Surrey Wildlife Trust welcomes everyone to go wild on Guildford High Street on 1st and 2nd June 2019, with its wildlife take over between 11am and 4pm. With a host of wild activities, the Trust is celebrating its 60th birthday by creating a buzz with a pop-up wildlife garden on the High Street to surprise and inspire people about Surrey’s nature.
The pop-up wildlife garden, supported by Squire’s Garden Centres, will feature pollinating wildflowers, a vegetable patch, a wildlife pond, ‘Buggingham Palace’, a bird feeding station, butterfly garden, hedgehog home, log pile for minibeasts and fabulous fruit trees among many other wildlife friendly features and a bench for people to stop and enjoy this rare spectacle.
All weekend there will be lots of fun on the High Street, from mini beast hunting and wildflower seed planting to willow weaving demonstrations and other wild crafts. Spot prizes will be given to little ones dressed up as their favourite bug, bee or butterfly. Staff from Surrey Wildlife Trust will be sharing their passion for wildlife and available to talk about what they do to take care of Surrey’s beautiful natural landscapes and rare species of wildlife.
The Trust is also celebrating its partnerships at Guildford Goes Wild with Thames Basin Heath Partnership, Surrey Amphibian and Reptile Group, Guildford Bee Keepers and the Surrey Hills Society also attending. Guildford Museum is running a special natural history exhibition and there is free entry to the Wild Surrey Art and Photography exhibition open between 10am and 4.45pm in Guildford House Gallery.
Charlotte Magowan, director of people engagement at Surrey Wildlife Trust, said: “This year Guildford Goes Wild is going to be bigger than ever before. Loads of staff are getting involved with the DIY wildlife garden SOS build early on Saturday morning, which will be an exciting challenge. We want to create the wow factor for shoppers and give them a fantastic surprise as it’s not what you’d expect to see on the High Street.”
The Guildford Goes Wild weekend is part of The Wildlife Trusts’ 30 Days Wild challenge in June. TV celebrities and wildlife presenters, Matt Baker, Sophie Pavelle and Nick Baker have joined forces to encourage Surrey residents to get involved and do something wild outside in nature every day in June.
Charlotte Magowan added: “Connecting with nature is like a lost art. We want to help people rediscover the lost childhood joy of finding bugs, admiring the endless beauty of a wild flower and immersing themselves in nature. By inspiring people, we hope everyone will join our campaign to protect our environment for future generations.”
Sarah Squire, Chairman of Squire’s Garden Centres: “It’s so important to encourage wildlife into our gardens, which is why Squire’s are supporting Surrey Wildlife Trust to build a pop-up wildlife garden on Guildford High Street. Attracting wildlife is easily achievable at home – just make sure that you have a source of water (a pond or bird bath), some nectar rich pollinating plants, and a wildlife habitat, such as some long grass, a log pile or a hedgehog home. I’m particularly looking forward to seeing ‘Buggingham Palace’ on Guildford High Street on the 1st and of 2nd June.”