If your children enjoy nature and all things bug and insect related, then I highly recommend attending a free bioblitz event. We recently joined the bioblitz event at Cobtree Manor Park in Maidstone, and there were lots of family friendly activities that you could drop in and attend.
On arrival at Cobtree, we were greeted by a lovely wild flower area, which kept the children busy for some time, as we had to stop and look for bees and bugs, as well as counting all the red poppies. My children always talk to bumblebees and like to look to see if they have pollen on their legs, so they were delighted when one landed on a flower right in front of us.
The bioblitz team had set up a stand with lots of information and resources. First up, the children chose to do the identification quiz of deciding if the photos were butterflies or moths. I enjoyed taking part in the quiz too and I must admit, I even learnt more about moths in the process!
Next up the children chose a leaf and butterfly identification sheet and we set off to go and hunt and explore. We spent ages looking for all the leaf shapes and ticking them off on the identification sheet. The butterflies proved a bit more challenging, as we kept seeing the same colour ones, however we have kept the sheet so that on our future days out, we can continue to spot butterflies.
We then took the guided “I-spy walk”, children were provided with nets and we set off to see what we could find. The host was very engaging and every time a child found something of interest, they had to stop and say “I-spy”. The host then asked the children questions and told us some interesting facts. Feathers, snails and pine cones were all highlights for my children and most of the children were delighted when a tiny spider was spotted.
There was also a sensory box that allowed children an opportunity to put their hands in the box to locate an item and guess what it was, before pulling the item out to reveal it. Some finds included an antler, pine cones, toy grasshoppers, bugs and spiders. My children spent ages on this activity, and each find was a nice suprise.
We had taken a picnic, so we finished off with lunch and a session in the playground, and we all had a great day out. All for £2 all day parking, so it was a parenting win having a great budget friendly day out.
For more similar events, follow Medway Valley Countryside Partnership on Facebook. Next up is Minibeast Hunt at Leybourne Lakes on 15th August 2019 (book tickets on Eventbrite).
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