As you read on below you will see that there are various activities and events being run by our Community and Education team this Autumn but first we would like to update you on our Wilder Luton project which has now entered it’s final year of delivery.
Wild About Autumn: Ways to explore and enjoy Bedfordshire’s Wilder Places
Photo by Ieva Piraga
Autumn is here, and with it comes another season of exciting opportunities to get involved. Whether you would like to join a walk or talk, take part in a practical conservation task, find out about Wilder Luton traineeships or simply meet the Beds team, there are plenty of ways to connect with us this season.
We continue to create various opportunities for local people of all ages and backgrounds, especially younger people, to learn about and enjoy the chalk hill landscape found on the edges of Luton. Integral to this project has been the provision of four traineeships, which not only benefit the young people who successfully applied, but which also help build our capacity to run more events, walks and training days and to contribute to the practical management of Luton’s myriad nature reserves. It was very pleasing to hear that one of our first trainees from last year is now working for ZSL at London Zoo.
photo by Ieva Piraga
We welcomed Emily and Oliwia on the 3rd September, Oliwia already knew about our project as her A-Level biology class visited Bradgers Hill last year and she attended a careers fair at the 6th Form College before the summer. They will both be working with us to the end of February 2027, trying out various activities with different teams within the Trust and they have already started helping us to plan and organise various Autumn events, including a bushcraft day for families, a coppicing workshop and a hedge laying day. Please check out our Wilder Luton page for more details: Wilder Luton | Wildlife Trust for Beds Cambs & Northants
Youth Rangers
The Luton & Beds Youth Rangers, a group for 12 to 17-year-olds, have been busy supporting the Reserves team, controlling the spread of dominant species such as dogwood and bracken. Alongside the practical work, they enjoyed an archaeological walk at Blows Downs, learning about the fascinating history of this site and the local area.
The Youth Rangers group is well established now and as older members leave or go on to be adult volunteers it has been great to welcome new younger people along, to find out more please visit: Youth Rangers | Wildlife Trust for Beds Cambs & Northants
Photo by Ieva Piraga
One of the highlights of our recent sessions was a visit to the Northants team at Nene Wetlands Delta Pit, where the Youth Rangers had a guided tour of the beaver enclosure. It was fantastic to see plenty of evidence of beaver activity, including dams and gnawed trees, while learning more about their successful reintroduction in Northamptonshire and the positive impact they are having on this beautiful wetland site.
We are now looking forward to our October session at Flitwick Moor, a beautiful wetland habitat, where we will be getting stuck into some practical site management work, as well as exploring the reserve and hopefully spotting some of the Highland cattle that now graze the site.
Photo by Matt Sutcliffe
Photo by Ieva Piraga
Photo by Ieva Piraga
Ellen Pentland
The Wildlife Trust's Nature Girls
After more than two successful years of Nature Girls in Northants, the community engagement team at BCN are now introducing activities across all three counties. The Wildlife Trust’s Nature Girls is an inclusive group for women who love nature and the outdoors, and is LGBTQIA+ friendly. It’s a welcoming space to meet like-minded people, spend time in nature and enjoy different activities together. Many people come along on their own, making it a great opportunity to meet and chat with fellow nature lovers.
The first Bedfordshire event will be a guided walk at Flitwick Moor, with more regular sessions planned afterwards. We’ll also be inviting participants to share their ideas and suggestions to help shape future activities.
Find out more about Nature Girls and explore upcoming sessions: The Wildlife Trust's Nature Girls | Wildlife Trust for Beds Cambs & Northants
Talks
There are plenty of other ways to get involved and learn more about local wildlife too! We continue to offer talks on wildlife gardening, the North Chilterns landscape and an introduction to the Wildlife Trust BCN, as well as other engaging talks delivered by experienced staff members to community and uniformed groups.
Visit our talks page to discover more and find out about booking a bespoke talk for your group in Bedfordshire.