WWT Media Release
10 June 2015 - Immediate

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Calling all Nature Explorers – Become a Modern Day Adventurer at a WWT Wetland Centre this Summer Holiday

This summer holiday, children of all ages can discover their inner adventurer by becoming fully fledged Nature Explorers at any of our nine UK WWT Wetland Centres.  Here, they can follow in the footsteps of Scott of the Antarctic (father of WWT's founder Sir Peter Scott) by going on an array of 'wild' adventures and recording them in a special Nature Explorer passport. 

Adventures to tick off include taking a watery safari, discovering giant animals made entirely of LEGO® bricks, finding treasure, building dams, hand feeding rare birds, riding 'wild' bikes trails, crawling through tunnels and lots, lots more.   Summer 2015 at a WWT Wetland Centre has just got much more exciting. 

Little explorers can begin their voyage of discovery by picking up a Nature Explorer passport from the front desk and collecting stickers for each of the activities they take part in, working their way up to gold.  What's more if children don't have enough time to fill in their passport they can visit again for free, any time during the school summer holidays, to complete their mission.  

Our awesome adventures include:

• Discovering giant animals made of LEGO bricks, including flamingos and otters, on the new summer trail at Slimbridge Wetland Centre.  Explorers can also have a go at building models themselves in our LEGO brick building pit
• Paddling or gliding through reeds to come face to face with kingfishers, water voles and lots more on canoe or boat safaris at Martin Mere, Slimbridge and Arundel Wetland Centres.  Older explorers can hop on a Land Rover safari and go on to the wild reserve at Slimbridge and take a bike safari at Llanelli Wetland Centre
• Finding treasure at Martin Mere on the Geocache trail
• Hand feeding some of the world's rarest birds
• Going on big bug hunts to discover all sorts of creepy crawlies
• Building dens
• Pond dipping
• Picking up a pair of binoculars and spotting some of the wonderful wildlife that live in our wetlands
• Splashing, climbing and swinging at our amazing adventure playgrounds, such as Welly Boot Land in Slimbridge, Water Vole City at Llanelli, and Playscape at Washington
• Getting up close to a whole range of amazing animals including flamingos, otters, swans, geese,diving ducks, salamanders and many more

WWT Warden, Jay Redbond said:

“Being a Nature Explorer at one of our centres is great fun for all the family and really helps kids get  interested in all sorts of wildlife.  Exploring the natural world is one of the most fascinating gifts you can give children and encourages them to protect nature in the future.  We'll be on hand to help Nature Explorers complete some of their challenges, so come along and join us for an unforgettable summer of adventure.”

For more information on Nature Explorer activities at your nearest WWT Wetland Centre please visit wwt.org.uk/natureexplorers or follow the links below:

• WWT Slimbridge Wetland Centre - Gloucestershire
• WWT Martin Mere Wetland Centre - Lancashire 
• WWT London Wetland Centre - Barnes
• WWT Arundel Wetland Centre - West Sussex
• WWT Llanelli Wetland Centre - Carmarthenshire, Wales
• WWT Washington Wetland Centre - Tyne & Wear
• WWT Welney Wetland Centre - Norfolk
• WWT Castle Espie Wetland Centre - Northern Ireland
• WWT Caerlaverock Wetland Centre - Dumfriesshire, Scotland

WWT Wetland Centres

A whole new world of award-winning discovery awaits you at WWT Wetland Centres.  There are nine different centres across the UK, including Slimbridge, Martin Mere, London and Arundel .  At our centres you can have close encounters with some of the world's most dramatic and endangered birds, mammals, reptiles and amphibians, surrounded by stunning scenery.

There is always something to see and do at our Centres, 364 days of the year.  Add to this exhilarating adventure playgrounds, a packed line up of special events, cafes serving delicious homemade goodies, gift shops bursting with treats, buggy friendly pathways and parent & baby facilities.  What's more every penny spent at our centres supports our vital conservation work.

ENDS

Media Contact:
For further information please contact:
Penny  Read
E: penny.read@wwt.org.uk
T: 01453 891176
W: wwt.org.uk

Notes to Editors:

• Nature Explorer activities run throughout every day of the 2015 school summer holidays and are included in cost of admission
• Children (4-16) should be accompanied by a full paying adult when visiting again for free (during the 2015 school summer holidays)to complete their passports 
• WWT members' children (4-16) can bring along a friend for free (during the 2015 school summer holidays)when visiting again to complete their passports

About the Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust (WWT)

• The Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust (WWT) is one of the world's largest and most respected wetland conservation organisations working globally to create and protect wetlands for wildlife and people. Founded in the UK in 1946 by the late Sir Peter Scott, today we complement wetland conservation work carried out worldwide with a network of nine UK Wetland centres