that was incorporated into the teaching programme was Bird Language. In this lesson, the children and teens disperesed outside to observe their surroundings for ten minutes alone. During this time, they wrote down the things they could see and hear. Following this they joined together in groups and compiled the data to see what trends they could observe.. Just like a puzzle, each child had different observations to contribute based on where they were standing and what direction they were facing.

In all it was a huge success for the five children who attended. One of our junior guides spent 98 hours this summer assisting with camp.

“Dear Sponsor, Thank you for funding my week at the Audubon home. Thanks to you, I was able to navigate in hiking, kayaking, and several other hobbies of mine. I’ve learned much more than I had originally hoped to; the camp exceeded my expectations. I know that this wouldn’t have been possible without you, so once again, thank you for thoughtfully and generously providing me with the money to attend the camp."

A sketch by one of the sponsored children

The Trust has continued to work with the Homeless Children's Foundation this year to help provide outdoor activities for young people from troubled backgrounds.    

Our funding enabled 14 young people to attend one of two camps that took place on Pelican Island in the Audubon reserve. Huge thanks to Donna, director of the Foundation, and volunteer Alexis who helped guide and encourage the children. Donna shared one experience from the camp "Three troubled sisters arrived at the camp filled with sadness and anger. I made a point of giving them each special attention and soon discovered how smart they were. The two youngest were avid readers, so one day after kayaking we went to the used bookstore and I bought them two books each. They absolutely loved reading the books during free time!”

Building self esteem
These camps focus on mental health and self-esteem in their curriculum and find creative ways to introduce environmental studies to the young learners. Being out in nature provides an idea environment for them to learn more about themselves and how to deal with some of the problems they encounter in life. They are taught the three basic ground rules: “respect one another, nature, and yourself.”

The young children enjoy a spot of birding

The camp organisers provided a rich and varied itinerary which included journaling, kayaking to Pelican Island, hiking, birding and simply taking in the beautiful outdoors of Vero. The young guests were encouraged to take notes on their discoveries during the course of the week.  Environmental responsibility is a message that is reinforced during these camps and a trash pick-up helped them understand the importance of keeping their surroundings clean.

““Your organisation continues to inspire me every year! What you do is profound and I am so honoured to be a little part helping educate some of these wonderful children and give them a chance to enjoy summer in nature.”

Environmental responsibility is a message that is reinforced during these camps and a trash pick-up helped them understand the importance of keeping their surroundings clean.

““Donna and Alexis always go above and beyond, providing nourishing snacks, taking a special interest in the teens they see are struggling the most, and accommodating our transient group!”

These camps show time and time again how giving children time and attention and exposing them to nature and the great outdoors can have such a beneficial effect. We are delighted to be able to help the Foundation carry on this vital work.

The young campers are encouraged to keep a journal of their experiences

We are very thrilled to once again sponsor the Spring and Winter Camps for the Homeless Children’s Foundation in Florida, held at the Pelican Island Audubon Society

The camp participants spent time exploring the wildlife around them, observing and drawing nature, birding, creative writing and spending time together outside.

This camp gives young people who are homeless a chance to meet other young people and spend time outside immersed in nature.

Art plays an important part in the experience

 The campers explore the great outdoors

Games bring the teens together

Exploring nature

The Spring camp was a great success and the feedback from the children was very positive. Two students who previously were not a fan of the outdoors camp requested to come back for winter break. Nine children from the Homeless Foundation joined the camp and once again the talents and resilience of the campers impressed.

Two students who previously were not a fan of the outdoors camp requested to come back for winter break

Winter was also very well attended. One of the primary projects the campers worked on was a multi-phase art piece. On day one, they drew the background which was composed of nature. On the next day, they went outside and picked a tree to draw. Next, they observed the sky and picked a bird. On the final day they added a self-portrait.  The results were very impressive; this group of teens really embraced their creativity. 

The students displayed great creativity

A self portrait embedded in nature

The campers spent a great deal of time outdoors, in the surrounding acres of land, observing their surroundings, birding, journaling, bonding, and learning. 

HOS Young Members now exceed 70! Cameron was a member of the Hampshire Ornithological Society. He was one of just two Young Members at that time – the other being Tommy Saunders. With our help, HOS were able to offer free membership for young people and it is so great that this has been such a success.

HOS now has around 40 Young Members sponsored by us and even better is the fact that a further 24 young families have chosen to join so that they and their children can benefit from the special activities arranged.

In the autumn of 2021 HOS ran four ringing events where groups of its Young Members (and parents) were able to see birds at close range. It’s such a privilege to see this and the enthusiasm of the Young Members was clearly tremendous despite the very early start times!

Some of the ringers have some small knitted birds, which they use to demonstrate the feather sequence of the birds wings... a great way of letting small children learn without actually touching a live bird.

At Titchfield Haven, there was a good fall of Chiffchaffs and Blackcaps while Keyhaven produced some of the first Redwings of the year along with Long-tailed Tits and Meadow Pipits. The first bird at Hengistbury Head was a Cetti’s Warbler which HOS’s youngest member, Rufus, instantly identified despite only the head being visible! Some of the ringers have some small knitted birds, which they use to demonstrate the feather sequence of the birds wings. This is a great way of letting small children learn without actually touching a live bird.

HOS will continue to plan more events. In the spring of 2021 Chris Packham ran a Zoom chat with over 40 HOS Young Members and brought out his feather and wing collection. He has promised to do another private chat for them again soon.