Get Wild this summer!

3 Jul 2019

Get your family active and get wild this summer...

If you are looking for things to do over the school holidays here are some ideas that you can do as a family:

Nature is in full bloom, so there’s no better time to get outside and see what’s going on. And, if you want to help nature on a wider scale, why not join the RSPB and help give nature a home? As well as the warm glow of helping wildlife around the country, you also get FREE entry to more than 170 beautiful nature reserves - and the kids will get their own membership cards and magazines too. If you join at Rainham your membership directly benefits this reserve too.

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Why not sign yourselves up to the Wild Challenge.

Are you ready to take on a Wild Challenge? You can help wildlife, explore nature and enjoy lots of wild, fun family activities. Tell us what you’ve done and work towards awards. Have you got what it takes to achieve gold?

It's a challenge for you to connect with the natural world in brave new ways - to reach out and touch it and meet it head-on, up-close and personal.

All you need to do is create an account and an online profile, and within a few quick and easy steps you'll be ready to get stuck in to your wild adventure! There's lots of different ideas of things to do as a family to get close to nature- you could do them at home or at Rainham Marshes!

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Rahul Thanki (rspb-images.com)

For the young wildlife lovers - join Howard once a month at the Kids Birdwatching Club to explore the reserve through the seasons, watching and learning about the birds that visit and live here. For more details , including dates and times look here.

Birdwatching is one of the Wild Challenge activities!

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Bernard Bradshaw

Enjoy the reserve after our usual closing times during our Late Night Opening and Moth Nights. The reserve will remain open till dusk (which will be about 11 pm) on these special events so that you can come along and soak up the tranquillity of the marsh as the day starts to fade.

We will have special moth traps (that will go on at 9pm) too see what wondrous winged beauties we can attract to our lights. Let's hope the weather is good!

The next one will be on Friday 26 July - there's one in August too. Keep an eye on the events section of the website as we'll throw in more late night openings throughout the summer!

For more details , including dates and times look here.

Amazing moths is part of Wild Challenge - you could complete this challenge here at Rainham Marshes!

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Camp out in nature's home at Rainham Marshes and enjoy the Big Wild Sleepout and camp at the reserve! Join us for an amazing opportunity that gives you the chance to experience the reserve in a unique way!
Over Saturday 3-Sunday 4 August grab your sleeping bag, tent, and torch and get ready to explore the reserve in a totally different way - full of activities and different experiences.
For more details, including dates and times look here.

Big Wild Sleepout is also part of the Wild Challenge!

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Eleanor Bentall (rspb-images.com)

During August you can hire an explorer bag or enjoy pond dipping!

Pond dipping is my favourite - we have nets and we will be seeing what creatures live in our ponds (details here). Make a day of it - enjoy our family activities, play in the adventure playground, enjoy lunch or a snack in the cafe and browse in our shop.

You can also claim a pond dipping challenge as part of Wild Challenge here at Rainham Marshes.

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Rob Andrews

Fancy exploring the reserve in a different way? Hire a bike and explore the river wall paths ways, see wildlife and discover Rainham Marshes! Hire bikes – adults and children’s sizes are available as well as toddler trailers and seats and balance bikes.

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Tim Webb

Try your hand at climbing - play in our adventure playground and climb our boulders! A perfect area to rest after your explore and enjoy a picnic!

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What are some of your favourite wild summer activities?