Noticing Nature Near You, One Wild Moment at a Time
As summer made its sunny arrival, Gosforth’s Wild Web burst into bloom! June was a joyful month of nature exploration, community connections, and mini-adventures that brought people of all ages closer to the wildlife on their doorstep. From bug hunts and nature walks to sketching sessions and owl pellet dissections, everyone has been noticing nature near them.
To start, here’s what June looked like in numbers:
- 9 community events with 769 attendees (including 293 children!)
- 2 school sessions across 2 local schools
- 600 species recorded by Gosforth’s Wild Web citizen scientists
Community Connections and Wild Celebrations
June kicked off with a buzz at the Newcastle University Discovery Festival, where we joined the excitement with a lively BioBlitz. Hundreds of attendees explored the world of minibeasts, eyes to the ground and pots in hand. One of the highlights? Watching the bees respond to the weather! They would vanish during light showers, then reappearing like clockwork the moment the sun peeked out. It became a mini spectacle of its own, and children especially loved waiting for their return.
The fun continued at Dwellbeing’s Little Growers Club in Shieldfield, where children searched their own green space for tiny creatures and marvelled at the life teeming just beneath their feet.
Our adventures also took us indoors as we visited several local Women’s Institutes, sharing stories of Newcastle’s wildlife, going on guided walks, and enjoying calming nature sketching together.
The fine June weather gave us plenty of reasons to explore, including a lovely nature walk with North Shields Library, where adults also got hands-on with the wonderfully strange activity of owl pellet dissection- always a favourite, no matter your age!
Later in the month, we were joined by the Northumberland and Newcastle Society for a walk through Gosforth Nature Reserve. It was a treat to connect with so many people who share a deep care for local nature. And finally, to celebrate the Summer Solstice, we teamed up again with Dwellbeing for a day of joyful activities, seasonal harvests- and, of course, more bug hunting!
Schools with Gosforth’s Wild Web
In June, we also celebrated our final sessions with two of our fantastic Wild Web schools: Dame Allan’s and Kingston Park Primary.
Dame Allan’s pupils explored Gosforth Nature Reserve across the seasons, gaining hands-on experience and building up their naturalist skills in all weathers.
Meanwhile, Year 1 at Kingston Park fully embraced their forest school area. Spotting birds (even discovering egg shells!), investigating minibeasts, creating nature inspired artwork, and filling in beautiful nature journals. Their learning adventure included a trip to Gosforth Nature Reserve, where they tried their hand at pond dipping, the perfect addition to their growing naturalist credentials.
Citizen Science: Sharing Your Wildlife Discoveries
June was a busy month for citizen science, with over 2,000 records submitted, contributing to a whopping 600 species logged throughout the month.
The top three most recorded species were:
7-Spot Ladybird:
These iconic red beetles with seven black spots are more than just pretty; they’re garden heroes, munching through aphids and helping plants thrive.
Image by Chris Barlow
Spotted Thintail:
A small but striking hoverfly that is normally associated with trees. The adults visit flowers to feed and the larvae feed on aphids on the flowers and stems of umbellifers and some shrubs.
Image by Philip Jordan
Marmalade Hoverfly:
One of the UK’s most common hoverflies, it’s named for the orange and black stripes on its abdomen. It feeds on flowers like ragwort and cow parsley in gardens, hedgerows, parks and woodlands.
Image by Oliver O’Doherty
Among the more surprising sightings was a Whooper Swan, a species more commonly seen in winter. As well as, a Black-tailed Skimmer Dragonfly, twenty years ago, spotting one in Newcastle would have been quite the surprise as they were mainly in the south of the country, however their populations have been spreading north.
There is always something to explore out in nature! If you’d like to upload your wildlife sightings to the Gosforth’s Wild Web project, be sure to join the project on iNaturalist or iRecord!
And that’s a wrap on June 2025 in Gosforth’s Wild Web. From nature walks to dragonflies, ladybirds to sketchpads, June showed us just how much there is to celebrate when we stop and notice nature near us. Thank you to everyone who joined us on the journey, and stay tuned, because summer is just getting started!
