This year we are taking our Winter Wildlife event online. Join us for the live launch on our YouTube channel at 4.30pm on Tuesday 1 December.
Get your questions ready for a LIVE Q&A with a local wildlife expert, discover some amazing winter animals, and go on a virtual tour of the wildlife of the Cambridge University Botanic Garden. Then sing along with our all new version of the festive favourite The 12 Days of Critters, written by PhD student Kate Howlett.
Check out the blog every day from December 1 – December 12 for posts filled with animal facts, top tips, films and sustainable craft activities celebrating wonderful winter wildlife.
Day 1: Live Launch and Top Tips for Winter Wildlife
Get started on your winter wildlife journey by downloading our Winter Wildlife spotter sheet and getting your questions to our wildlife expert during our LIVE Q&A on YouTube.
Day 2: Garden Birds
Winter is a great time to get into watching the birds in your garden or local green space. Find out how to support the birds in your garden with top tips and instructions on how to make fat cakes to feed them over winter.
(image credit: John Howlett)
Day 3: Active Insects
Despite the cold, there are insects that stay active over winter. See the moth that fly at different times of year, and find out about winter moths. Download instructions on how to create a winter gift from recycled fabrics inspired by these wonderful animals.
(image credit: Keith Simmons CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)
Day 4: Life Underground
What to do with the vegetable peelings from your winter meals? Create a compost heap! Find out more about compost creatures with today’s post, and top tips on supporting these important animals.
(image credit: Max Westby CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)
Day 5: Hibernation
We all know that hedgehogs hibernate, but did you know that there are insects that huddle away over winter? Find out more, and make an insect refuge to support winter wildlife.
(image credit: Tom Austin CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)
Day 6: Winter Mammals
Not all mammals hibernate through the colder months of the year. In winter you might see (and hear) foxes both in towns and in the countryside. Find out more about winter mammals, and see if your memory is as good as a squirrel’s by making our memory game.
Day 7: Winter Visitors
For some animals, our winters represent a mild break from much colders conditions further north, and they visit our shores for access to food over the winter months. Today’s post explores some of these winter visitors that also inspire our top tips for sustainable sweet gifts to make for friends and family.
Day 8: Healthy Habitats
From the tallest trees to the tiniest insects, nothing in our natural world lives in isolation. In this post we will be exploring some of the unsung heroes of healthy habitats, and giving top tips on choosing comfort foods that are comforting to the environment.
(image credit: Rosalyn Wade)
Day 9: Winter Water
Go to your local lake or river and you can see some wonderful water birds, from swans and ducks to herons and more. In this post we will be exploring these animals, as well as the importance of providing water for wildlife in your own green spaces.
(image credit: John Howlett)
Day 10: Traces of Winter Wildlife
There are some animals that you might not see in winter, but they can leave evidence behind that they have been there. Learn how to make a wildlife film on a budget with Ellie Bladon, find out about animal footprints, and create your own sustainable footprint wrapping paper.
(image credit: Antony Oliver CC BY-SA 2.0)
Day 11: Surprising Winter Animals
Did you know that there are animals called snow fleas that hop over the surface of snow? Find out more about these and other surprising winter animals, and learn tips on how to make wrapping winter gifts more sustainable.
(image credit: Scott Robinson CC BY 2.0)
Day 12: 12 Days of Critters
This online festival has been all about the 12 Days of Critters – the rewriting of the festive favourite by PhD student Kate Howlett. Sing along and find out more about the animals it features, and make a paper starling murmuration inspired by the final flock in the song.
(image credit: Tanya Hart CC BY-SA 2.0)
