Around 3,000 people visited Tarmac’s Panshanger Park at the end of July for the annual Festival of Wildlife to celebrate the rich diversity found in Hertfordshire and Middlesex.
The free event- delivered by the Herts and Middlesex Wildlife Trust in partnership with The Hertfordshire Natural History Society and Tarmac, offered guided walks and expert talks as well as a whole host of conservation activities.
Visitors enjoyed bird watching with Herts Bird Club, getting up-close to the special wildlife of the beautiful Mimram River, mini-beast hunting and at Panshanger Park’s Forest School children were delighted to find a mud kitchen, tree cookie trolls and magic wand making.
Panshanger Park is an active quarry site and visitors were offered the rare chance to take a Lifecycle of a Quarry Tractor Tour organised by Tarmac. The tour took in an active quarry site and then moved on to show the outstanding restoration of past quarry sites and the array of wildlife now thriving there.
Stuart Wykes, Director of Land & Natural Resources at Tarmac, said: “Tarmac were pleased to support Herts and Middlesex Wildlife Trust and The Hertfordshire Natural History Society in delivering this fantastic event. We are proud of our stewardship of the park and the carefully planned, award winning restoration to agriculture, wetland and nature conservation, which is still being delivered through the final stages of gravel extraction, and hope that visitors enjoyed the beautiful surroundings of the park and will visit again soon.”
Lesley Davies, Chief Executive of Herts and Middlesex Wildlife Trust said: “We had a fantastic weekend at The Festival of Wildlife. We were thrilled to see visitor numbers double from last year and welcome so many new faces to the event. The Festival has hugely grown in success and we couldn’t have done it without our amazing volunteers, our partner, The Hertfordshire Natural History Society, and kind hosting from Tarmac.”
Agneta Burton, Chair of Hertfordshire Natural History Society, said: “It was a joy to watch so many children get excited about finding bugs, learning about mammals, bird ringing and identifying our local river wildlife. We’re looking forward to the next Festival!”
Above image by Charlotte Hussey
Above image by Charlotte Hussey
