West Cambridgeshire Hundreds Activities

Brampton Wood Bluebells

Brampton Wood Bluebells - Chris French

West Cambridgeshire Hundreds Activities

Our team based in Cambourne work with communities in the local area surrounding our reserves between Gamlingay and Comberton.

The West Cambridgeshire Hundreds is a series of nature reserves that include ancient woodlands, between the villages of Gamlingay and Comberton. It comprises Gamlingay Woods, Waresley and Gransden Woods, Hayley Wood, Cambourne Nature Reserve, and Hardwick Wood. All of these reserves include ancient woodland, and most of them are nationally important. These reserves provide a focus for our community engagement in this area. The area covers the settlements between Gamlingay and Comberton including Cambourne, Waresley, The Gransdens, and Caldecote.

We work with all ages, delivering walks, talks, and family sessions, as well as working with schools, youth groups and community groups.

Events

Family events: we deliver regular events for families like our Wild in the Woods Wednesday school holiday activities, and our pre-school sessions. Many of these happen on Cambourne Nature Reserve because it has accessible paths.

Adult events: we deliver regular events such as guided walks for members of the public on our reserves, and can also run walks specifically for your community group. We can deliver in-person and online talks with a variety of topics.

Our community engagement work is not (usually) externally funded, which means there is a charge to offset costs to the charity.

Events listing

Clubs

We have several clubs which meet regularly:

  • Wild Babies: aimed at babies who can't walk yet and their parents
  • Little Bugs Club: wildlife activities for pre-schoolers

See the event listings below for the next available session. 

Find out more

Schools

Standard workshop

Our standard one-day classroom-based curriculum-linked programme is designed for KS2 children. It covers Science and Geography topics, focusing on grouping animals, food chains, adaptations, using biological keys, OS maps, and human impacts on the environment, all using local examples.

We can cover some of the topics in a morning or afternoon session, or add a sharing activity to make the programme longer.

Additional offers

We are adaptable! Please contact us to discuss what we can offer for all age groups; below are a few ideas. Outdoor sessions may be able to make use of a local nature reserve, or school grounds if you have appropriate habitat.

  • Forest School programmes for small groups
  • Non-curriculum-linked outdoor sessions
  • Teacher training
  • Assemblies (can be offered free)
  • 30 minute online Q and A (can be offered free)

Please note that our community engagement work is not funded, and there is a charge to cover the cost to the charity of our qualified and experienced staff.

Professional development

We offer inset days and twilight courses at your site, to help staff:

  • feel more confident using the outdoors
  • deliver the curriculum creatively
  • identify wildlife
  • practice simple outdoor activities
  • improve their outdoor space for the benefits of learning and wildlife

Wilder schools information

Youth and community groups groups

If you run a youth group or after-school club, why not invite us to deliver a fun, interactive session to learn more about your local wildlife? Indoor and outdoor workshops are available.

We could offer things like:

  • Mini-beast hunts
  • Forest-school programmes for small groups
  • Bush craft sessions
  • Owl pellet dissection

Volunteering

There are many different volunteering positions with the Wildlife Trust BCN are all advertised on the volunteering section of our website.

Here are some examples of volunteer roles available in the West Cambs 100s area:

  • A Volunteer Ranger carries out their duties whilst on their regular walk around the reserve. The might pick up litter, cut back over-hanging vegetation, report problems like fallen trees, submit wildlife records, or provide a link to the local community.
  • A Communities and Wildlife Volunteer assists directly or indirectly with events and activities. They may promote events by putting up posters or posting on social media, or help on guided walks or family sessions.
  • Toad Patrol Volunteers help migrating amphibians in the spring to cross roads safely.

Volunteering opportunities

Contact details

Alternative contact details

Upcoming events

800 year old hedge leading to Hayley Wood

800 year old hedge leading to Hayley Wood - Robert Enderby

West Cambridgeshire Hundreds

The West Cambridgeshire Hundreds are a collection of wildlife rich ancient woodlands in an area defined for over 1000 years by the old Anglo-Saxon regional divisions known as the Cambridgeshire Hundreds. Historical records show that some woods like Hayley Wood are older than the Domesday book and may go back much earlier. Our vision for this area is a landscape of connected woodlands where wildlife can move freely between.

Find out more