Outstanding efforts to discover wildlife have reaped rewards for Whisby Wildlife Watch Group, who were announced today as ‘Watch Group of the Year 2014’ by The Wildlife Trusts. The group, based at Whisby Nature Park just outside Lincoln, will receive a special trophy and £50 gardening vouchers.

This enthusiastic group of children impressed the judges with the variety and inventiveness of their activities with children exploring the strange world of slithering, hopping and crawling amphibians and reptiles, hosting insect athletics and discovering which minibeasts are the fastest, strongest, and jump the highest! The judges also loved the group’s video diary in which the children filmed and reported on their monthly activities.

During 2014, Whisby Wildlife Watch Group discovered water scorpions, dragonfly nymphs and water stick insects lurking in Thorpe Lake. The children also found time for a summer picnic, an autumn camp-out and a winter party! The 24 children, aged between 5 and 11 years old, meet once a month to learn about wildlife through the seasons and the species that live in our ponds, woodlands and grasslands.