Gwent Rainbows, Brownies and Guides visited Newport Wetlands in their hundreds this weekend. The girls were part of a Wales wide initiative to get our young people stepping up for nature. The RSPB are working to show that our young people can make a difference for nature, and hope that through these events our conservation efforts will be more sustainable as our future generations become stakeholders in nature.
The girls were treated to a busy schedule of pond dipping, mini beast mayhem, bird watching, sweep netting, making apple feeders and nature games, I do mean busy! There were smiles all round throughout the day as the girls got up close with Newport's water scorpions, bearded tits and sticklebacks; guide leaders were impressed with the girls bravery in picking up spiders, worms, slugs and snails. To be involved with this day was an absolute pleasure, it is fantastic to see that despite our advances in technology and changes in lifestyles a stickleback can still make a child jump for joy.
Newport Wetlands wasnt the only reserve to welcome Girl Guides, Conwy, Lake Vyrnwy and Ynys-hir also held events. Ynys-hir even went that extra mile asking some Guides to camp out overnight and join in on a dawn chorus. These amazing events couldnt happen without the skills and hard work of the field teaching team, their enthusiasm for showing young people has no bounds, and its really paying off!