Discovering Nature at Gosforth Park Nature Reserve

An inspiring few days at Gosforth Park Nature Reserve this week. Thanks to HLF funding, NHSN welcomed children from Knop Law and Milestone Primary Schools. Kathryn, Learning Officer from TWAM, led museum and classroom sessions prior to the reserve visit where children learnt about current and past naturalists. June, our Archivist, also revealed the wonders of the NHSN archive and discovered nature notebooks.

At the reserve, the children made their own nature cards, hunted for minibeasts, sketched and spotted birds…. some even got to enjoy black necked grebes diving just in front of the Ridley Hide. Once again the boardwalk and Ridley Hide were superb – worth all those volunteer splinters and blisters – thank you vols! A wonderful comment I overheard from an 8 year old boy on the boardwalk: ‘Wow, this place is really beautiful’.

Their wonder, questions and enthusiasm were infectious! I think the NHSN members who first set up the nature reserve from 1929 would have been proud.