Splendid sunrises, torchlit safaris, midnight feasts... Last weekend (29-31 July) the nation embarked on a nocturnal adventure to discover the secrets of night-time nature as part of the RSPB’s Big Wild Sleepout.

By camping on a reserve, in the garden – or even on balconies, in some cases – families took a break from their daily routine and swapped screen time for wild time, with some fantastic results.…

For those of you in the very South these updates may be of interest.

Brighton

Queens Park: Sunday the 7 August, Thursday the 18 August.

St. Ann’s Wells: Rural Day Event Sunday the 14 August, Saturday the 27 August, Tuesday the 30 August.            

Hove Park: Friday the 5 August, Monday the 15 August.

Preston Park: Thursday the 11^th of August, Sunday the 28^th of August.

Booth Museum: Monday the 8^th of August.                      

The…

Our Liverpool outreach officer is venturing as far as Leighton Moss nature reserve over the summer holidays.

They'll also be based in parks around Liverpool itself every week in August, with bags full of fun outdoor activities:

Wednesday 3 August -  Calderstones Park 

Thursday 4 August - Sefton Park

Friday 5 August - Stanley Park

Saturday 6 August - Greenslate Farm

Tuesday 9 August - National Wildflower Centre

…

As the weather is warming up and we move towards something resembling a real summer, why not head to your local park?

Join our family events officer in Queen's Park to get outdoors and get hands on with nature. Come and find us by the big white RSPB banner or flag. We are planning to be in the park on*:

Wednesday 3rd August - 11am-5pm

Thursday 11th August - 11am-5pm

Saturday 20th August - 11am-5pm

Wednesday 24th…

The school holidays are now properly underway, and with the weather taking tenuous steps towards being genuinely lovely there's no excuse not to get out (you might even catch a few Pokemon).

In and around Manchester are a host of events. If you live near by or are just visiting why not come and say hello?

Alexandra Park

• Saturday 6 August
• Saturday 13 August
• Sunday 14 August
• Saturday 20 August
• Saturday 27 Augus…

My garden isn’t big, but I love it. It’s a bit overgrown, and the right flowers don’t always grow in the right places, or at all. The grass is too long, and slugs have munched my strawberry plants. But to me, especially in summer – when the evening light colours the lawn golden-green and swifts soar and circle high overhead – it’s my own miniature Eden.

Thing is, for half the time…

Probably because of English school terms I still think of August as 'proper summer'. Between the stage of 'lots of fresh growth' in spring and 'lots of fruit around' in autumn is a bit of a lull, even the birds seem quieter, it's almost like nature takes a break from the usual grind. 

But that's not really the case. All the plants are frantically storing up energy to bestow on their offspring…

Join us to discover the brilliant bugs, trees, birds and bees in Bristol’s parks this summer where our team of nature enthusiasts will be popping up to offer free activities. There will be minibeast hunting, bioblitzing, scavenger hunts and more! Please check the location of each event as some will be in the same park weekly and others will move around the city to reach as many families as possible. The activities are…

This summer, RSPB is coming to the aid of parents hoping to keep their family entertained during the holidays by offering free wildlife activities throughout parks in Norwich.

Project Officer, Emily Harvey, will be encouraging families to uncover the wildlife secrets of the City through mini beast hunting, scavenger hunts and many other wildlife activities at the following locations: 

July

23           Eaton Park

25           Fountain…

One of our outreach officers is traveling to over a dozen different locations in the Nottingham/Derby area over the summer. 

If you're near by on one of these days why not get the kids involved with some of our fun and easy activities, and get them connected with nature: 

Sunday 17 July - Derby Arboretum

Sunday 24 July - Alvaston Park Summer Fayre

Wednesday 27 July and Saturday 30 July - Elvaston Castle Country…

Now we're in July you have permission to get that summer holiday feeling, even if the weather is a bit hit-or-miss.

For those of you in or near Birmingham here is a list of dates when we'll be visiting parks in your area: 

Saturday 9 July Sutton Park

Sunday 10 July Sutton Park

Saturday 16 July Cannon Hill Park

Sunday 17July  Cannon Hill Park

Saturday 30 July Cannon Hill

Sunday 31 July Cannon Hill/Sutton …

This summer we are launching a project in partnership with supermarket chain Aldi, that will put a trained outreach officer in 15 cities across Great Britain.

Our outreach officers will be setting up at parks and in city greenspaces to provide a range of materials and activities to help families (with kids aged 4-12) get closer to nature in these familiar green spaces. 

Through the summer (from the end of May to September…

Add an extra dimension to a woodland wander, and get suitably sidetracked with these fun forest-based activities... 

1. Make a sticky stick

Wind some sticky tape round a stick, tacky side outwards. fix things to it that catch your eye; lichens, feathers, petals, seeds.

2. Lay a trail through the woods

For someone to follow. Make arrows with sticks and leaves, or stick them to a tree with mud.

3. Make a forest…

I recently discovered that kids love pesto. This discovery is based solely on my niece and nephew (both under 5), but I'm going to run with it. This makes sense because the equation: cheese + olive oil = yummy generally holds up to scrutiny...

When you think about it, nests are pretty amazing. Imaging trying to build something high in a tree using just your mouth and your feet... It’d probably be quite hard. In fact, it’s probably best not to try!* But, as spring begins and...

This week Paul Birmingham from our Education, Families and Youth team shows us how him and his kids are preparing for the arrival of bumblebees this summer, by planting their garden's own mini poppyfield. As hints of spring start to emerge, me...

On 8 February about 1.3 billion people will be celebrating Chinese New Year. Half of my own family are Chinese so to honour this festival and the oriental penchant for making tasty food using any ingredients available, I've made up a stir-fry dish...

I love a campfire, and in my experience, so do kids (marshmallows at the ready). It can be tempting to stay in and forsake the outdoors during this inclement month, I know that’s what I do most of the time, but nature always rewards you for bracing...

This month's wild food blog has been written for us by Fiona Bird. Fiona is a graduate of The University of St Andrews, mother of six and a former BBC Masterchef finalist. She divides her time between Angus and the Outer Hebridean Isle of South...

Without wanting to sound like someone from a popular fantasy-drama, 'winter is coming', and while some animals like bats go into a sort of deep sleep ( torpor ), others like hedgehogs go into full blown hibernation. This means they need a really...

In case you've been in hibernation and missed the shops turning from school clothes to costumes, sweets and all things orange – Halloween is here! Carving capers The activity that never fails to get our house excited in the build-up to...

This month's recipe comes with a free helping of guilt relief. Some chocolate spreads use palm oil, and palm oil plantations have been linked to deforestation . I was most upset to discover it in my chocolate spread as I enjoyed having it with...

Through the month of September delicious summer fruits ripen on our hedges and in our wider countryside. What fruit is out there? Brambles, normally considered an annoyance, try to win our affections with bountiful quantities of tasty black fruit...

It was wonderful to see what people got up to on social media the weekend of 7-9 August in their gardens and on reserves. Some explorers went feral at the Big Wild Sleepout event at RSPB Loch Leven Around 24,000 families signed-up for our Explorer...

This month's recipe is brought to you by Tom Clarke and Rob Farrington from our Dorset team. To get you in the mood for the Big Wild Sleepout 7-9 August, they've created an ingenious treat cooked in the flames of a fire pit. While pineapples are...