Blog by Melanie Beck, Strumpshaw Fen Volunteer
As April began, Strumpshaw Fen’s first big family event of the year had arrived. Sadly spring hadn’t arrived with it but a hardy group of staff and volunteers braved the cold to welcome around 40 children and their families. We had an afternoon packed with activities to keep out the cold.
On arrival the children were set the challenge of following our treasure hunt. They had to solve each clue and follow the arrows in the right direction to the next one. The clues led to a special password needed to collect their prize. A little detective work was needed as some clues were harder than others – well we couldn’t make it too easy could we! There was also the chance to have a go at pond dipping and bug hunting as everyone made their way around the reserve.
It proved to be a little too cold for many of the smaller creatures who live at the reserve as they were still taking shelter. It was quite cold for us too - it’s not so easy to go pond dipping when you have a big coat, a hat, scarf and gloves on! Minus the gloves, we became quite the experts. Some of the children had been pond dipping before, while for others it was something new, but everyone – and I must say parents and grandparents included!- enjoyed sifting through the pond weed to see what lived there. Among our finds were midge larvae, blood worms, a leech, damselfly nymphs, water boatmen and what turned out the be the star attraction, caddis fly larvae that kept popping out of their homemade protective cases.
In the bug hunting area insects were proving quite hard to find too. Several millipedes and centipedes were discovered under some logs, and finding a newt was a real treat. This was also where the final clue of the treasure hunt was to be found so the children were eager to claim their prize – what else but some chocolate eggs!
It was a great day for everyone with much talk of families coming back - hopefully in warmer weather - to have another go at pond dipping and bug hunting to see what other creatures could be found. There are lots of other events at the reserve throughout the year for adults and children – so why not come along and join in the fun!