BOOKING ONLY LIMITED NUMBERS

Saving Planet Earth with Sussex Wildlife Trust (SWT) on Saturday 30 June (11:00-13:00) is a special one-off event at Woods Mill nature reserve, near Henfield. The event coincides with the BBC’s season of television programmes on nature conservation highlighting global wildlife projects including the Trust’s own bat conservation project.

SWT’s Saving Planet Earth event is an opportunity to find out how you can take practical steps to help local wildlife in your area. Adults can take part in workshops on wildlife gardening and discover how best to attract wildlife to gardens or green spaces. Following a classroom session on different habitats including ponds, meadows, trees and hedges there is the opportunity to join a bonus practical workshop on building bird boxes and mini beast homes.

At the same time unaccompanied children aged 6-11 years old can enjoy fun environmentally themed activities including minibeast hunts, badger trails and parachute games around the nature reserve at Woods Mill with SWT’s qualified and experienced leaders.

Cost for the SWT event is £3 per person payable in advance. Adults who sign a BBC Saving Planet Earth pledge card on the day get the bonus practical session free. The pledge card is a promise to take positive action in Saving Planet Earth either through a donation or by committing to change an aspect of your lifestyle to reduce your impact on the planet and its wildlife.
The BBC’s Saving Planet Earth is a season of programmes featuring nine global projects attached to UK charities and a further 47 UK projects that focus on the plight of endangered wildlife throughout the UK. They start on Sunday 24 June with an opening programme presented by Sir David Attenborough and culminate in a live fundraising programme on Friday 6 July.

Sir David Attenborough says “Some scientists suggest that up to a quarter of animal species could be extinct by 2050. But it’s not too late – you can be involved in Saving Planet Earth. If you are a child, this is your future. If you’re a parent, it’s your legacy. The time to act is now.”

SWT’s bat conservation project at Ebernoe Common near Petworth is featured in the Saving Planet Earth season and will be shown regionally on BBC One (South) on Friday 29 June at 8.30pm. SWT’s nature reserve at Ebernoe Common is an ancient woodland dating back to the Ice Age and home to 14 of the 17 species of British bat including two colonies of our rarest bats – barbastelles and Bechstein’s. The Trust’s conservation project includes restoring and managing the landscape at Ebernoe to ensure the bats’ survival.

Funds donated by the public via the BBC broadcasts will form the BBC Wildlife Fund, which is being set up as an independent charity. Money from this fund will be allocated to projects to support conservation abroad and in the UK, including the Trust’s bat project. As part of the Trust’s Saving Planet Earth event on Saturday 30 June, visitors can also watch DVD footage of the BBC’s films featured in the television series.

Please arrive at 10:15 on the day for registration. No refreshments available so please bring your own. Disabled access. No dogs except guide dogs please. Public transport: Bus route 100 stops outside Woods mill. Ring compass Travel on 01903 690025 or visit www.compass-travel.co.uk for details.

For more information on this SWT event please visit our home page at www.sussexwt.org.uk or for more on the BBC’s season of television programmes log on to www.bbc.co.uk/savingplanetearth

Numbers for this event are limited so booking is essential. Please ring 01273 497561 to guarantee your place.
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Image: gardening activities/Sussex Wildlife Trust