Join us at Harcourt Arboretum for a day of seasonal activities and find out about what the trees, plants and animals are doing in summer.
There will be natural crafts, sensory activities and messy play, all themed around mini beasts and our wildflower meadow – a beautiful but also rare UK habitat. Crafts will include colour changing butterflies, meadow seed bombs and pinecone bugs.
Come and meet members of the Upper Thames Branch of Butterfly Conservation. Founded in 1982, the Upper Thames Branch aims to protect butterflies, moths and their habitats in the counties of Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire. We will have a small Butterfly Identification challenge that adults and children can have a go at!
We will also have museum specimens to look at from the British Insect Collection at Oxford University Museum of Natural History, which consists of over 1 million specimens, collected over a period of about 300 years. To learn more about the Museum’s British insect collection please visit https://oumnh.ox.ac.uk/hope-future
Tours will include an introduction to plant identification and native wildflower meadows and also a guided walk looking for butterflies and day-flying moths, led by Butterfly Conservation.
Please note that the activities take place outside so we recommend that you dress for the weather, with long sleeves and trousers for bug hunting in the meadow.
Tickets:
£3 per child (under 2s free, adults will need to pay the normal entrance fee)
No need to book; drop-in and pay on arrival.