News from Wicken Fen
The sun shone and visitors flocked to Wicken Fen to enjoy a range of free activities as we celebrated not only the 110th anniversary of the National Trust acquiring Wicken Fen in 1899 but also the 10th anniversary of the Wicken Fen Vision on Friday 1 May. The day's celebrations were a perfect opportunity to reflect on the foresight of the original founders of the National Trust in protecting and preserving the unique beauty of Wicken Fen, and the scope of the Wicken Fen Vision to create a unique nature reserve for current and future generations to enjoy. To co-inside with the anniversary celebrations we are delighted that naturalist and new presenter of BBC Springwatch, Chris Packham has agreed to become Patron for the Wicken Fen Vision. Chris has been a regular visitor to the Fen in recent years and is a keen supporter of the development of landscape scale nature reserves to help safeguard many of our countries'rare and endangered species. Chris will be visiting Wicken Fen later in the summer to open our new Dragonfly Centre on Sunday 26 July.
We are delighted to welcome Emma Shepherd our new Community Warden to the Wicken Fen team. Emma's role will be to develop contacts and links with local communities to raise awareness and understanding of the Vision and to encourage community participation in the Vision.
Throughout June we have a range of activities for all the family at the Fen. Discover the Konik ponies and Highland cattle of Wicken Fen with Grazing Warden, Carol Laidlaw on Sat 6 June at 1030, or try your hand at paper making on Sat 6 June at1030. With the longer and hopefully warmer summer evenings we have Evening Boat Tours and BBQ's on Fri 12 & 19 June at 1830 and 1930 and a midsummer Supper and Safari on Sat 20 June at 1930. Enjoy a Summer Walk around the Fen with a Warden on Sun 27 at 1030 or explore Verrall's Fen, an area seldom visited by the public with Dr Stuart Warrington, the National Trust's Regional Conservation Advisor on Sat 4 July at1330. Details and tickets for all events are available from the Wicken Fen Visitor Centre on 01353 720274.
Hope to see you at the Fen soon.