From 16-22 June people up and down the country are setting up camp in their gardens and spending a night under the stars for nature.
Here at Pulborough Brooks we’ll be spending Saturday night searching for moths, bats, nightjars and glow worms before camping out (in our tents rather than under the stars!) But you don’t have to be booked into one of our reserve events to take part.
Here I am meeting a poplar hawk moth (Photo by Sophie May Lewis)
The Big Wild Sleepout is all about spending a night in nature’s home to raise money and help save our wildlife. Join family or friends for a fun sleepout in your back garden - put up a tent, make a shelter or sleep under the stars and discover a whole world of wildlife on your doorstep. Get the barbecue on or bake some delicious goodies then pass round your donation box and raise some money.
Some of the activities we’ll be doing on our event can easily be done at home. Why not try attracting moths, putting out food for hedgehogs or, if you have a pond, try a torchlight search for newts?
Amphibians are largely nocturnal and can be seen quite readily at night-time hunting around the edges of ponds. Scan around your pond with a torch and you could see newts, diving beetles and dragonfly larvae.
If you want to get up close and personal with some marvellous moths you don’t need an elaborate moth trap – try a moth lure. Find the recipe on the attachment below.
If you need some ideas or equipment then our visitor centre team can help you - the shop stocks hedgehog crunch, books on moths, charts on the night sky, den building kits, bat detectors and stargazing astro-scopes.
So, join in, sleep out!
For more information visit http://www.rspb.org.uk/thingstodo/sleepout/