Festival of Nature with outdoor activities for all the family launches this month in Milton Keynes

A festival to celebrate the "beautiful and inspiring" nature found in MK's green spaces starts this month.
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The week-long festival, organised by the Parks Trust, will include evening bat-spotting walks, star-gazing nights, wellbeing walks for families, food foraging sessions and art sessions in local parks.

It was due to take place in June but, due to the Covid crisis, was postponed until this month.

The festival will now run from August 31 to September 6 and 2020 and activities have been adapted to comply with the current government guidelines.

Learn about trees in the Festival of NatureLearn about trees in the Festival of Nature
Learn about trees in the Festival of Nature

The events are ticketed to limit numbers, or people can get involved through online activities that the Parks Trust will be sharing via its social channels throughout the week. All of these are designed for people to either do at home or in their local park.

A Parks Trust spokesman said: "If you fancy getting out and about then why not take part in one of our walks. We have a variety to choose from including; evening Bat Walks, where you’ll join our bat enthusiasts for a walk around Walton Lake to discover these nocturnal animals that fly through our parks. Or maybe try a Wellbeing Walk for Families, where you’ll connect with nature, use your senses to take in your surroundings as well as taking part in relaxing activities."

He added: "Grown-ups will also be able to join in the fun of the festival in our Foraging Walk for Adults which is being held at Linford Lakes Nature Reserve. This session is designed to give you an introduction to locating and harvesting food for free in our parkland spaces and will also help increase your confidence in identifying wild plants, berries and nuts."

Budding star gazers can take part in the virtual event, Explore the skies with UK Astronomy, to find out more about the solar system and beyond.

A Wellbeing Walk through Linford WoodA Wellbeing Walk through Linford Wood
A Wellbeing Walk through Linford Wood

Or those looking for something creative can join local artist Kate Wyatt for a morning of artistic discovery at Great Linford Manor Park to learn how to record the natural environment through sketching and other artistic techniques.

Kate is a professional artist based in Milton Keynes and her speciality is British wildlife, flora and fauna.

To find out more about our events or to book follow the link here.

The spokesman said: "Don’t forget to keep an eye on our social channels where throughout the week we’ll be

sharing a whole host of activities you can do at home or in your local park. We will also be sharing fun activities from our partners, learn how to be nature detective with BBOWT or a Garden Explorer with Tring Natural History Museum."

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