You don't have to visit one of our reserves to take part in our free Big Wild Sleepout, but if you do, we can't wait to welcome you!
This annual event is your one chance of the year to spend the night on our reserves, camping in an amazing nocturnal landscape.
Encompassing some of the best sites for wildlife in the South East, you can be sure that whichever reserve you choose; you will have a truly unique experience, so gather together your family and friends and book your place today!
We’ll be introducing you to a new reserve in each of our blogs over the next few weeks, but to see the full list of events now visit our website.
RSPB Dungeness - Saturday 29th July
Our RSPB Dungeness reserve offers a truly unique sleepout experience. Dungeness is the UK's only desert landscape; some of the shingle here has reminded undisturbed for thousands of years, and is home to some very rare species not found anywhere else in the UK, including the Sussex emerald moth.
Huge lakes are home to loads of wildfowl, including elusive bitterns (a cleverly camouflaged relative of the grey heron) and the best chance to see these is very early morning, perfect for campers! Other enigmatic creatures include bearded tits, bats, owls and majestic marsh harriers. Activities include reserve walks, pond dipping and even searching for glow worms, before cooking jacket potatoes and marshmallows' over the campfire.
Louise Kelly talks about her experience at last year's Big Wild Sleepout
"During the walk we discovered what creepy crawlies hide in the ponds including newts, water boatmen and our favourite – medicinal leeches. We also saw great crested newts crossing the paths, giant green bush crickets, common terns, damselflies and emperor dragonflies, a tawny owl and a great silver water beetle larvae. There were signs of badgers but sadly we didn’t get to see any.
After the walk we were rewarded with hot chocolate and marshmallows to roast over the campfire. A few of us went off exploring in the dark to look for night time wildlife such as moths and bats. We came up trumps with a glow worm! It was so amazing to see this bright little bug up close!"
Places for these extra special events are very limited so please do book early to avoid disappointment.