Love Parks Week

Monday 31 July
11am – 1pm 

Feasts for Feathers

Using binoculars, take a tour of the site and count how many different native species you can spot and learn their names on our Bird watch and ID. Help feed our feathered friends by making lots of tasty cakes and treats from raw ingredients. Using natural and recycled materials these treats can be left in nature or taken home and will completely biodegrade.

Monday 31 July
1:30pm

Monday 31 July
2pm 

Meeting at Entrance to Walled Garden, Bangor

Bugs, spiders, wee beasties, some of the important food for birds,  We will be looking in the undergrowth, under logs, in ivy...but just looking, we will leave for the birds!  Kids can make a free mini bug hotel to take home for their garden. Suitable for families that like getting hands into logs etc. As we will be going off path into undergrowth, good outdoor shoes advised. Don’t forget your all-weather clothes. Children must be accompanied by an adult. 

Maximum group size 15: please email andparks@ardsandnorthdown.gov.uk to reserve your place.

Tuesday 1 August
11am – 1pm

Wild Survival Skills

Could you survive in the wild? Leave behind your warm house with the kitchen and cosy sofas and learn how to build a shelter and forage for food. Find natural resources to protect you from the wind and rain and enjoy tasting a variety of plants found in your natural surroundings. Try the special recipe for wild tea or make your own flavour!

Tuesday 1 August
12pm – 1:30pm

Tuesday 1 August

2pm

Join guide David Thompson for a short walk along the coastal footpath and inter-tidal shores and explore, forage and discover some of the "wild food" resource of this area.  Parking and Public Toilet available. Please wear clothing and footwear suitable for the shoreline.

Make a kite from scratch and fly it on the beautiful Cloughey Beach. Meet at Playpark. Children must be accompanied. Book your place through andparks@ardsandnorthdown.gov.uk

11am – 1pm

Bug’s Life

 Let’s go for a Bug Hunt! Find out what lives in the grass, between the trees and in the ground. Catch them in nets and watch them up close with magnifying glasses and learn their names. Through natural art you will create and plant your very own pollinator pot to take home and attract some pollinators into your own garden to help conserve our vital pollinators and biodiversity.

Tremendous Trees and Plants

How well do we know our plants? Learn more about our local environment with an interactive tree and wildflower ID. Learn about wildflowers and make your own natural art though the ancient Japanese practice of ‘Hapa Zome’, meaning leaf dye.

Come and turn seaweed, with Dot Blakely at Commons Edgewater Park, Donaghdee. Find the worms, sandhoppers, plus lots more, lovely grub in the seaweed for the sea birds. We will also be finding bird food in the grasses and wild flowers on the way. Meeting near the toilet bock in car park: outdoor shoes or boots a good idea, and don’t forget our weather can change so bring those raincoats!  Maximum group size 15: please email andparks@ardsandnorthdown.gov.uk to reserve your place.

Interested in actively helping in the park? Why not join in our big Dock Dig out!  No previous experience or skills necessary! To sign up please e-mail andparks@ardsandnorthdown.gov.uk

 Looking and listening to lots of different birds in the trees, looking at the different ages of wildfowl in the lake and the feeding habits of the birds in the reserve. We will also be keeping an eye out for spiders, bees and butterflies!  Suitable for families. Car parking available and good walking ground. Don't forget your all-weather clothes and maybe even have a picnic for afterwards.

Maximum group size 15: please email andparks@ardsandnorthdown.gov.uk to reserve your place.

Bug’s Life

 Let’s go for a Bug Hunt! Find out what lives in the grass, between the trees and in the ground. Catch them in nets and watch them up close with magnifying glasses and learn their names. Through natural art you will create and plant your very own pollinator pot to take home and attract some pollinators into your own garden to help conserve our vital pollinators and biodiversity.